Chinese Zodiac: Wu Ma_Chinese Zodiac

Noon is a horse, with six animals including horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, and pigs. The horse ranks first among the six animals. Archaeological discoveries in Ziya, Longshan Town, Zhangqiu, Shandong, prove that people have domesticated and raised horses since the period of the patrilineal clan commune. In many ancient books, there is a record of "Sangtu as a horse riding". As a horse riding, you use four horses to drive a vehicle as a means of transportation. In the previous section, we discussed in detail the glorious horse culture in ancient China, which obviously shows people's belief in horses. Various folk customs about horses are also diverse and colorful.

Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has a folk custom of offering horse sacrifices. Mazu is offered in spring, first shepherd in summer, horse club in autumn, and horse step in winter. Mazu is the sky, the star of the horse in the sky, the house star; the first shepherd, said to be the founder of the horse, is regarded as the god of animal husbandry; the horse house is the god of land in the stables: and the horse is the god of horse disaster . In fact, there have been records of offering sacrifices to the horse god during the Spring and Autumn Period. There are so many names and respect for the sacrifice of horse gods, which is exactly the expression of the important status of horses in the eyes of the ancients.

The horse is also a symbol of ability, sage, talent, and accomplishment. The ancients often compared it with the "thousand horses". The Maxima is an excellent steed that travels thousands of miles every day. According to legend, King Zhou Mu had eight horses, and he often rode around the world. The names of the eight horses: one is called Jedi, who can fly without touching the soil or landing on their feet; one is called Fanyu, which can run faster than a bird; one is called Benjing, which can travel thousands of miles at night; and the other is Chaoying, which can Chasing the sun and galloping; one is called Yuhui, the color of horsehair is brilliant and radiant; one is called Chaoguang, and the horse has ten shadows; the other is called Tengwu, which is flying in the clouds and mist; the other is called Niaiyi , With wings on his body, soaring for ninety thousand miles like a Dapeng. Some ancient books imagine the "Eight Horses" as eight different coat colors, each with nice names: Chiji, Pirateli, Baiyi, Yulun, Shanzi, Quhuang, Huali, and Luer. In fact, the magical legends of steeds all describe virtuous talents, and don't really believe them in myths. The Eight Horses of King Zhou Mu are actually a metaphor for his group of people, with outstanding talents and extraordinary abilities, each with their special abilities to jointly assist Zhou Tianzi's great cause in the world.

The Han folk believe in the horse god, which is also called the water grass Ma Ming king, that is, the horse king, and it is believed in many parts of the country. The farmer offered sacrifices on the 23rd day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, and the sacrifice was a whole sheep. However, there were many systems for worshiping horse gods in the government of the past dynasties. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to worship Mazu and presided over it at Lingtaipu Temple in Nanjing. The folk belief in the horse god is not unrelated to the advocacy of the ruler. Let's take a look at folk customs, customs, sayings, and interesting talks about horses.

No. 1:

In the second year of the unification of the whole country, Qin Shihuang was on his way to the top of the mountain in Rongcheng since 220 BC. He heard that the variegated colored stone was a god stone left by Nuwa when he repaired the sky. At that time, he led thousands of horses and thousands of troops, along the repaired special gallop, went straight to the place where the variegated colored stone was, and worshiped respectfully. After returning to the dynasty, everything went well, and the world was peaceful, so Longyan was overjoyed and let the officials celebrate with poems. At that time, Xu Fushi, a warlock, said: "Thousands of horses and thousands of troops will go on the road, and the first emperor will be successful in worshipping the stone." It is a pity that at that time this literary congratulatory poem did not win the favor of Qin Shihuang and the crowd. However, the nearby coast where the variegated color stone is located is therefore called the "horse road". The origin of the place name "Horse Road" is that the first emperor Qin Shihuang led thousands of horses to worship the stone, and the other is that the road built by Qin Shihuang's east tour was passed by. Until the Yuan Dynasty, the well-known great writer Guan Hanqing created the idiom "Horse reaches success" from the allusion of "Qin Huang worshiping stone". He mentioned for the first time in the work "Five Hou Banquet" that he had created the idiom "Success in a Horse".

