Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 863 Scattered Sauce
The Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall uses the layout common to wealthy families in ancient times.

Behind the bluestone archway is a small square. Behind the square, along the central axis, are the main gate, the main hall, and the rear rooms. On both sides of the central axis, the east and west halls and the east and west study rooms are symmetrically distributed.

Each section is separated by "fire lanes," which serve functions such as ventilation, fire prevention, and drainage. The entire structure is connected by a long corridor, forming a unified yet open spatial structure.

The main hall is the core of the central axis and is also the main venue for enshrining ancestral tablets, clan gatherings, discussions, and holding activities.

The east and west halls and study rooms on both sides can be used as private schools and academies. If someone in the clan needs a place to discuss matters, they can also choose to do so here, so that it is different from the important clan matters held in the main hall, and the ancestors can be invited to witness.

(Like this)

The Taoist priests had all changed their clothes, and the ancestral worship ceremony was about to begin.

Under Chen Fan's command, everyone was ready.

Zhou Zhengdong held Zhou Jincheng in his arms, Zhao Wanru stood beside him, and Zhou Yali, Chen Fan, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian were behind him.

Next came the "guests" who were there to observe the ceremony, namely Sun Ruihe and others who were sent by the local authorities to assist with the work, and finally the Taoist priests.

Oh, behind the Taoist priests were members of the Zhoujia'ao Production Brigade who had come to watch the excitement.

They weren't afraid of the cold even in the dead of winter. The old and the young, some with runny noses, were wrapped in patched cotton-padded coats and stretched their necks to look out in the cold wind.

Among the hundreds of people in the dark, not a single one made a sound. Even the babies still in their swaddling clothes stared with their dark eyes, seemingly wondering what day it was and why there were so many backs of heads.
Their captain, Jiao Tianyou, stood respectfully to the side and in front of Zhou Zhendong. He first extended his hand in an inviting gesture, then stepped forward. When he reached the front door of the ancestral hall, he suddenly turned around, stood to the side, and made another inviting gesture, saying, "Mr. Zhou, please open the door."

Zhou Zhengdong, with a serious expression, nodded slightly to him, then, holding his youngest son in his left arm, pushed forward with his right hand, and the two large doors were opened.

The door was a bit heavy, and one hand didn't seem to be enough. The two doors opened, but only about 90 degrees, and were still blocking the way on both sides.

Jiao Tianyou quickly stepped forward, but instead of crossing the threshold, he stood outside the threshold, pushed both doors open completely, and then made a gesture to Zhou Zhengdong.

Zhou Zhengdong took a deep breath, grabbed Zhao Wanru's hand with his right hand, and resolutely stepped over the threshold.

Chen Fan glanced at Jiao Tianyou, and seeing that he was still standing there, he nodded slightly to him, patted Zhou Yali on the back, and the four of them stepped over the threshold one after another.

After they all entered, Jiao Tianyou quickly ran in, dashed to the east side of Zhou Zheng, led him to the main hall, and performed the opening ceremony again.

Only after Zhou Zhengdong, Chen Fan, and the others had entered the main hall did he stand to the side outside the main hall door, facing the direction of the guests, and loudly proclaim, "Today, Zhou Zhengdong, a descendant of the Zhou family, returns to his hometown with his wife and children to recognize his ancestors and reopen the Zhou family ancestral hall. We cordially invite guests from all directions to be our witnesses!"

The last two words are drawn out for a long time, which gives it a very ceremonial feel.

Someone nearby immediately took out a string of firecrackers, lit them, and threw them on the ground, making a series of crackling sounds.

At this point, Jiao Tianyou, as the rebuilder of the ancestral hall and a witness to the recognition of one's ancestors, retired after accomplishing his mission.

For the rest, please watch Qinglian Zhenren's performance.

Chen Fan coughed lightly, looked at the dozens of spirit tablets above the offering table, confirmed that everything was correct, then turned around and waved to Master Liu.

Master Liu turned his head to the side and said softly, "Pass on the order of True Man Qinglian to set up the ritual hall."

The Taoist priests behind him bowed slightly and chanted in unison, "We receive the decree of the True Man."

