The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 633 The Tradition of Liujiazhuang!!!

"We share fruits and melons for reunion, and burn incense and candles in front of the courtyard to pay tribute to the moonlight. Mooncakes are piled high like a pagoda, and every family offers a rabbit god."

Time flies and it is Mid-Autumn Festival, the annual reunion festival. No matter how happy Li Zekai is, he has to pack his bags and go home.

Otherwise, if he dared to miss this important moment of family reunion, his father would not let him off easily.

Li Zekai felt that this trip to Liujiazhuang was really worthwhile, as it has green mountains and clear waters, beautiful scenery, a long history and many famous places of interest.

Moreover, the resources here are so abundant, with all kinds of wild game, precious fruits and vegetables, that he became much fatter in just one month, and he even had to loosen two buttonholes on his belt.

The period around the Mid-Autumn Festival is the season of bumper fruit harvest in Liujiazhuang area, and it is truly a "Fruit Festival"!
As early as the Ming Dynasty in Yanjing, August was the popular month for fruits.

According to the Rixia Jiuwen Kao, "In this month, the capital's corner markets set up melons, fragrant pears, silver dates, large and small dates, chestnuts, royal yellow seeds, pinellia seeds, red fruits, pine nuts, hazelnuts and other seasonal fruits for sale. The Xuanhuiyuan shipped watermelons and other seasonal vegetables north to welcome the emperor back to the palace."

During this period, the emerald green duck pears, the half green and half red "tiger-drawn cart", the sand apples as red as a girl's cheeks, the purple and frosty betel nuts, the ivory yellow and flat white pears, and the purple and yellow plums are the basic lineup of festival fruits.

White big-leafed fruits and unripe green persimmons, unrefined sand pears and autumn fruits, and some rotten sour pears and pear trees that love scabs are dotted in between...

In the days leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the fruit stalls on the streets of Yanjing are packed with people, as if there is a big sale going on.

These fruit stalls have everything from Yar pears, sand pears, white pears, water pears, apples, fresh dates, grapes, lotus roots, watermelons...

Among them, three particularly stand out, namely the fragrant white pear, the Prince apple, and the Liujiazhuang big watermelon, which are seasonal delicacies that you must try.

When you buy fruits home, you can not only satisfy your cravings, but also use them to worship the moon. However, there are some requirements for what can be offered on the altar. For example, pears cannot be offered on the altar because they pronounce the same as "li" (parting), watermelons should be carved into lotus petals, and lotus roots should preferably have nine sections.

When eating after the moon worship, there is one thing that is absolutely indispensable, that is apples. "Mid-Autumn Festival is a reunion festival. On this day, family members and fathers and sons celebrate together. As a rule, apples must be eaten, which are called reunion fruits. Therefore, the price of apples is the most expensive at this time."

In addition, another reason why Li Zekai was reluctant to leave was that the Liu family had always insisted on celebrating the traditional way of the Reunion Festival, which really opened his eyes.

As a prestigious family in the Yanjing area, the Liu family has passed down traditional customs from generation to generation, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Unlike most families in modern society who celebrate the festival with simple gatherings, the Liu family’s Mid-Autumn Festival can be described as a cultural feast.

Starting three or four days before the festival, the entire family enters a busy preparation stage: the elders carefully make reunion cakes and offerings, the younger generation is busy decorating the courtyard, and even relatives who live far away will arrange their itinerary in advance to ensure that they can gather together on the Mid-Autumn Night.

This sense of ritual passed down from generation to generation not only reflects the family's adherence to traditional culture, but also highlights the deep friendship connected by blood.

Liu Bencheng told Li Zekai that the custom of their family on the day of reunion is to eat apples and reunion cakes.

"Is the reunion cake a mooncake?" Li Zekai asked in a confused tone.

"That's both right and wrong," Liu Bencheng replied.

"Generally speaking, our early mooncakes at Yanjing only had three types: white, red and reunion.

However, with the passage of time, especially with the emergence of southern-style mooncakes, reunion cakes were gradually "separated" and became a food independent of mooncakes.

There are two main differences between our traditional reunion cakes and moon cakes.

First, moon cakes are bought from the market, while reunion cakes must be made at home;

Second, the ingredients, methods and ways of eating are completely different.

There is no need to say much about moon cakes, but reunion cakes must be steamed. "

"Steamed reunion cake?" This aroused Li Zekai's curiosity.

So he watched Liu Bencheng's mother and aunts make traditional reunion cakes on the spot.