No. 2:

The domestication and extensive use of horses by the Manchus began in the Mohe era in the Tang Dynasty. In the past, shooting and hunting were limited to walking. Later, they began to tame wild horses for shooting and hunting. The Manchu can gallop on the horse, shooting and hunting, it is like a tiger with more wings. According to Volume 39 of the "Dajin Kingdom", Jurchen people are good at riding and shooting, "tolerant of hunger and thirst, flying up and down the cliffs, Jijiang River, without boats, floating horses and durable." In the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchens became popular in raising horses and training horses. By the time the Manchus arose, there were already horses everywhere, and people could ride them. According to the records of Jianzhou Wenjianlu, the six animals of the Manchu are all prosperous. During the Yongle period, the horse market trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu tribes was very active. In the Qing Dynasty, more attention was paid to horse breeding. The imperial court was specially established by the court, which was later renamed as Adun Yamen. During the Kangxi period, it was changed to Shangsiyuan. , And set up medical officers to treat equine diseases. These officials in charge of horses are unique in the skill of raising horses. “It’s rare to feed a lonely millet. Whenever you gallop, you lean over and turn your knees, just as you please. If you have the time to unload your saddle, you will get rid of the leopard. Let it be free from wind, snow, cold and heat in the fence, and graze in the wild." Qing Taizu Nurhachi often checked the condition of war horses. The strong horses gave wine, and the weak ones scolded them. Huang Taiji rewarded a large number of horses and encouraged soldiers to kill the enemy. It is said that before the Zhaoling Mausoleum where he was buried, there were two lifelike stone horses, which were designed according to his two mounts before his death, Da Bai and Xiao Bai. The Manchus are brave in riding and shooting, and are skilled in martial arts. Relying on riding and shooting, horses played a huge role in wars in countless battles that lasted for more than half a century . There is a saying in "A Study on the Origin of Manchu", "With iron cavalry, ravaged by conflict, all will be defeated." Qing Dynasty set the world with bows and arrows, the Qing emperors, refined ride and shooting, historical books, records many, the early Qing Dynasty only knew immediately the war , people shut after the change.

No. 3:

The Mongolian people have traditional festivals of Horse Milk Festival and Horse Racing Festival, which are held at the end of August each year for one day. On this day, the herders put on holiday costumes, rode horses and brought kumiss to the designated places, and then prepared holiday food. Horse racing starts when the sun rises, and the horses involved are two-year-old ponies. After the competition, people were seated separately, singing indulgently with the accompaniment of matouqin, and drinking happily, until night fell, the people scattered with their pleasure.

No. 4:

In Hubei, it is said that when the bride gets married, the undead of the family will follow, and there may be various evil spirits on the way, which will bring disadvantages to the male family. Therefore, on the day of the wedding, the man will invite an alchemist to offer an incense to the world and the god of chariots at the door, and kill chickens to drive away ghosts. After the sacrifice, grab the rice and spread it on the bride's sedan chair, which means to destroy the evil spirit. The groom also salutes around the sedan chair at the same time, and can enter after the ceremony.

No. 5:

In the northeastern region, there is a marriage custom of riding on horses by the Han and Manchus. After getting off the bus, the bride will step on the horses without touching the ground to avoid evil and evil troubles. The Miao nationality in Guizhou has a marriage custom of "carrying a saber with a sword on the back". Young men and women love each other, and after three marriage discussions in the homes of both men and women, they must carry their sabers and go to the formal marriage proposal.

No. 6:

During the Spring Festival , the Wa people feed their horses to eat glutinous rice, and observe the horse's posture in the stable to account for good or bad luck. They think that heading east is a lucky year, and heading west is an inauspicious sign.

Part 7: (Chinese Zodiac http:///shengxiao/)

Between the dangerous mountains and waters of the Hengduan Mountains, and in the wild jungle that stretches from Yunnan to the northwest on the roof of the world, there is a mysterious ancient road circling. We call it the "Ancient Tea Horse Road". I dare say it is one of the most breathtaking roads on our planet. For thousands of years, countless caravans have been walking silently on this road. Many of my friends’ ancestors drove a horse caravan along this road, carrying tea and various mountain products, traveling between Xuezang and Yunnan. Especially during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when all routes into China were cut off, the ancient tea-horse road via Tibet and then to India became the main international commercial passage in the southwestern rear in the middle and late stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. For a time, there were many shops and caravans along the way, and the busy scene was beyond our imagination today.

Horse