Chinese traditional festivals are the significant days claimed, modulated, established, and carried down by Chinese ancestors to adapt to various needs of life and production, as well as to commemorate certain individuals or events. Major Chinese traditional festivals include the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Chong Yang Festival. These traditional festivals are diverse in form and rich in content, catering to basic human needs, such as existence needs, mind tranquillity, and physical health. Apart from satisfying basic needs in life, these  traditional festivals also play a unique cultural role in maintaining the normal social order. Chinese traditional festivals can be traced to the long history of the Chinese nation, thus constituting a valuable spiritual and cultural heritage of the Chinese people.

The customs associated with these traditional festivals are rich and varied, and their  cultural connotations can be summarized in the following aspects. First, these festival  customs elevate and enrich folkloric practices, epitomizing many of the essences of  Chinese folk culture. Second, they reflect and satisfy people’s spiritual needs. Third, they  weave and strengthen the ties of interpersonal relationships, serving as a lubricant for  social interaction and emotional exchanges. Fourth, they construct platforms for spiritual  and physical revelry, providing people with spaces for unreserved psychological catharsis  and free emotional expression. Fifth, they create fresh momentum for a world outlook  that emphasizes the integration and inherent relationship between heaven, earth, and man,  thus offering fertile ground for folk religious worship and beliefs. Sixth, they provide opportunities for leisure and entertainment. According to the “Views on the Implementation of the Project of Inheriting and  Developing Traditional Chinese Culture”, issued by the General Office of the Central  Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council,  further progress will be made in the revitalization project for Chinese traditional festivals  and “Our Festivals” themed activities, to enrich the cultural connotations of traditional  Chinese festivals and encourage new festive customs. Chinese traditional festivals constitute unique Chinese folk culture. Although the original  colour of some festivals has been toned down in modern society, we can still perceive  their vibrant festive culture through the traditional pictures handed down from generation  to generation. This book selects Chinese traditional pictures used for festive celebrations  in the old days and re-creation works by contemporary artists based on these traditional  pictures to showcase the scenes of major Chinese traditional festivals. These pictures not  only embody the festive mood but also carry the connotations of Chinese folk culture.  Centred on each festival picture, the book tells the origins, interesting stories, customs, as  well as myths and legends associated with these festivals. From these pictures, motifs, and  symbols, we can still glimpse the festive carnival in old times and feel people’s leisurely  and peaceful mindset. 

Shen Hong

Winter 2021

The meaning of custom, or folklore, refers to the summation of conduct, etiquette, habits, and other practices that have been established over the long term in the social life of the people in a particular group or region. The content of folklore is vast and diverse, encompassing material production, material life, social organizations, seasonal festivals, life rituals, marriage and childbirth, folk beliefs, folk science and technology, folk storytelling, folk language, folk art, folk games, recreational activities, and so on.

Historically, secular life was once beneath the attention of scholars, as the elegant life advocated by them was seen as opposed to secular life. The interest in folklore in Chinese academia dates to the Folksong Collecting Movement in 1918. This movement, initiated by Peking University, garnered widespread support and subsequently sparked a trend of “going to the people” within academia. Many pioneers of the New Culture Movement (Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, Zhou Zuoren, Lu Xun, etc.) were engaged in this movement to some degree, making studying folklore as a means for intellectuals to connect to the common people and “reform” Chinese culture in the context of a crisis of Chinese nationhood. 

In 1985, after receiving his PhD (History and East Asian Languages) from Harvard University, Hung Chang-tai, a historian specializing in modern Chinese cultural history, published the book Going to the People: Chinese Intellectuals and Folk Literature, 1918-1937, which exhibits a shift of scholars’ passion from elegant life to secular life, as well as a trajectory of the integration of refined and popular cultures. In fact, secular life encompasses both the vulgar and elegant elements, the integration of which reflects the true essence of secular life.

