[ Watching Butterflies at the Beginning of Summer ] The Origin of Phenological Beliefs and Customs of Chinese Ancestors
Tracing back to the origin of the Chinese butterfly viewing festival , it can be traced back to the phenology worship tradition in the pre-Qin period. According to the content recorded in the "Book of Rites and Moon Orders", ancient people regarded the beginning of insect activity as a key sign of seasonal changes. The butterfly is one of the most active creatures in late spring and early summer. Its light and flying posture was regarded by ancient ancestors as an auspicious omen for the harmony of yin and yang in the heaven and earth, and the reproduction and growth of all things. There is such a discussion in the "Chun Qiu Kao Yi You", a Weishu book of the Han Dynasty, which mentions that "the butterfly relaxes, it is the beginning of summer, and its wings are like colorful silk, which is a sign of extremely strong yang energy." It closely links the appearance of butterflies with the theory of yin and yang and the five elements, and thus establishes the special status of butterflies in the traditional concept of the year. Such a kind of awe and observation of natural creatures slowly evolved into the primitive form of people gathering on their own to watch, pray for blessings and attract good luck. This is the initial form of the cultural gene now known as the Butterfly Festival.
[ Zhuang Zhou Mengdie ] The deep embedding of Wei and Jin style and philosophical imagery
During that period of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, metaphysics began to rise, and individual consciousness gradually awakened. Butterflies were given a deeper philosophical speculation. The allusion in "Zhuangzi: On the Equality of Things" that "in the past Zhuang Zhou dreamed of being a butterfly" was widely interpreted by the scholar-bureaucrats during this period. The butterfly became a symbol of the state of forgetfulness of things and self, and the unity of nature and man. Take "Shishuo Xinyu" as an example. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, famous scholars often gathered in the mountains and forests in late spring to watch butterflies flying, drink and have fun, have banquets, talk and compose poems. They regarded this kind of activity as a "visiting meeting". They felt that butterflies dancing among the flowers were a visualization of the extremely simple and extremely beautiful things contained in the universe. At this time, the simple observation of phenology has been sublimated into a spiritual ritual. The butterfly has transformed from an auspicious omen into a cultural carrier for literati to develop transcendent feelings and pursue spiritual freedom, which has greatly enriched the spiritual connotation of later generations.
【 Colorful Wings for Good Harvest 】The formation of folk rituals and regulations during the Song and Ming Dynasties
During the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the commodity economy showed a prosperous trend, and citizen culture began to rise. The activity of butterfly watching moved from gatherings of literati to the streets and alleys of the market, thus forming a fixed festival program and folk norms. "Old Martial Arts" written by Zhou Mi of the Southern Song Dynasty records that there is a custom of "Butterfly Fighting Club" in Lin'an Prefecture. This custom is held after the Beginning of Summer. Participants hold a fan in their hands and compete in butterfly fighting among the flowers. The winner can get the prize of "Oiran". This activity is not only entertainment in nature, but also secretly contains the ancient ritual of "holding tools to drive away evil spirits". A book in the Ming Dynasty that has a record function and is titled "Zi Zhong Zhi" describes in detail the butterfly releasing rituals of both palace and folk nature: There will be a group of people who release artificially bred butterflies in a collective form at a specific period of time called auspicious times. This behavior is called "spring release". The meaning of this is to release the gloomy energy collected in winter, and then welcome the vitality contained in the world. At this moment, a complete set of ritual processes has been developed around butterflies, including fluttering, appreciating, releasing, painting, and chanting. Regional characteristics have also begun to show. The south of the Yangtze River focuses on elegance, while the north advocates liveliness, but at its core, it is inseparable from the prayer for the reproduction of life and the harmony of nature.
【 Southern Customs and Northern Rhymes 】 Regional changes and characteristic differences in the land of China
The diverse customs of the Butterfly Festival are created by the vast geographical territory. In the Bashu region, according to the "Jiangjin County Chronicle" recorded in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a "Butterfly Market" among the people. During the festival, villagers sold homemade butterfly-shaped cakes and sachets, forming a unique interaction between commodity transactions and folk customs. In the Lingnan area, due to the warm climate, there are many kinds of butterflies. From this, the elegant interests of "butterfly fighting" and "butterfly appreciation" have emerged. Enthusiasts regard raising rare species as a pleasure, and they also enjoy tasting the patterns of butterfly wings. This kind of custom was also mentioned in "Guangdong News" written by Qu Dajun. In comparison, the Central Plains area pays more attention to the sense of ritual. For example, the custom of "hanging butterfly charms" spread around Kaifeng is to cut butterfly shapes from colored paper and post them on doors and windows. This is not only used as a decoration, but also as an auspicious omen symbol with the same pronunciation as "福fold". These regional variations, with rich and diverse colors, together constitute the Chinese butterfly culture, a broad and profound pedigree, which shows the creative interpretation of the same cultural motif by ancient people in different ecological environments.
[ Spirit of Breaking the Cocoon ] Contemporary Evolution and Value Reconstruction of Traditional Culture
The philosophy of life contained in its core, that is, from the state of forgetfulness of things and self shown by Zhuang Zhou when he dreamed of a butterfly, to the fighting spirit shown by breaking out of a cocoon and becoming a butterfly, is highly consistent with the concept of ecological civilization and the concept of striving for a better life actively advocated in the contemporary era. Nowadays, butterfly festivals held in various places are, on the one hand, the inheritance and respect for ancient rituals such as "Spring Release" and "Butterfly Fighting Party". On the other hand, they also incorporate modern concepts including popular science concepts and environmental protection concepts. For example, by displaying rare butterfly specimens and their living bodies, we can awaken the public's awareness of biodiversity conservation. This exactly echoes the essence of the ancient people's pursuit of understanding the principles of things to gain knowledge and treating nature with reverence. Butterfly observation has transformed from an ancient observation of phenology and spiritual sustenance into a comprehensive public cultural activity that integrates cultural roots, ecological education, leisure and entertainment. What remains unchanged behind it is the Chinese nation's keen perception of the beauty of nature, the eternal admiration for the miracle of life, and the unremitting pursuit of a harmonious symbiosis. The wisdom and aesthetics originated from ancient farming civilization are being integrated into the cultural texture of modern cities in a new attitude, and then glow with the brilliance of a new era that has lasted for a long time.
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