The \”Five Blessings\” are all here, but should the word \”福\” on the door of the house be pasted upside down?

2018-02-14 19:44 | Zhejiang News Client | Reporter Tong Jian

The Spring Festival is approaching, and everyone is busy collecting Alipay\’s \”Five Blessings\”. However, after all these years, have you put the word \”福\” on the door of your home correctly? Many people are used to pasting the word \”福\” upside down, thinking that this means \”luck has arrived\”.

Opposition position: \”福\” is posted

The word \”福\” on the door means \”welcome blessing\” and \”receive blessing\”, and the door is the entrance and exit of the home. It pays attention to symmetry, squareness and solemnity. The word \”福\” should be solemn, dignified and generous, so it should be posted correctly. Feng Ji, chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association, believes that the word \”福\” posted upside down is mainly used on water tanks and earthen boxes (i.e. trash cans), while the word \”福\” on the door should be posted upright.

Then on the water tank and garbage can Why should \”Fu\” be reversed? Feng Jicai said that since the things in these two places have to be poured out, in order to avoid pouring out the blessings at home, people cleverly use the homophonic word \”to\” for \”pour\” and \”blessing to\” to offset the word \”blessing to go\”. , to express the pursuit of a better life.

The positive position: the peopleCustoms are also changing

Sina Weibo user @guoguotejada and John said: “I don’t think it matters whether the word “福” is pasted upside down or not. The explanation of the word “福” and the meaning of the word “福” are the meaning. It’s the most interesting.”

There are many netizens who hold similar views. Whether they are solemnly posting the word “福” to welcome good luck, or using the homophony of “福来了”, people all hold this in mind. A yearning for a better life in the New Year.

Song Yingjie, host of CCTV\’s \”Weather Forecast\” program and author of \”Twenty-Four Solar Terms\”, also said on Sina Weibo: \”Folklore is inherently dynamic, with both inheritance and change.\” /p>

Historical basis: Where does the custom of the word \”福\” come from?

Let us start with the meaning of the word \”福\”.

The right side of the word \”福\” is composed of the three characters \”一\”, \”口\” and \”田\”. Folklore researcher Wang Zuoji believes that according to \”Shuowen Jiezi\”, \”一\” represents beams and houses, \”口\” means population, and \”田\” refers to having fields for farming, which can be extended to have a career and study. When people are prosperous and live and work in peace and contentment, this is \”blessing\”.

The custom of pasting the word \”福\” began at least in the Southern Song Dynasty. Wu Zimu, a native of Qiantang, recorded in \”Mengliang Lu\” that \”on New Year\’s Eve, we shop for department stores, paint door-god peach charms, and welcome the Spring Festival.\” , change the door god, hang the bell Kui, nail peach charms, put up spring signs, and worship the ancestors.\” Some people have researched that \”posting spring cards\” means writing the word \”blessing\” on red paper and sticking it in front of the door.

There are also several legends about pasting the word \”福\” upside down. One of them occurred during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the chief steward of Prince Gong’s Mansion wrote several big words with the character “福” and asked people to post them on the storeroom and the palace.On the door of the house. One family member actually pasted the word \”福\” on the door upside down. Prince Gong Fujin was very angry and wanted to punish him with a whip. Fortunately, the butler was eloquent and said: \”Prince Gong has a long life and great fortune. Now that his great fortune has really fallen (arrived), it is an auspicious sign.\” When Fujin heard this, his anger turned into joy. Not only were the stewards and servants not punished, they were rewarded.

In addition to pasting the word \”福\”, pasting Spring Festival couplets and pasting door gods are also traditional customs during the Spring Festival.

Usually, Spring Festival couplets have two direct couplets and one horizontal couplet. How to distinguish the upper and lower couplets among two direct couplets?

There are generally four ways to distinguish:

One is to divide into equal parts according to tones. Generally speaking, the last character in the first line should be in oblique tone, and the last character in the second line should be in flat tone.

The second is based on causality. \”Cause\” is the first line and \”result\” is the second line.

The third is divided according to time. The first line with time is the first line, and the second line with time is the second line.

The fourth is divided according to spatial range. Generally, the smaller ones are in front and the larger ones are in the back.

The order of pasting Spring Festival couplets:

When facing the gate, the upper couplet is on the right, the lower couplet is on the left, and the order of the text on the banner is from right to left. Later, because the horizontal writing format of Chinese characters was changed from left to right, the upper couplet could be on the left, the lower couplet could be on the right, and the horizontal order of the horizontal lines was from left to right to suit people\’s reading habits. It would not be appropriate to \”mix\” the two Spring Festival couplet pasting methods.

The door god has the dual meaning of exorcising evil and attracting good luck. Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong are the two most widely circulated and influential military generals and door gods among the people.

Traditionally, people stick the door gods on both sides of the door from the perspective of the person entering the door, and it is considered correct to face each other. On the contrary, it is a popular saying that \”sticking the wrong door gods\”.

Thousands of households always exchange old talismans for new peaches. No needThe door is vast and there is no need for thousands of words. The blessings and expectations are equally beautiful and profound.

Did you post the word \”福\”, Spring Festival couplets and the door god correctly?