Through nearly a hundred Chinese traditional genre paintings, this book tells folklore stories related to different stages throughout one’s lifetime, including childbirth, child-raising, love, marriage, family, wealth seeking, birthday celebrations, and other aspects. In ancient times, although large numbers of New Year paintings could only be seen in rural markets and town streets at the end of the lunar calendar year, different themed New Year pictures could still be found during festive occasions as well as customs for weddings and funerals throughout the year.

These folk New Year pictures often feature themes beloved by people, some of which are both ceremonial paintings and genre paintings. The Taohuawu New Year picture themed on the “Immortals of Harmony and Union” is a good example. In this picture, two boys, dressed in embroidered clothes, barefoot or wearing straw sandals, one holding a colorful box and the other holding a lotus flower, are depicted as gods of happiness and wealth. During the wedding ceremony of newlyweds, this picture should be hung as a traditional custom, which can be traced back to the commentary on Rites of Zhou, “With the help of Immortals of Harmony and Union, a man of thirty and a woman of twenty would be a good marriage match.” Similar records can also be found in Jiaoshi Yilin (Mr. Jiao’s Many Thoughts on the Book of Changes).

Each Chinese traditional genre painting has its unique origin and story. The fame of “Immortals of Harmony and Union” has undergone a development process. According to Xihu Youlan Zhi (a local gazetteer on the West Lake), in the early ages, this title refers to a person named Wan Hui, but in Idiomatic Dialogues complied by a Qing Dynasty scholar, it refers to two great monks. “In the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1733), the great monk of Mount Tiantai, Hanshan, was sealed as the Saint of Harmony, and the great monk Shide was sealed as the Saint of Union.” Hence, they were known as the “Saints of Harmony and Union”, or “Immortals of Harmony and Union”.

Genre paintings reflect conduct, etiquette, and other folk practices closely related to people’s daily lives, gradually becoming prevalent and passed along over time through social convention. They are the visual carriers for people to freely express their emotions and showcase their unique spiritual outlook and worldview. In an era without newspapers, television, or online media, folk New Year pictures were the most widely disseminated and circulated media to bring spiritual comfort and longings for a better life to common people.