The 107 people behind immediately dispersed in all directions. The old Taoist priest was in charge of directing, while the young and strong men were responsible for the actual work. They unpacked their bundles, and soon, banners were hung around the ancestral hall.

Some are painted with images of deities, some have written the names of deities, and many more are Taoist symbols such as Tai Chi, auspicious clouds, the Seven Stars, the Eight Trigrams, dragons and phoenixes, and talismans.

Whether hanging under the eaves or propped up on the open ground, the banners fluttered in the air, making people stand solemnly involuntarily.

Although Sun Ruihe and others outwardly cooperated, they were actually somewhat disdainful, thinking that these overseas compatriots were only producing rubbish. However, once these banners were hung up, their opinions changed somewhat.

Although I still don't believe it, that disdain has vanished imperceptibly.

However, these banners appear to be of varying ages; although not very obvious, it is clear that they are not products of the same period.

It seems that collecting these 108 divine banners must have taken a lot of effort from the Taoist community in the capital.

Inside the main hall of the ancestral hall, Zhou Zhengdong held his youngest son, staring blankly at the dozens of memorial tablets on the altar, lost in thought for a moment, seemingly not knowing what he was thinking.

Zhao Wanru stood quietly beside him without disturbing him.

She could handle it, but Zhou Yali behind her couldn't stand it.

Looking around, I saw that the Taoist priests were busy setting up the ritual hall. I didn't know when my younger brother had put on a yellow robe and a square hat. He was standing behind a large wooden table on the side of the main hall. So I pulled Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian and walked over there.

After changing his clothes, Chen Fan straightened the Zhuangzi headscarf on his head, feeling that it was much more comfortable to wear than the Hunyuan headscarf of the Quanzhen Sect.

At this moment, several young and strong Taoist priests were busy arranging the Four Treasures of the Study. Before long, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were all ready.

Master Liu stood to one side, gesturing a few times at the items on the table, and introduced them to Chen Fan: "The brush is a purple bamboo wolf hair brush; the ink is a seven-fragrance ink made from seven kinds of spices: sandalwood, wood fragrance, patchouli, sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, and benzoin."

The paper was the yellow talisman paper that the Qing Dynasty's Imperial Workshop specially made for the Guandi Temple; the inkstone was a Taiji Bagua Taishan stone inkstone made of Taishan stone; and the water was from Yuquanying in Beijing.

There is also a box of high-quality cinnabar, which can be used to make talismans and write prayers.

Chen Fan stood solemnly and nodded slightly to him, "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother."

Then a Taoist priest picked up a jade spoon, placed it in the water that had just been poured into the bowl, scooped up two spoonfuls of water, and slowly ground ink with an ink stick.

Before long, a whole inkstone was ground.

Chen Fan picked up a wolf-hair brush, unfolded a sheet of yellow talisman paper, and began to write the memorial text: "On the fifth day of the first month of the Gengshen year, Zhou Zhengdong, along with his wife Zhao Wanru, daughter Zhou Yali, son Zhou Jincheng, nephew Chen Fan, wife Jiang Lili, and wife's elder sister Jiang Tiantian, respectfully offer fruits, delicacies, incense, silk, and paper money as a sacrifice at the Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall to pay homage to the Zhou family ancestors and to comfort the forefathers:"

Our ancestor migrated from Lu to Zhaofa, bidding farewell to his homeland and embarking on a long journey to establish this village. However, the times were chaotic, and the family business was difficult to maintain. Forced to abandon their livelihood to save their family, they left their homeland and wandered overseas…

In this prosperous and peaceful era, Zhou's son Zhengdong returned to his ancestral home with his family and reopened the ancestral hall.

"May the ancestors of the Zhou family be blessed with good fortune, and may they protect our family and ensure the prosperity of our clan..."

He quickly wrote a memorial text of over a thousand words.

Master Liu stood by and watched, and couldn't help but say, "What beautiful calligraphy and writing. It's such a pity to burn it like this."

