"Walking in Taiping on the 16th of January

According to Chinese custom, after the Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month, it means that the Spring Festival is really over. However, in Anhui Quanjiao, the hometown of Dawenhao Wu Jingzi, there is a large-scale folk activity held only on the 16th of the first lunar month - "Peace on the 16th of the first lunar month", which has a history of more than 1500 years since the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its influence is far-reaching at home and abroad. Every year on the 16th of January, tens of thousands of people from dozens of cities, counties and districts around the city and even from overseas come to the city one after another. From early morning to late night, hundreds of thousands of people walk over the local Taiping Bridge. People set off fireworks, set off firecrackers and light incense candles to pray for a smooth and peaceful year of stroke and rain. Why is this folk activity held on the 16th of January? How can it last for more than 1500 years?

One of them

Why is the 16th of the first lunar month "tranquil"?

"In fact, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month is a large-scale folk activity in many counties and townships south of the Huaihe River in ancient times. It originated in different years and had the same meaning: praying for peace!" We first interviewed Tian Shenglin, an expert on the folk custom of Quanjiao County Tourism Bureau (Sports Bureau), who was the director of Quanjiao County Tourism Bureau. And why will it be handed down from generation to generation and become larger and larger? There are many stories in it.

According to Director Tian Shenglin, it has been a long time since the 16th day of the first month of the first month of the whole pepper to go to Tai Popular Custom. It is said that in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Ping, a Pengcheng native (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province), was appointed as the chief of the whole pepper. Its official integrity, love the people as children, by the people's support. During his reign, the government was lenient, honest, simple and easy. Prisoners were imprisoned, and the people were in peace and prosperity. Liu Ping was also highly appreciated by the court. In order to reward him for his merits, the court allocated a huge sum of money to expand the whole city of Jiaojiao into a 30-mile city pool. There were unexpected storms, natural disasters continued that year, drought followed by floods and locusts, farmland no harvest, hunger and cold, people do not live. Liu Ping resolutely decided to save the people in the midst of fire and water, and to use the grain money allocated by the court to build the city for relief of the victims.

At this time, a subordinate reminded him that he would be killed if he diverted the grain money from the construction of the city for other purposes. Liu Ping said with emotion: The city is built for people. If people starve to death, will it not be empty city? If we can save the people from fire and water, what a pity to kill me! The subordinates also reminded him: Should he report to the emperor first, and then let the grain go after being approved? Liu Ping decisively said: the capital city is far away, and it will take more than ten days for fast horses to go back and forth. Is it not too late then? With Liu Ping's insistence, the warehouse was opened on that day. As a result, the city pool, which was planned to be built 30 miles ago, was reduced to a small city pool of only three miles, making the grand city construction of "City Bao Street" a strange phenomenon of ancient city construction.

In this way, some corrupt officials who opposed Liu Ping seized the conversation and petty people made a lot of fuss and told the court. Therefore, Liu Ping was dismissed from office and was immediately escorted to the capital to behead. The release officer dared not be neglected. When the 14th of January arrived at the full pepper, Liu Ping was locked up and handcuffed. He was about to leave immediately. After people knew about it, they went to Yamen to kneel down and ask for a day's grace for the release of the detainee. They asked Liu Ping to spend a little year in Quanjiao (the 15th Lantern Festival of the first month, which is called "Xiaonian") before leaving. The detainee saw that the Yamen knelt down thousands of people, and more and more. Thought: Every official who is popular with the people is a good official. Just follow the people and leave early on the 16th of the first month.

In the early morning of the 16th National Congress of the first lunar month, the whole pepper people were grateful for the Qing official Liu Pingde, who sent each other away from the city and knelt down along the way until they reached the small bridge in the east of the city. Farewell, tens of thousands of people burned incense to kneel and prayed for it with tears, asking God to bless Liu Ping for good luck and peace! After Liu Pingbian arrived in Beijing, he was not only exempted from beheading, but also recommended to the emperor for the post of Zong Zheng with the help of Zhong Di-yi, the minister.

Later, the people were very happy to learn that Liu Ping Ping Ping'an was safe and sound. Perhaps it was because the sincere prayers of the whole pepper people touched God that their honest officials were able to turn evil into good luck. In order to thank God for his blessings, and to remember the good official Liu Ping, the whole pepper people will kneel and pray on this bridge every day. The bridge was also changed to "Taiping Bridge". Over time, it gradually evolved into a large folk custom - "Peace Walking". By the Qing Dynasty, the whole pepper people regarded Liu Ping as the "god of peace" in honor.

The "living fossil" of folk culture

Star-shifting, spring and autumn. This folklore activity has disappeared in various places. Why is it that only Quanjiao County has been inherited from generation to generation and sublimated continuously? Now it is a national intangible cultural heritage, and is called the living fossil of Chinese ancient folk culture by folklore experts. Yu Fengbin, chairman of Chuzhou Folk Literature and Art Association, has done a good job of solving this problem for us.

Yu Fengbin grew up in Fujiao when he was young, and he knows the folklore of Fujiao as well. He said to us, "Han Shu" contains the proverbs of "world peace, grain maturity" and "Chengri peace", which is the beginning of the whole pepper's peaceful journey. Liang Zongyi's Jingchu Sui Ji in the Southern and Northern Dynasties has a special description of the custom of walking Taiping Bridge. Chu custom takes the 16th day of the first lunar month as a day of peace, and it is a sunrise trip, which is called "going all kinds of diseases", in order to dispel disasters and diseases. In the Ninth Year of the Republic of China, "Records of Quanjiao County and Local Conditions" records: "On the 16th of January, Qingcheng Scholars and Women traveled to the Taiping Bridge in the East Gate, taking away the ominous meaning, I do not know what Fang. The proverb "walking peacefully" is called "peaceful day" by day. Visitors come from dozens of miles away, firecrackers and advocacy sounds continue till night. During the period of the Republic of Nanjing, the custom of "going to peace" still had a repercussion. Later, for various reasons, many places were abandoned.