Shen Hong

Winter 2021

In Chinese traditional culture, filial piety has influenced the lifestyles and beliefs of  the Chinese people for thousands of years, thus becoming an important traditional spirit.  Indeed, filial piety binds every member of the family together and serves as a force that  cohesions society and maintains national stability. It is thus the most significant asset in  Chinese traditional culture. We can study it but cannot ignore it; we can criticize its feudal  and negative fronts, but we cannot abandon its fine and benevolent facets. The ancient seal character for “filiality” depicts a scene consisting of an upper part and a lower  part: an elderly person with a bent back, white hair flowing, leaning on a cane at the top, and  a child reaching out with both hands to support the elderly from below. The original meaning  of the Chinese character “filiality” (xiao 孝 ) is clearly explained as follows in Shuowen Jiezi,  a Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The upper part of  this character represents the aged parents, while the lower part represents the offspring; with the  “aged parents” above and the “offspring” below, the combination of these two parts signifies  the core connotation of “filial piety”, namely, “the offspring follows and obeys their parents”.  In terms of action, the “offspring” carrying the “aged parents” symbolizes that the aged parents  are physically frail, requiring the offspring to carry them as a means of transportation, filled with  feelings of gratitude, repayment, and care. From the perspective of homophonous cognates, the ancient Chinese phonology of “filiality”  (xiao 孝 ) is the same as “goodness” (hao 好 ). The oracle bone script of the Chinese character  “goodness” contains a left part and a right part. The left part depicts a married woman kneeling  to nourish her infant; the right one represents a “child”. The overall graphic conveys the  meaning of young offspring snuggling next to his or her mother, filled with innate family  affection. Thus, the character signifies dearness and affection. As the Chinese characters “filiality” and “goodness” belong to the same etymological  root, and the connotation of “filiality” also includes the meaning of love and affection,  the definition of “filiality” is the manifestation of affection towards one’s parents and  obedience to their wishes. It is an outflow of deep feelings for one’s loved kinsfolk, sincere gratitude for life, and uncomplaining reciprocation. For children to love their parents, being  finial means they should have an extremely humble and harmonious mindset. Just as a crow  knows to repay kindness by taking care of its parents and a little lamb kneels to receive  milk from its mother, filial piety towards one’s parents is an innate instinct of humans and a  natural emotion that comes with birth. In particular, elevating filial piety to a “way” of man  is unique in China, as stated in The Works of Mencius, “The course of Yao and Shun was  simply that of filial piety and fraternal duty.” How can filial piety be achieved? Records in the classics of ancient China can give us  sensible clues. According to the Book of Rites, “The repairing of the ancestral temple and  the reverential performance of the sacrifices were intended to teach the people to follow  their dead with their filial duty.” Another record can be found in the chapter “Canon of  Yao” in the Book of Documents, “(Emperor Yao) was able to promote moral values, so  that amity prevailed in his clan. He then clarified the hierarchical order of tribal officials.  Only when this was done could all vassal states, big and small, prosper in harmony, and  the people become friendly with each other.” Virtue and filial piety were also the moral  guidelines of the ruling class in the Zhou Dynasty, as “virtue towards heaven” and “filial  piety towards ancestors” were the distinctive features of Zhou ethics. The Chinese character  “filiality” already appeared frequently on inscriptions on Western Zhou bronze vessels,  with at least 112 inscriptions touching upon filial piety. The explanations of filial piety in the classics of ancient China are featured with  humanity. For example, in the Book of Documents, Emperor Shun was said to live in  harmony with his relatives by his filial piety. In Analects, Confucius once said, “The filial  piety nowadays means the support of one’s parents.” In the Book of Rites, filial piety has  three degrees. “The highest is the honouring of our parents; the second is the not disgracing  them; and the lowest is the being able to support them.” In The Works of Mencius, Mencius  emphasized that we should honour old people as we do our own aged parents. These  records all highlight the beauty of filial piety. The Chinese concept of filial piety originates from Confucius’ thoughts on filial piety.  Numerous discussions on filial piety can be found in Analects, even including specifics on  how to practice filial piety in daily ethics. Confucius pointed out that filial piety to parents  involves supporting them, respecting them, and loving them. He said, “A young man should be devoted to his parents at home and respectful to his elders outside it.” “While his parents are  living, a son should not go far abroad; if he does, he should let them know where he goes.” Mencius, the “Second Sage” of Confucianism, was active during the mid-Warring States  period. He provided a more detailed explanation of the behavioural norms of filial piety. “Of  all which a filial son can attain to, there is nothing greater than his honouring his parents.”  “When your parents are alive, serve them according to ritual. When they die, bury them  according to ritual and make sacrifices to them according to ritual.” The ancient Chinese also proposed “governing the country with benevolence and  filial piety”, which means to use family reverence to bring proper order to the empire,  thus regarding filial piety as the highest principle of man. This principle was centrally  demonstrated in Classic of Filial Piety written in the early Han Dynasty. The rulers of  the Han Dynasty vigorously praised those who were filial and respectful to their elders  and diligent in farming. In the biographic sketch of emperors in the Book of Han Dynasty and Book of the Later Han Dynasty, there were as many as 32 instances of nationwide  commendations and conferment of noble titles to those who exemplified filial piety  and respect. At that time, an official position was specifically established for those who  practiced filial piety and integrity well. Confucius believed that filial piety was the best form of education. This thought  permeated his entire spirit of filial piety and has had positive implications for both family  and social life. Confucius said, “He who loves his parents will not dare (to incur the risk  of) being hated by any man, and he who reveres his parents will not dare (to incur the  risk of) being contemned by any man.” Confucius summarized the core content of filial  piety education into three points, “It commences with the service of parents; it proceeds  to the service of the ruler; it is completed by the establishment of character.” Confucius  also proposed that humanity was the foundation of being human and that filial piety  and brotherly obedience were surely the roots of humanity. According to his viewpoint,  humanity was the highest realm of humans, but filial piety marked the root of that, making  it beyond all else. Filial piety is a natural expression of innate nature and the beginning of all virtuous  actions, as the saying goes, “Of all the virtues, filial piety comes first.” In the Book of Documents, Emperor Shun was said to be able by his filial piety to live in harmony with  his kinfolk, indicating that saints and sages gained popular support through practicing filial  piety, which in turn led to their becoming saints and sages. As such, Shun was listed as the  first of The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. Most of the stories associated with filial piety in The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars are  derived from The Biographies of Filial Sons compiled by Liu Xiang, a Confucian scholar  and litterateur of the Western Han Dynasty. 