Chen Fan put down his brush, clapped his hands, and said, "Sacrificial texts are meant to be burned, what's there to regret?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Yali, who had come over to join in the fun, suddenly took out a camera from her bag, grinned, and said, "Brother, how about I take a picture to remember this moment?"

Chen Fan glared at her, annoyed. "Who takes photos of the memorial text as a memento? Aren't you afraid your ancestors will come to you in your dreams tonight?"

Zhou Yali pouted, "I also think it's a pity that your article is so bad."

Chen Fan ignored him and turned to ask, "Senior brother, how are the preparations going?"

Master Liu glanced at the people standing beside him, then turned back and said, "We are all ready and waiting for your command."

Chen Fan nodded. "Then let's get ready to begin."

He then shook off his yellow robes and walked proudly out of the main hall.

In the courtyard outside, local officials such as Sun Ruihe and Ye Yanshan were gathered together, talking quietly about how the Taoist priests had hidden these things and kept them safe from the strong winds.
Then we talked about this temple and that monastery in the local area, and none of them were very good. In the end, we concluded that it seems that the fighting power of the capital is not so great!
As they were talking, Sun Ruihe, who had been observing the situation inside the main hall, suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh my god, oh my god..." "What's wrong? What's going on?"

Ye Yanshan turned his head in the direction of his gaze and was shocked to see that Chen Fan had also changed into a Taoist robe. "What... what's going on?"

Fortunately, not everyone was unaware of the inside story.

One of Chen Fan's biggest fans immediately explained, "Vice Chairman Chen is a religious figure, didn't you all know that?"

Everyone else stared at him, their eyes practically spitting fire.

Sun Ruihe, in particular, glared at him fiercely and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me about something this important earlier?"

The man shrank back. "You all say you're readers of Writer Chen, I thought you all knew him. He's not only a Taoist priest, but also the abbot of Chaoyang Temple in Beijing. Many people in Beijing's literary and artistic circles know him."

Ye Yanshan's face darkened. "I won't say anything now. Explain it to me clearly when we get back."

Although their whispers were very soft, Chen Fan could still hear them clearly.

However, Master Chen didn't care. While quite a few people knew he was a Taoist, those who didn't know were extremely rare.

Because this matter could only be passed down orally and could not be published in newspapers, and because of the multifaceted and special nature of his identity, many insiders only spread the information within small circles. For example, the Beijing Artists Association only learned about the inside story because of the blue lotus painting at Rongbaozhai, and they only discussed it in relation to that painting. They simply kept quiet about it to outsiders, even their family members.

So it's normal that Sun Rui and the others didn't know about it; on the contrary, it surprised him that the young comrade actually knew about it.

However, these are all minor matters and need not be taken seriously.

Chen Fan shook his sleeves, raised his head and said loudly, "The Zhou Clan's ancestral worship ceremony is about to begin. Fellow Daoists, please take your places."

As the words fell, the thirty-six senior Taoist priests entered the main hall one after another, stood on both sides of the main hall, and sat on the prayer mats that someone had just brought in from the truck.

The remaining seventy-two Taoist priests stood solemnly under the eaves of the surrounding corridors, all facing the direction of the main hall.

Seeing that the Taoist priests were all ready, Chen Fan called out again, "Please welcome guests from all directions to enter the hall to witness the ceremony."

Sun Ruihe and the others dared not delay and immediately went into the main hall.

Fortunately, there weren't many of them. The main hall was quite large, and even with about ten people standing together, it didn't feel crowded.

After they went inside and stood in line, Chen Fan said to Jiao Tianyou, "Captain Jiao, I saw a lot of villagers from Zhoujia'ao outside. It's windy outside, so why don't we invite them into the courtyard so they can watch the ceremony?"

Jiao Tianyou paused for a moment, then said, "This...isn't too much trouble?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's alright, the more people, the more lively it will be, as long as they don't talk nonsense or disrupt the ceremony."

Jiao Tianyou smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll call them in right away."

Before long, a large group of people rushed into the Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall, but they did not dare to enter the middle courtyard. They stayed in the main hall and looked inside through the windows.

Chen Fan ignored them and, seeing that the arrangements were almost complete, turned and entered the main hall.

