1842
Illustrations of Men and Things in China.
1355
3. One explosion of fire-works does away with the old year peach siguets ́ on every door changes the old year into the new.
"Li Man lived in the hill, and the house of his neighbor, old Chung, was continually infested with elves; Man sent him every morning and evening to a hall to burn bamboo, whose crackling alarmed them so that they let him sleep in quiet till morning. On which account, people have since used fire. works, and it has thus become a custom." This is the account of the origin of the custom of letting off fire-crackers at the close of the year, that their crackling may terrify the spirits, and no malicious ones mar the harmony of the coming new-year; for a similar reason, crackers are let off whenever any enterprise, as a voyage, or a journey, is undertaken, not so much to get good luck to attend it, as to drive away all evil from hindering it.
"In Shoh hill grew an immense peach tree, whose roots were 3000 lí in length; two small branches upon it, pointing to the north and south, were called the › devil's gates,' at which they canic and went. There were two "pirits, one called Shinta, the other Yului, who ruled all those demons that injured men; and Hwangtí drew their likenesses on peach-wood boards upon his gate in order to ward off all noxious demons.” Instead of peach boards, representations of these two deities upon paper are now used, and every new year they are pasted upon the doors of houses, and hardly a dwelling is to be seen without either their names or pictures upon the front door. They are drawn like two furions demoniac looking beings, or like two warriors in the attitude of daring each other to desperate combat.
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4. Walking correctly' (li twán) is [a name for] the first mort- ing of the year, 'man's day' (jîn jî) is the seventh day's happy time.
It is said that at the creation of all things, man was made on the seventh day ; the cock, dog, hog, sheep, cow and horse being respectively made on the six preceding days in that order, and grain on the eighth day.
5. On newyear's day present your prince a 'pepper-flower ode' to pray for his long life; and also give men to drink 'reviving wine to drive away noxious humors.
The ode is now discontinued; pepper is looked upon as a longlived plant, whence its naine was applied to the ode.—The 'reviving wine' (tí sú tsiú) originated with Sun Tsz’máu of the 'l'áng dynasty, who ordered a patient to throw a dose of medicine into the well and drink of the water on newyear's day, when his ailments would depart It is still drank for the same purpose, though not prepared in the same way.
6. The new year is called the 'prince's spring,' and the departing year is termed the ‘guest year.
The term prince's spring (wáng chun) was given by Confucius, to that period which was chosen by Chau, the lord paramount of China, to commence the year with, in distinction from the time chosen by the feudatory princes, who to show their independence began it when they pleased