That red rope, so entangled, tied it up for life.
Occasionally I find it quite funny, how can such a simple rope symbolize thousands of years.
Why do Chinese people tie knots?
In the earliest days, there was no writing, so I had to tie knots on a rope to record events.
Make a big knot for big things and a small knot for small things.
Think about that image, it's quite clumsy, yet it's quite cute. Hidden in those knots are the anxieties, joys and expectations of our ancestors.
Later there was jade. A gentleman has no reason, and the jade never leaves his body.
But how to hang the jade on the waist? This requires the help of a rope. In this way, the knot first transformed from a notepad, then became an ornament, and then transformed into a status symbol.
Do you think this is an upgrade?
What is that red color hiding from?
When I was a child, I heard the story of "Nian" and thought that the monster was so stupid for being afraid of the color red and noise.
But then I thought about it, maybe it’s not that monsters are stupid, but that we are too afraid of things we can’t see.
Afraid of bad luck, afraid of disaster, afraid of having a rough time.
Because of this, red is posted on the door, wrapped around the wrist, and hung in the car. It seems that with this touch of red, my heart feels calmer, and those monsters and ghosts don't dare to approach.
This is a very primitive superstition, but also very warm.
Just like wearing the red belt in the year of your birth, you know clearly that this is an act of psychological comfort, but you still wear it obediently. If there is an emergency situation, doesn't it seem reasonable to think so, right?
About Peking Opera, My Dad and My War
My dad loves to watch Peking Opera.
When I was a kid, I grabbed the remote control and he stopped me.
At that time, how could you see clearly? It was chirping, a face was painted like a ghost, and a movement was made for a long time. I thought to myself, what's there to watch? It's boring.
But one time, I really didn’t have anything to look at, so I was forced to take a second look.
The strange thing is that as I listened, that tone actually got into my heart.
Only later did I realize that people might have practiced that call thousands of times. Behind that seemingly simple movement of turning over is more than ten years of sweat and tears.
I suddenly felt that what I disliked before was not Peking Opera, but the seriousness.
It rained the day we practiced kung fu
When I was young, I suffered from hand, foot and mouth disease, so the school was closed. Then the teacher invited a martial arts coach to teach us some kung fu.
Just as we got into position, it started raining.
I thought I must go back to the classroom, but the coach didn't stop.
The raindrops pattered on my body. I was lazy and my movements were loose and limp. The coach walked over, grabbed my arm, and forcefully broke it until it became erect.
I asked him, what is the use of practicing this?
He said that it can prevent you from being bullied, and it can also prevent you from bullying others casually.
I remembered that sentence for a long time.
A little bit from the calligraphy class
My dad took me to see the calligraphy exhibition.
The regular script is square and upright, while the cursive script is full of dragons and phoenixes.
I said it looks good. My dad said, do you know how to write a point so that it looks good?
After that, he taught me how to write calligraphy with calligraphy. There is a word called "forever", and I have written about that point more than ten times. But it is still crooked.
The things that seem the simplest are often the most difficult.
For that little black spot, you need to control the strength of your wrist, adjust the rhythm of your breathing, and even pay attention to the distracting thoughts in your heart. If the mind wanders even slightly, it will collapse.
Sun Houhou and Taishang Laojun’s dream
I had a strange dream one night.
Sun Houhou, who was discussing with Taishang Laojun, claimed that he would go down to earth to take a look. The reason was that he had always heard people say that China is a country of etiquette.
I woke up smiling.
Even gods are curious.
But then I thought about it, do those of us who live in a land of etiquette really understand what etiquette is?
Is it a bow when meeting someone, or is it a polite greeting during the New Year?
Maybe neither.
Ritual is hidden in those titles. Those who are less than one year old are called swaddling clothes, those who are ten years old are called yellow mouth, those who are thirty years old are in the standing stage, those who are forty years old have reached the state of not being confused, sixty years old is already the sixtieth year, and seventy years old is entering the age of seventy.
It is awe of the years and respect for people.
The fireworks disappeared with a "pop"
What I most look forward to during the Chinese New Year is fireworks.
One year I bought something called "Peanut Explosion", which I vowed would amaze everyone.
As a result, it ignited, took off into the air, and "pop" - it was gone.
Like a peanut being exploded, there is no beauty in it.
The friends all laughed, and so did I.
That moment was extremely short, so short that it ended before there was a chance to be disappointed. However, I don’t know why, but I still think about it every year during the Chinese New Year.
Maybe the meaning of something is not how beautiful it is, but that it happened.
The coach who corrected my movements in the rain was never seen again.
Some people seem to appear just to tell you something and then disappear into the sea of people.
It was raining that day, and his whole body was soaked by the rain. He grabbed my shoulders and said, practicing martial arts is not to hit others, but to enable you to stand firmly.
I never saw him again.
But whenever something happened and I wanted to avoid it, I would always recall that rainy day, the cold feeling of the raindrops hitting my face, and the warmth of his palms.
Some things are just passed down like this.
So, what is culture?
It’s not about how many Tang poems you’ve memorized, or whether you can write calligraphy.
It's when you hear a certain accent that your heart suddenly tightens.
When you see that Chinese red, you feel at ease somehow.
You are willing to spend an afternoon telling the story of "Nian" to a child.
It was you who, in a dream, dreamed that Sun Houhou and Taishang Laojun also wanted to come to the human world to see them.
It presents a state of entanglement, just like that red rope. This red rope connects you to the past, this red rope connects you to the future, and ultimately they are all connected together.
Maybe this is the Chinese knot.
I can't untie it, and I don't want to untie it.
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