With a clear chime, the ancestral worship ceremony officially began.

Chen Fan was the host, and Zhou Zhengdong was the chief officiant.

However, there were some things he didn't need to do himself, so Chen Fan specially arranged for two Taoist priests to be in charge of heavy work such as moving and lifting.

The first item is to offer three kinds of sacrificial animals. After the offerings are arranged, Zhou Zhengdong will step forward and adjust the tray. This is considered as if he has personally offered them.

Then incense was offered, wine was poured, and a eulogy was recited.

After that, they welcomed the gods and offered gifts.

This is when the Taoist priests put in their effort.

Inside the main hall, thirty-six high priests chanted the Eight Great Divine Incantations in unison, while seventy-two Taoist priests outside also chanted scriptures loudly. ... The two Taoist priests who had just moved the offerings returned to their positions, ensuring that none of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends were missing.

The voices of 108 people, each with a different frequency, were not very synchronized, but when they came together, they created a strange sense of rhythm.

As the banners fluttered in the wind, a mysterious and solemn atmosphere gradually filled the ancestral hall, causing everyone to calm down and focus intently on the rituals performed in the main hall, accompanied by the chanting of scriptures.

The busiest person here was actually Chen Fan. One moment he was chanting and performing martial arts with a whisk, and the next he was offering wine with a jade ruyi. While the Taoists were chanting incantations and reciting scriptures, he was also performing the steps of the Big Dipper, making his Taoist robe dance like the flowing sleeves of a Peking Opera, without stopping him from chanting incantations.

After a flurry of activity, the ancestral worship ceremony was finally mostly completed.

Master Liu kept a close eye on Chen Fan's "dance movements." When he saw the hidden message, he quietly changed his hand gestures a few times, and the chanting he was making gradually subsided.

Just as the chanting outside ceased, the sound of chanting also came to an end.

By this point, nine out of ten steps had been completed.

Chen Fan slowly finished his practice, picked up the sacrificial text from the offering table, lit it on the candle, and began the final step of the ritual: bidding farewell to the gods.

The steps preceding the sacrificial ceremony are "to treat the dead as if they were alive," which involves inviting the ancestors back through various rituals, offering them sacrifices, letting them eat and drink, and chatting about the situation here and discussing the wishes of the living.

Just like welcoming guests, offering wine, and dining together in real life.

After hosting a dinner party, it's time to say goodbye.

This is called "bidding farewell to the spirit."

You can't say you're sending away ghosts. It's like how you treat people with respect in life. Even if someone is just a salesperson, you have to call them "Manager So-and-so" when you meet them. If they are a manager, you have to call them "General Manager So-and-so".

In ancient times, after the elders passed away, people hoped that their ancestors could be deified in the underworld. Therefore, even the final step of ancestor worship was called bidding farewell to the gods.

Not to mention that Chen Fan held a grand Dharma assembly today, inviting many deities from all directions to "attend the banquet," so there was no problem with him bidding farewell to the gods.

The sacrificial text was burned, followed by music and four bows.

Today's ancestral worship ceremony has now come to an end.

However, the end of the ceremony does not mean the end of all activities.

In ancient times, whether it was a royal sacrifice or a folk ancestor worship ceremony, the final step was always "distributing the sacrificial offerings".

As the saying goes, "All those who participate in the sacrifice receive blessings and offerings, which shows the vastness of the grace and ceremony."

To put it simply, it's time to eat.

Offerings should not be wasted. These are not the offerings placed on the grave mound when visiting a grave. ... Well, in many places, there is a custom of eating grave offerings, believing that one can receive the blessings of ancestors.

Not to mention that no one would find such offerings, which have been used to worship "gods," unlucky. Even devout believers like Sun Ruihe would follow this traditional custom.

Before long, the offerings were sent to the back room, where there was a temporary kitchen. Under Jiao Tianyou's arrangement, several village cooks from Zhoujia'ao gathered together and did their best to let Mr. Zhou, who had been away from home for decades, taste the flavors of his hometown.

As for Chen Fan, he was naturally with Master Liu and the others, waiting for the banquet to begin.

(End of this chapter)