After these aunties add alkali to the fermented white flour and knead it, they roll it into four thin pancakes according to the size of the steamer. They spread some sesame paste, sugar, rose juice or osmanthus juice on each piece, and put some preserved fruits, walnut kernels, peanut kernels, raisins, etc. on it, stacking them together layer by layer. They then roll out some larger pancakes, wrap them from top to bottom into large round pancakes, and steam them in the steamer for half an hour.

After steaming, print red characters such as "Fu" and "Shou" on the cake. Those who are more particular can even print patterns of the moon palace toad and rabbit, and sprinkle with melon seeds, hawthorn cubes, and green and red silk.

In terms of raw materials, it may not suit the taste of modern people, but in the past, reunion cakes were a food that had to be prepared before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After the moon worship, every member of the family, young or old, male or female, must eat a piece of the moon, to symbolize the full moon in the sky and family reunion on earth.

Of course, if making reunion cakes is too troublesome, you can also make sugar cakes with brown sugar and sesame paste.

After the reunion cake was steamed and cooled, Li Zekai tasted one and found it quite good. It tasted different from the Cantonese-style mooncakes he had eaten in Hong Kong.

As for mooncakes, at first people in Liujiazhuang only knew how to make two kinds: red and white.

Later, a food factory was established in Liujiazhuang, and the business of making mooncakes with turned-over, battered and crispy skins was started. The fillings included hawthorn, rose, rock sugar, five-nut, jujube paste, and red bean paste.

The Zilaihong is darker in color, with pure white sugar, rock sugar, and nuts as fillings, and a black and red circle painted on the outer skin. The Zilaibai is a mooncake with assorted fillings baked with refined white flour, and has a pure white outer skin.

These mooncakes produced by "Liujiazhuang Food Factory" are mostly sold in Beijing and Tianjin. As soon as August begins, businesses will hang up rectangular red water signs decorated with red cloth strips, with words such as "Beijing-style mooncakes", "Cantonese-style mooncakes", "Su-style mooncakes", "Yunnan-style mooncakes", etc. written on them. In fact, these are all produced by "Liujiazhuang Food Group".

These mooncakes are exquisitely made and taste no worse than those produced by Daohuaxiang.

What interests Li Zekai most is that there is an important activity in Liujiazhuang area during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

What is rare in other places today is performing Yueling Opera.

Yueling Opera was first performed in the palace. It was called "Yueling Chengying Opera" and was staged by Shengping Office. Plays such as "Fragrant Osmanthus" and "Nichang Dance" were performed on the large "Fu Shou Lu" stage in the palace.

According to historical records, Empress Dowager Cixi attached great importance to the Mid-Autumn Festival. She would spend five full days from August 13th to August 15th in the Summer Palace. In addition to the moon-worship ceremony with her concubines, she would also hold a banquet, enjoy the moon while eating, and hang lanterns and decorations, set off fireworks, and of course watch plays.

The earliest festival opera that people can see is "Tianxiang Qingjie" created by the famous Peking Opera performing artist Wang Lao.

The divorce between the Frost-beating Fairy and the Golden Crow Immortal symbolizes the struggle between the sun and the moon.

Old Wang dressed himself up as the Frost-Pounding Fairy and when he started beating the frost, he used a long-handled jade pestle.

Qian Jinfu or Li Shoushan plays the Yangjing Great Sage Jinwuxian.

"I suddenly realized that the festival is approaching, and the streets are full of people competing to set up rabbit mountains."

The people of Liujiazhuang always use the "Rabbit God" when they worship the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some young people in Yanjing are a little unfamiliar with it now, but in the past, this "God" was a household name.

The Rabbit God originated in the late Ming Dynasty. It was popular in the Qing Dynasty for moon worship and became a Mid-Autumn Festival toy for children.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, as soon as August begins, Qianmen, Houmen, Dongsi, Xidan and other places are filled with rabbit figurines stalls, but the most concentrated place is still Huashi Street, where there is a full range of wholesale and retail products.

Li Zekai finds the most interesting thing about this is the Yanjing tradition of worshipping the Rabbit God during festivals.

Therefore, before leaving, he bought some beautifully made "Rabbit Gods" for his nephews and nieces as holiday gifts.

Aren’t these beautifully crafted “rabbit gods” more meaningful than those anime toys and figures from Europe, America and Japan?
The stalls selling "rabbit dolls" in Liujiazhuang are arranged in a stepped manner. The largest rabbit doll is about three feet tall, and the smallest is one or two inches. The rabbit dolls on the shelves are smaller than the previous one. They are colorful and very beautiful.

These rabbit dolls are made by putting clay into a mold. Regardless of size, they all have three-piece mouths, two long ears, human-shaped rabbit faces, eyebrows drawn on their faces, and red and white powder. They are covered with green robes, helmets and armor, with flags, and ride on lions and tigers, looking as majestic as generals.