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Shen Hong

Winter 2021

Pursuing the beauty of labour has been an essential part of Chinese people’s lives from  ancient times to modern society. Chinese traditional pictures abound with various scenes  depicting Chinese ancestors’ passion for and diligent engagement in labour. The types of  pictures selected in this book include rubbings of Han Dynasty pictorial stone and brick,  rubbings of carved stones throughout all previous dynasties, woodblock printings, and  folk New Year paintings, among which the New Year pictures depicting labour theme are  highlighted. These New Year pictures, found in Fengxiang, Wuqiang, Yangjiabu, Weixian,  and other prefectures, narrate stories of labour and extol the beauty of labour by depicting  labour-related activities, such as farming, fishing, woodcutting, textile production, and  herding. These pictures embody ancient Chinese life and labour customs, record traditional  Chinese stories and labour life, and recount China’s labour history across the times. Among  them, the New Year pictures themed on “Fishing, Woodcutting, Farming, and Reading”  display four types of professions in the ancient Chinese agricultural society, namely,  fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and scholars. The social rank of these four professions  (fishermen first, woodcutters second) represents the basic lifestyle and value orientation of  the Chinese Han labouring people in ancient times. The imagery of farmers and scholars reflects a philosophical concept of engaging with everyday life and dealing with the  practicalities and challenges of the material world, while the imagery of fishermen and  woodcutters signifies a withdrawal from worldly concerns to seek enlightenment. Thus, the  four professions were a favourite subject for many ancient Chinese painters, and imgaes  featuring this theme were often found on ancient artefacts such as porcelain, woodcarvings,  stone carvings, and embroideries, as well as in folk New Year paintings, paper-cuttings, and  other folk-art forms. It is evident that Chinese traditional labour-themed pictures not only depict the  hardworking scenes of labourers at the bottom but also present the poetic sentiment and  artistic conception of literati and scholars, as well as their reflections and insights on life.  These pictures are real reflections of the local labour life and customs, as well as the spirit  of the times. In my view, I prefer pictures depicting customs related to productive labour.  Pictures of ploughing, weaving, and cotton-picking have created peaks in ancient Chinese  labour-themed paintings. Moreover, compared to the divine aura highlighted in ceremonial  paintings, the mainstream of New Year paintings, those labour-themed folk New Year  pictures have a strong flavour of people’s real lives. Apart from the labour-related activities mentioned above, this book also presents Chinese traditional pictures depicting scenes of plucking, breeding, embroidery, and cooking. Given the broad range of topics in labour-themed pictures, this book is not able to make an inexhaustible record, but within a limited space, every effort has been made to let readers  know by a handful the whole sack.

