The peculiar customs of Jurchen Khitan

The location of the

may be the end of the Song Dynasty, when the Chinese nation was always harassed by the Khitan and Jurchen tribes in the north, and the literati of the Song Dynasty were depressed; perhaps the people of the Song Dynasty always regarded themselves as a great country in the Tian Dynasty and looked down on the customs and habits of these wild and barbaric people. In the eyes of the literati of the Song Dynasty, whether the real women living between the white mountains and black waters or the Khitan people living between the Song and Liao Dynasties, they were all a group of foreign people who lacked education and domestication, and their behaviors were extremely ridiculous. The Song Dynasty people, who had always regarded themselves as traditional culture, viewed the customs of the northern ethnic minorities through colored glasses. In today's eyes, they also appeared clumsy and too pedantic.

So in the eyes of the literati of the Song Dynasty, what "deviant" and "absurd" customs did the northern ethnic minorities have? Or in other words, what are the unbelievable and interesting customs of the Khitan and Jurchen people? The works of literati in the Song Dynasty presented us with a wonderful foreign culture, and it was in this atmosphere of tolerance, continuous accumulation and melting that the Chinese nation formed a profound national culture, as well as the centripetal force and cohesion of the Chinese nation's unity.

The people of the Song Dynasty believed that the Jurchen tribe had a simple and honest folk customs, but the tribal leaders did not know how to maintain their authority and dignity in daily social etiquette. Therefore, in the eyes of the Song people, in order to celebrate the success of wine-making, the Jurchen people killed chickens and sheep, sang and danced, sitting on the ground regardless of male and female, noble and humble, old and young. Both the host, guests and tribal leaders danced to show a happy and peaceful life. He also boasted that the carnival behavior of the fine wine he produced was an unbelievable and absurd expression that was unethical, and criticized it as a person who flaunted orthodox culture and morality. However, this kind of frankness and natural expression of nature, with the continuous integration of Han culture, he actually believed that this style was not good and that it was a matter of being a minister, and gradually abolished it. It can be seen that the defenders of Han culture were still worthy of complacency in their hearts.

In the northern minority regimes,"stick blame" was also popular. From Zaifu and princes and aristocrats to officials at all levels, those who committed crimes and committed crimes could not be exempted from stick. The people of the Song Dynasty naively believed that this was the prestige of a great country in the Heavenly Dynasty that was copied and imitated by the barbarians. Then, they turned their pen and laughed at the development of these barbarians. They said that those who disobeyed their superiors would strip off their clothes, first hit them in the mouth with the stick, and then stopped their feet, and beat them all over their bodies. This was "guarding against judgment." If the head of an official in a prefecture and county commits a crime, he sends angels thousands of miles to his home to carry out a stick. This is also called "supervision". Some people are also killed under the stick because of this. All those who are struck by the stick will accept it calmly and not feel humiliated. Who knows the ancient saying that "punishment cannot be handed to a doctor?" The officials of the Song Dynasty were indeed superior, and the doctors who could not be punished did it. No matter how dissatisfied the emperor was with the officials, he had never spanked the butt during the three hundred years of the Song Dynasty. The people of the Song Dynasty never expected that when the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it would set a world record of 124 ministers being beaten on the same day and 16 people died on the spot. Scholars have lost face and their reputation has been ruined. The humble lives of civil officials are worthless in the eyes of the emperor.

The marriage customs of ethnic minorities in the north also made the Song people laugh at them. Northerners married wives at home. If their husbands unfortunately died, they would not send the women home like the Han people in the Central Plains. Instead, they would allow brothers and nephews to renew their employment. There were even cases where sons married their stepmothers. The Song people lamented and believed that the barbarians were like pigs and dogs who did not know etiquette and laws at all, while the Han people would never do such a beast. What makes the Song people even more indignant and difficult to understand is that every day on the 16th of the first month of the country, these ethnic groups in the north are the night of theft, which is tacitly agreed by the government. It is to "let people steal." Normally, if people don't pay attention, clothes, utensils, saddle horses, carriages and other things will be stolen legitimately. After a while, when the owner knows where they are, he will redeem them with wine, food, money and goods. What's more, when women usually go outdoors with their families, or when their families live in remote places, young women will be kidnapped by men. After a while, these women will quietly return home and inform their parents of the situation. The men will marry their daughters with gifts. This may be the earliest "cheating" and "trial marriage" between the Khitan and Jurchen versions. In the eyes of the Song people, this is actually a disgusting and intolerable scandal.

Since ancient times, the northern ethnic minorities have liked to be unfettered, and their costumes have been accustomed to wearing their hair on the left, that is, their hair is disheveled and their skirts are open to the left. In the Song Dynasty, literati and bureaucrats laughed at the northerners 'old hats and did not know how to dress and etiquette. How could this be? At that time, in the upper reaches of Jurchen and Khitan society, there were also some officials and aristocrats who began to study Han costumes and etiquette and followed the Han practice of "wearing clothes", that is, wearing official uniforms and decorations. In the eyes of the Song people, this crown was made for a monkey. However, some Jurchen and Khitan aristocrats suffered from dizziness and itching because they wore brocade and ornaments. They believed that it was better to restore their original costumes and freedom. They also complained that officials 'costumes and etiquette had been customized by the Han people. Nowadays, imitating it is really binding and restraining our generation, suffering and humiliation. When the Song people heard this, they laughed even more that the Hu people were foreigners and did not know etiquette.

