When I opened my eyes, there was still silence all around. At this time, the afterglow of the sun shone sparsely on me. It was almost evening. I was still lying on the lounge chair in front of the window of the Imperial Study Room. The book in my hand was unknown. It fell to the ground. Only the smoke, the beach, and even the Leling fir appeared just now, but they were nowhere to be seen.
"Hisugi. Where are you? Are you okay?" I thought silently in my heart.
This is another dream.
I sighed secretly, picked up the book that fell on the ground, stood up and walked to the window, silently blessing Le Lingshan.
"The official family, let's have a meal. I heard from Xiao Qi that the official family didn't have a good meal at noon." Quan Jiu walked into the study with a happy face and said.
"Well, Jiu'er, let's go. I feel a little hungry too."
Quan Jiu said as he walked: "Guan family. Today Jiu'er and the sisters have sorted out all the information in Xianwen Pavilion."
"Really? Okay. Thank you for your hard work, Jiu'er."
"Hehe. I finally finished this matter before the year. It will be much more convenient for the officials to go to Xianwen Pavilion to check the information."
"Well, I can go and see it while the court is on vacation."
On the last day of the first year of Xianchun, I slept in again. Under Quanjiu's urging, I slowly climbed out of bed. Just like last year, Xie Daoqing, the most senior person in the palace, was in Ningkun Palace. Prepare for the royal banquet and prepare to welcome the new year.
During the Song Dynasty, with the development of the economy, people also attached great importance to culture and entertainment, especially the celebrations of various festivals. In this dynasty, which had long peace and valued tradition, ancient festival entertainment was almost brought to the extreme. Although At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the national power was much less than before. However, people's pursuit of hedonistic life remained the same. This was also the case among the people. Not to mention the royal family. As the most solemn festival, the Spring Festival is the highlight of all festivals.
The festive atmosphere in the entire palace is quite strong. There are lanterns everywhere. There are thousands of various lanterns. There are statues of Manjusri, Samantabhadra and other Bodhisattvas. There are statues of various gods and deities such as the founder of the Sanqing Dynasty. There are also various auspicious animal statues. The shapes are ever-changing and lifelike. When night falls, thousands of colorful lanterns light up at the same time. It is no less than the lantern festivals I saw in later generations. There are flowers on both sides of the road. Lanterns hang high above the palace. The peach symbols and spring posts are replaced. New. All reveal the joy of the festival.
Walking into Ningkunzhong, the first thing you can see is a pair of brand-new spring invitations posted on the peach charms on both sides of the door. The ink on these spring invitations seems not to be completely dry yet. At a glance, you can tell that they have just been written on the spring invitations. The first couplet reads "The ice in the water sells the green. The plum blossoms in the palace press the incense." The second couplet reads "New Year's greetings. The days are getting longer." This Spring Festival couplet was written by Ouyang Xiu, a great writer in the past, when he was a bachelor of Hanlin. It has always been deeply loved. It was loved by the royal family of the Song Dynasty and became the first choice for spring posts almost every year.
In ancient times, Taofu was originally a peach board used to ward off evil spirits. It was hung on both sides of the door. There were paintings of "Shen Tu" and "Yu Lei", the great gods of descending ghosts, to drive away ghosts and suppress evil. These two great gods are called door gods. They have ferocious faces. Ancient According to legend, these two door gods guarded the door and were feared by hundreds of ghosts. Since the Tang Dynasty, two generals, Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao, were added as new door gods. So there were four door gods. In the Song Dynasty, the cultural atmosphere of the court became even more intense. Rich. I thought the door god was too tacky, so I replaced it with a spring post. That is, a spring post was posted on the peach charm to replace the door god.
Spring postcards slowly spread from the palace to the people. Hanging Spring Festival couplets during the New Year has become quite common among the people. This gradually formed what later generations called Spring Festival couplets. Because the appearance of Spring Festival couplets is closely related to peach charms, the ancients also called them Spring Festival couplets. For "Peach Talisman".
The Spring Festival couplets in the palace are elegant and expressive of emotion, while the Spring Festival couplets in the folk are usually popular blessings. They only need to be roughly matched. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, they were basically accepted by the people and became a must-have for every household during the Spring Festival.
"The officials are here." Xie Daoqing said with a smile.
"Yes. I have met the queen mother."
"Without courtesy, officials, come and see if there is anything inappropriate in the Queen Mother's Ningkun Palace."
I praised: "Mother, the scenery here is beautiful. I am very happy."
"Haha." Xie Daoqing said with a smile. "The Queen Mother, Concubine Quan and others have been busy for several days. The officials are looking around."
"I have met the official family." All my concubines came to me from nowhere and saluted.