Shen Hong 

Winter 2021

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 segments, for each segment  is called a specific “solar term”: Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, Awakening of Insects,  Spring Equinox, Pure Brightness, Grain Rain, Beginning of Summer, Grain Buds, Grain in  Ear, Summer Solstice, Minor Heat, Major Heat, Beginning of Autumn, End of Heat, White  Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost’s Descent, Beginning of Winter, Minor Snow, Major  Snow, Winter Solstice, Minor Cold, and Major Cold. The criteria for the formulation of the 24  solar terms were developed through the observation of different periods of four seasons, the  changes in climate, as well as certain natural phenomena, thus guiding agricultural affairs and  farming activities throughout the year. Farmers in ancient China, apart from inventing various  farming tools and the mode of deep plowing and fine cultivation, also devised a precise  timeframe conducive to farming, which is foremost embodied in the 24 solar terms. The 24 solar terms originated in the Yellow River reaches of China. As early as the Spring  and Autumn and Warring States periods, Chinese people had the concepts of Winter Solstice  and Summer Solstice. Later, the Chinese ancestors first established four major solar terms  and then eight solar terms marking the four seasons: Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox,  Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning  of Winter, and Winter Solstice. Subsequently, based on the positions of the sun and moon at  the beginning and middle of each month, weather conditions, and the growth of animals and  plants, people divided the year into 24 equal segments and assigned a specific name to each,  resulting in the present 24 solar terms. In 104 BC, the Taichu Calendar formulated by Deng  Ping and others officially included the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar,  clarifying their astronomical positions. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the 24 solar  terms were fully established. The chapter “Celestial Phenomena” in Huainanzi (Masters of  Huainan) of the Western Han Dynasty contains a complete record of the 24 solar terms. In the traditional Chinese calendar, a year consists of four seasons, 12 months, 24 solar terms,  and 72 pentads. This timeframe serves as a guarantee for timely agriculture work throughout  the year. Meanwhile, it caters to people’s desires for fortune and blessings, gradually evolving  into relevant festivals and customs. For example, “whipping the spring ox” is a unique springwelcoming ritual associated with the Beginning of Spring as a long tradition. According to  the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in the third month of winter, six “spring ox” made of clay  would be set up in the northeast outside the city gate to “bid farewell to the Major Cold”. This ritual later evolved into the tradition of “whipping the spring ox” on the first day of spring. Afterwards, the spring-welcoming ceremony and whipping spring ox ritual merged into  one. People would strike and shatter the clay-made “spring ox” into pieces on the first day  of spring to express the meaning of cherishing springtime and diligently cultivating the land.  After the clay-made ox was whipped and broken, people would scramble for the broken  clay pieces as a custom. This custom varied in different dynasties and regions and was once  described in Tang poet Yuan Zhen’s poem “Birth of Spring”. As the spring-welcoming and  whipping spring ox ritual became an important celebration, some folk artists created New  Year pictures depicting this theme. On the first day of spring, county magistrates would  deliver New Year pictures themed on spring ox as a tradition to promise a good harvest.  According to traditional customs, pasting New Year pictures themed on spring ox on the first  day of spring would signify the beginning of agricultural labour in the coming year, the hope  for a good crop yield, the longing for happiness, and the prayer for fair weather. The 24 solar terms are closely related to folk culture, manifested in the fact that the solar  terms themselves are folk customs. Therefore, the 24 solar terms are an important content of  folk culture, while folk culture enriches and elevates the connotations of the 24 solar terms.  The associated folk customs in different places make the 24 solar terms vibrant and engaging.  According to the “Views on the Implementation of the Project of Inheriting and Developing  Traditional Chinese Culture”, issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the  Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council, further efforts will be  made to strengthen the academic interpretation and dynamic utilization of traditional Chinese  calendars, solar terms, zodiac signs, as well as dietary practices and traditional medicine, so  that their beneficial cultural values can be deeply embedded in people’s daily lives.  This book showcases the lifelike scenes of the 24 solar terms through a hundred Chinese  traditional pictures, such as folk New Year paintings themed on “spring ox” and “Winter’s  Nine Nines Calendar”, to narrate historic culture, folk customs, and legends associated with  solar terms.  Humans have achieved tremendous breakthroughs and transcendence in many aspects, yet the  24 solar terms seem unsurpassable, for they still play important roles in people’s daily lives and  production to this day. They are not just a tool of timeframe, but also a culture that has penetrated  deep into the nature and essence of the Chinese nation, and the brilliance of its cultural  wisdom has not been diminished even after a thousand years of flowing waters of time. 

Shen Hong

Winter 2021