The notes of the Song people also record many unique customs of the northern ethnic minorities that are no longer visible to people today, such as "worshiping the sky", the annual Dragon Boat Festival, the 15th Ghost Festival of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar month, and the Double Ninth Festival. The northern ethnic groups will choose a spacious place to set up wine, food, cattle, livestock, fruits and other objects for sacrifice, and worship heaven and earth from a distance. The name is "worshiping the sky." After the sacrifice, regardless of men, women and old, old and young, noble and humble, they will insert willows into shooting, as long as they hit the target, They would be rewarded with gold and silk. Those who missed the shot would take off their clothes and everyone would be humiliated. The willow shooting would end, and every family would have a big banquet and they would be happy.

After the Jurchen established the Jin Dynasty, a etiquette called "Guo Zhan" was popular from the court to the state capital. The so-called Guo Zhan was similar to today's folk "gathering people". This trend was very popular in the court and the country. For example, celebrating birthdays of ruling ministers and officials, or people marrying wives and having children, or the state capital welcoming imperial envoys and officials to take office, etc., they would definitely put out wine, food, fruits, and gifts, gold, silver, money and saddle horses. The master would hold wine and invite guests, raise a cup and pray for blessings, With this "passing the cup" etiquette, we express gratitude and resentment. It is more likely that this custom ceremony was inherited from the Han people in the north after the founding of the People's Republic of China. A nation has become red tape. When it becomes secular, the assimilation effect of Han culture will be great. When the Khitan people meet, they do not salute each other, let alone nod and bow to each other like the Han people, or even chat up without saying anything. Have you eaten today? Or if the weather is really good today, the Khitan people crossed their hands on their chests and did not speak to each other. They greeted each other with a salute. After putting on this pose, they walked their own ways without any trouble. The Khitan people called it "bow to each other".

The funeral culture of the northern minority Khitan and Jurchen is also very different from that of the Central Plains. After the Nü Zhen died, a wooden groove was dug into a coffin, and then the body was placed and buried in the mountains and forests without sealing any trees to mark it. However, the Khitan people were different. If there was a dead person in the homes of Khitan aristocrats, they would use a sharp blade to pierce their internal organs, empty their intestines and intestines, and then put in special fragrant medicine and salt alum, and sew them with colorful threads. Then use sharp bamboo thorns under the skin to drain the blood in his body into the main stream. Then he put on a special mask made of gold and silver, wrapped his hands and feet with copper wire, and buried him secretly. It is said that Yelü Deguang, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, was buried in this way. The Khitan people were called "Emperor", which in modern language means "mummy emperor". I wonder if anyone in modern times has used this to verify the Khitan people's funeral culture and the burial method of ancient Egyptian pharaohs?

Wei Jian of the Song Dynasty also said in "The Facts of the Krupting Court" that at the beginning of the death of the Jurchen aristocrat, his relatives, tribes and slaves would place wine and food, melons and fruits, cattle, sheep and livestock to express their masters as a memorial service, calling it "cooking rice." Then everyone would lightly stab their cheeks with a sharp knife, and suddenly their faces would be covered with blood and look terrible. This is also called "bloody crying". After stabbing the cheeks, everyone comforted each other, probably saying that some people could not be brought back to life after their deaths, and I was sorry for their condolences. After the comforting words, men and women sat together, drinking, singing, and dancing, looking extremely happy. Why was the contrast so huge? Perhaps the Khitan people thought that there was no better way to fully express their sorrow over the death of their master than stabbing them with a knife and bleeding profusely. After the sacrifice was completed, they were convinced that their master was enjoying himself in another world, and they also sang and danced together for their master's happiness. Celebrate.

The pedantic and narrow literati of the Song Dynasty had an instinctive contempt and contempt for the Hufeng folk customs in the north. They believed that these barbaric and ignorant Khitan and Jurchen people did not know etiquette and were difficult to educate. However, they never dreamed that it was these seemingly backward and crude barbarians who disturbed the Song Dynasty for more than 300 years. Then, the Jurchen people destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, while the Southern Song Dynasty was still alive, However, the Mongolians who originated in the north were turned into ashes under the golden iron horses and black clouds destroying the city, and the country was destroyed and the family was destroyed. The Song Dynasty literati who were in ruins may not understand until their death why the Yangyang Empire, which represented a highly civilized degree, was defeated by the backward barbarian culture that they despised. This is actually the case in history. In the entanglement of civilization and barbarism, they gather into a huge wave, and the tide rises and falls, and the cycle repeats.