Some are little rabbits holding pestles in their arms, pounding medicine; others have movable elbows and jaws, called "smacking-mouthed" rabbits, which are especially popular with children.

Generally speaking, people in Liujiazhuang buy not only large rabbit gods for moon worship, but also a few smaller ones for children to play with.

Li Zekai asked curiously, "Why is this rabbit doll called Rabbit God?"

Liu Jingzhai smiled and said: "This is closely related to our Yanjing's 'Ye' culture.

In our Yanjing, "Ye" is not only a respectful title, but also represents a kind of majesty and status.

Therefore, the Jade Rabbit, which has been so kind to the people and is deeply loved by everyone, has also been given this noble title..." However, Liu Jingzhai told Li Zekai that the craft of making "Rabbit God" was almost lost a few years ago.

With the evolution of the times, the custom of worshiping the Rabbit God during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the capital was gradually forgotten, and the image of the "Rabbit God" gradually disappeared from the daily life of the people.

Liujiazhuang is one of the few areas in Yanjing that still adheres to this old traditional custom.

After the 1970s and 1980s, with the passing of the older generation of artists, the traditional Rabbit God craft faced the risk of being lost.

Fortunately, after searching for a long time, the "Liujiazhuang Folk Art Protection Center" finally found Mr. Liu Qixiang, who was nearly 60 years old.

This old artist with unique skills has become the last hope for reviving this traditional skill that is on the verge of being lost.

Liujiazhuang Folk Art Protection Center is a professional institution dedicated to rescuing and inheriting folk cultural heritage.

Since its establishment in 85, the center has formed a professional team of folklore experts and intangible cultural heritage inheritors, with footprints all over the country. Through in-depth research, systematic organization and digital protection, it has successfully rescued 228 traditional skills including shadow puppetry, paper cutting, clay sculpture, etc., of which 43 have been included in the provincial intangible cultural heritage list.

Liu Qixiang lived up to expectations and successfully brought the Rabbit God back into people's attention with his deep memory and superb skills.

He inherited his father's business and devoted himself to the creation of clay sculptures since he was young, which became his inevitable choice.

Although the traditional rabbit doll is made of fired clay, as clay resources are becoming increasingly scarce, Liu Qixiang cleverly replaced the raw material with pottery clay, which is not only easy to preserve but also maintains its original artistic charm.

During the production process, he needs to first use a mold to cast a hollow tire of the Rabbit God, and then go through a long period of drying, polishing and trimming to make the Rabbit God's face smooth and delicate.

The next step is firing in the kiln and final coloring.

After a series of meticulous production, a lively Rabbit God was finally presented to the world.

In recent years, with the increasing attention paid to the protection of intangible cultural heritage by organizations such as the "Liujiazhuang Folk Art Protection Center", the business of traditional handicrafts has become increasingly hot.

However, some people, in pursuit of profit, lack a deep understanding of folk culture, and their "short, flat and fast" production model often results in shoddy products.

Liu Qixiang expressed his concerns: "The market is now flooded with various versions of Rabbit God, but due to a lack of deep understanding of folk culture, these works often do not conform to traditional norms."

He has his own views on the persistence and innovation of traditional Rabbit God.

Liu Qixiang firmly opposes any arbitrary changes that go against tradition. For example, for the sake of beauty, some people increase the number of backrest flags behind the Rabbit God from one to two or even four.

He explained: "The flag behind the Rabbit God contains a profound folk culture. According to legend, the Rabbit God was found outside the mountain gate of the temple, and this flag is a symbol of the place where he was found.

In old Yanjing, there is even a Chinese idiom "Rabbit God's backrest flag - single-handedly challenged", which is often used in single combat between street urchins, implying a fair one-on-one duel.

Liu Qixiang further pointed out that folk objects like Rabbit God carry profound national memories and cultural traditions.

Therefore, during the production process, he always follows the traditional shapes since the Qing Dynasty, trying to keep the original flavor without pursuing modern aesthetics too much.

In his opinion, only works that stand the test of time can be called true artistic treasures.

In addition, the mounts of the Rabbit God also have their own meanings. The Rabbit God riding an elephant symbolizes good luck, because "elephant" and "auspicious" are homophones;
The Rabbit God sitting on a tiger represents a prosperous career and extensive network of contacts; while the Rabbit God sitting on a black tiger represents the good wishes of home peace, health and longevity.

The rabbit god sitting on a unicorn is inspired by the story of "unicorn spitting out books", symbolizing profound knowledge and academic success.

These different mount choices reflect people’s yearning and expectations for a better life.

“When I was young, on the night of August 15, when the bright moon hung in the night sky, the elders in my family would be busy setting up the Mid-Autumn Festival offering table in the courtyard.

