The legend of picking ashes, what allusions do ashes come from?

How did the term dust picking come from?

In "Dream of Red Mansions", Jiao Da scolded Jiafu and said: "...Those who climb the ashes climb the ashes, and those who raise their little uncles raise their little uncles. "Climbing ashes is a common saying, also called "picking ashes". It refers to the father-in-law and his daughter-in-law having an improper sexual relationship. ”

"There is a pipa in the green gauze tent, although there is a spring and I dare not play it".

Why don't father-in-law play a song, the fertilizer and water will not flow into the fields of outsiders."

The original story is as follows:

In China, the misconduct between father-in-law and daughter-in-law is called "picking up ashes". Its origin may be Su Dongpo.

After Su Dongpo lost his wife in the prime of life, coupled with his unsuccessful career, he was once more decadent, idle at home, did not ask about everything, was proud of calligraphy and resignation, and no longer played, and even did not enter the study for a few days. His son did not have the style of a father, and was idle and often did not return home. However, she married a beautiful little lady, and she often made peace with Su Dongpo in terms of poetry.

Therefore, the relationship between Weng and daughter-in-law is closer than that between father and son.

At noon one day, Su Dongpo was bored after drinking, came to the study, and sat at the desk to take a nap. The desk had not been cleaned for many days, and a thin layer of dust had fallen. Just when Su Dongpo was bored, his daughter-in-law was wearing a light green thin skirt, holding a teapot and a teacup, and brought him tea.

Seeing his daughter-in-law's curly and moving figure and youthful and beautiful dress, Su Dongpo was unexpectedly upset. With his hands dipped in water, he wrote on the table: "There is a pipa in the green gauze tent, although there is a sunny spring, I dare not play."

When his daughter-in-law saw it, although her face was feverish, she was not without teasing, and she also dipped her hands in water and wrote: "Why don't you play a song in my father-in-law, and the fat water will not flow into the fields of outsiders." is in Weng daughter-in-law's eyebrows.

While his thoughts wandered in the ambiguous and charming atmosphere, Su Dongpo's son rushed to the study in a panic to visit his father. Su Dongpo was worried that his son would see the mystery on the desk, so he flicked the sleeves of his robe and wiped off the handwriting. His son was puzzled by Su Dongpo's actions and hurriedly asked:

Father, what are you doing?" Su Dongpo replied: "I'll pick up the ashes!"

It is said that in the early Qing Dynasty, one winter evening, a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law baked a fire together, and the son was away from home for a long time, and the father-in-law suddenly found that his daughter-in-law had some appearance, so he moved the evil thoughts, and wanted to soak his daughter-in-law, but it was inconvenient to say it directly, so he used a wooden stick to write on the ashes of the fire pit to express the meaning, but he did not expect his daughter-in-law to also write on the ashes to answer him, so the two went to bed, and when they were happy, his son suddenly came home and knocked on the door outside, The two of them were frightened and hurried up, and when the daughter-in-law was about to open the door, the father-in-law suddenly thought that the words written on the ashes just now had not been erased, and he was afraid that his son would come in and see them, so he shouted to the daughter-in-law: Quickly remove the ashes, go and pick up the ashes So later pointed out that when the relationship between the father-in-law and the daughter-in-law was ambiguous, he used the ashes

If the father-in-law plays a song, the fertilizer water will not flow into the fields of outsiders.

How did the term dust picking come from?

How did the term dust picking come from?

In the past, there was a large family, and the old husband was an official. He fell in love with his little daughter-in-law. At that time, the little daughter-in-law was doing chores at home.

When cooking, you can't get on the stove, you can only burn the fire. Once when my husband was fine at home, he came to his daughter-in-law to light the fire and play with him. Dad was in a hurry and replied that he was picking up ashes.

Indeed, the fire in the big stove has been burning for a long time, and the ashes have accumulated too much, and they will have to be removed in the future. Therefore, later generations called the husband and daughter-in-law "ashes". In Changzhou, Jiangsu, this allusion was put on Li Bai, and when his son got married, he also had to make trouble with his husband, telling him to wear old clothes and pick up ashes.

Picking up ashes is a small joke at the wedding, just for the sake of a smile. It is still circulated in Jiangsu and Henan Anyang, Pingdingshan and other places, and there are still costumes prepared to perform on stage. On stage, the father-in-law and daughter-in-law each wore a set of costumes, both of which were red.

The father-in-law wore a nine-grade official uniform like the Tang Dynasty, wearing a black official hat and the word 'picking ashes' written on it to perform.

Picking up ash refers to the custom of cleaning the walls, floors, and furniture inside and outside the house after autumn or early winter. This custom originated in ancient China's agrarian society, where after harvesting their crops in winter, they began to prepare for the following year's spring ploughing, which included a large-scale cleaning. According to historical records, since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, on the first day of October every year, there is a custom of picking ashes among the people.

And the meaning of "dusting" is precisely because people have to thoroughly clean the walls, floors, furniture, etc. inside and outside the house, and even the dust must be removed. Picking ash is not only a clean and hygienic act, but also has a certain meaning of praying for a good harvest and driving away evil spirits. It is believed that during the clean-up process, bad luck can be swept away, diseases can be banished, and prayers can be made for a good harvest and peace in the coming year.

In addition, ash removal also plays a role in maintaining family harmony. In ancient times, the family system prevailed, and disputes and disputes often broke out between major families. Scraping provides an opportunity to unite families and strengthen the bond between family members, helping and collaborating with each other during the cleaning process.

In short, ash removal is an important custom in traditional Chinese culture, which not only has a practical cleaning effect, but also contains multiple meanings such as good harvest, blessing and family unity.