On the altar, a bright lantern stood tall, and two tables for eight immortals were neatly placed. In addition to silver offerings, incense and candles,

There are also various fruits with rich meanings: chicken, duck and carp symbolize abundance, apples represent peace and safety, long-noded lotus roots represent long-lasting wishes, and pomegranates and watermelons symbolize prosperity and reunion respectively.

In addition, there are edamame with branches and leaves, which is the favorite food of God Rabbit.

The most eye-catching ones are the "Rabbit God Maer" and the painted clay sculpture of Rabbit God..." Liu Jingzhai talked about ancient times again.

He saw that the young man from Hong Kong, Li Zekai, was particularly interested in these old Yenching traditions.

Liu Jingzhai spoke very enthusiastically and he was a good teacher.

So he told Li Zekai some of the traditional customs of the old Yanjing people in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

“The ancient emperors had a ritual system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn.

The custom of worshiping the moon was passed down from the time of the Zhou Emperor.

The book "Book of Rites" says, "In spring, the sun rises in the morning, and in autumn, the moon sets in the evening. The sun rises in the morning, and the moon sets in the evening."..."

Xiyue means worshiping the moon. In the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, Xiyuetan (today’s Yuetan Park) was built in Yanjing. Since then, Yuetan became the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped the moon god.

Therefore, the old Yanjing people would hold moon worship ceremonies in their own courtyards during the Mid-Autumn Festival - August 15th.

In order to worship the moon, large candles are lit indoors and outdoors to make the courtyard bright and to help with the moonlight.

In the past, when there were no electric lights, people would light candles in paper lanterns and tie them to bamboo poles or high places such as eaves, so that the entire courtyard would be brightly lit, with the moonlight and the light reflecting off each other.

It is commonly known as "Tree Mid-Autumn Festival" or "Vertical Mid-Autumn Festival".

In the early years, in order to worship the moon, people had to go to the Nan Paper Store in advance to buy the "Moon Palace Code", also called the "Rabbit Code", which was "sacred paper" printed with woodcut watercolor.

The "Moon Palace Code" is divided into two grids, the upper grid is printed with the image of the Moon God and the Guanghan Palace, and the lower grid is printed with a picture of a Jade Rabbit holding a pestle to pound medicine.

These "Moon Palace codes" are pasted on a millet stalk rack, which is placed behind a large Eight Immortals table. The table is filled with moon cakes, fruits, rabbit figurines, a bunch of cockscombs with seeds, and edamame with branches and leaves.

The most beautiful time is around the Mid-Autumn Festival in Liujiazhuang area in western Beijing.

The weather at this moment is neither too cold nor too hot, and the length of day and night is evenly divided.

There is no yellow wind blowing from the north in winter, nor is there heavy rain with hail in the dog days of summer.

The sky is so high, so blue, and so bright. The blue of the west and north mountains of Liujiazhuang has deepened a little, and every evening they are covered with colorful shawls.

The stalls and fruit shops on the street all display fruits that only the people of Yanjing can name one by one.

There are all kinds of grapes, pears, and apples, which are enough to see, smell, and eat.
Add to that the gourd-shaped dates unique to Yanjing, which are beautiful, smell good and taste good, the fragrant, sweet and crispy small white pears, the white crabapples as big as red flowers, the crabapple papayas that are just for the smell, and the champagne apples with gold stars all over them, plus the pillow-shaped watermelons with gold paper strips attached to them for moon worship, and it's time to enjoy a feast.

At this time of year, the summer heat is gradually receding and the cool breeze is blowing. People are enduring the scorching heat and are in a good mood and have a good appetite.

People in Yanjing have always had a saying of "tasting fresh food in autumn", and crabs are the first choice.

This year, Liujiazhuang’s “Shengfang Crabs” are now available in large quantities, with the big ones weighing as much as three or four taels.

When it’s almost time for dinner in the evening, the crabs are tied with straw ropes and put directly into the steamer over high heat. When the lid of the pot is opened, the blue-gray crabs turn red, very bright, and the aroma of crab hits the face.

Crabs should be eaten while they are hot. Open the crab shell by the pointed navel and the white translucent crab roe will be revealed.

If it is a round navel, the exposed crab roe is orange-red.

Liu Jingzhai especially likes to eat crab roe, which he dips in the juice of rice vinegar soaked with fresh ginger to dispel the cold and enhance the flavor.

The blend of ginger vinegar and crab roe is a real treat to taste.

Add a pound of Huadiao rice wine, eat the crabs with big mouthfuls, and drink from big bowls. It's the Reunion Festival, and the food is so intoxicating.

(End of this chapter)