"My beloved concubines, today is a happy time. There is no need to pay homage to me."
"Thank you, Guanjia."
"The official family. The spring poster in front of the door is missing a horizontal inscription. Everyone knows that the official is a god, so the horizontal inscription is specially left to the official." Qiu, the most lovable of the four concubines in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, Concubine Road.
"Hengbi." I suddenly remembered that the couplet I saw when I first entered the door was indeed missing a horizontal batch.
Xie Daoqing said: "Yes. The official family, the Queen Mother and the concubines discussed it. This horizontal batch is left to the official family. It will definitely have a wonderful finishing touch."
Quan Jiu echoed: "Last year, the officials wrote a poem for the New Year. This year, let's ask the officials to write this poem."
"Ah. Do I have a mission every year?"
Xie Daoqing smiled: "Yes. Who calls officials a god?"
I thought for a moment and said, "Okay. Queen Mother. It's just that I want to complete this horizontal comment with Concubine Quan."
"Why is that."
"Mother, my children are used to writing with a hard pen. This method of writing with a brush will make you laugh."
Xie Daoqing knew that it was difficult to write my ink. He knew it as soon as he heard it. He called the palace maid to serve him with pen and ink. He smiled and said: "Okay. It will be an official work. It will be written by the concubine Quan."
Concubine Qiu and others all laughed and said: "We all heard that the official family is a god descended to earth. Concubine Quan's sister is also a talented woman. Hurry up and let me and my concubines have a look."
"Queen Mother. This Ningkun Palace governs the harem. The Queen Mother is the most virtuous Queen Mother in the world. She is also the wisest Queen Mother in history. My child, let's call this horizontal comment Fengwu Jiutian."
Since ancient times, there has been a saying in our country that dragons and phoenixes present good fortune. In ancient times, people used dragons to describe men, generally referring to emperors, and phoenixes to describe women, generally referring to emperors and empresses. They are all the best in the world. I use the word "Feng Wu Nine Heavens" to describe Xie Daoqing's Ning Kun Gong Nai is the ultimate in the Nine Heavens. It also means that Xie Daoqing Nai is the most powerful woman in the world. Naturally, it is very suitable for Ningkun Palace. As for whether it is related to the content of the couplet, no one cares. Youdao is a flatterer. Even if you take ten thousand shots, it’s not too much. Xie Daoqing sounds like it’s very useful.
"Okay. What a phoenix dancing for nine days." Under my flattery, Xie Daoqing laughed heartily and even said impatiently, "Quan Fei. Come, sketch it out and post it immediately."
The couplet on the gate of Ningkun Palace was written by He Ji, a great scholar in the DPRK. The handwriting is strong and rough, with iron paintings and silver hooks. It has both charm and charm. It looks like a dragon waving its tail, free and vigorous. Quan Jiu's handwriting is soft and delicate, and the beauty has a hairpin. It's really like a phoenix dancing.
Although I don't know calligraphy, I can still see that hardness and softness complement each other in this couplet. I praised: "Not bad."
Compared with last year, there were fewer people at the New Year's Eve dinner in Ningkun Palace this year. Xie Daolin said he wanted to spend it in the army with the Imperial Guard soldiers. However, there were four new concubines who entered the palace in spring, summer, autumn and winter. It was even more lively. The four new concubines in spring, summer, autumn and winter have never seen Zhao Fu's rudeness and savagery. They only know that I am an emperor who is approachable and easy to get along with. Therefore, he is more open-minded than Quan Jiu and others. The atmosphere is lively when talking and laughing.
After worshiping our ancestors, under Xie Daoqing's arrangement, we sat around a large stage and started the dinner.
Xie Daoqing took the wine pot from the palace maid and personally poured a cup of Tusu wine for each person. He said, "Drink this cup of Tusu wine first. Everyone will be safe in the coming year."
"Thank you, Queen Mother."
"Thank you, Queen Mother."
Tusu is the name of a kind of grass. Tusu wine is a kind of medicinal wine. It is said that it was created by Hua Tuo, a miracle doctor in the late Han Dynasty. Hua Tuo soaked many traditional Chinese medicines into wine. This wine has the functions of replenishing temperature and yang, dispelling wind and dispersing It has the effect of avoiding cold and epidemic diseases. It was later recommended by Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty. The experience is passed down from generation to generation. Drinking Tusu wine has become one of the food customs during the Chinese New Year. It is meant to eliminate diseases and bless peace.
The second glass of wine is Jiaobai wine, which is soaked in cypress leaves and Zanthoxylum bungeanum. In Chinese tradition, aromatic plants are often considered to have the effect of warding off evil spirits. In the eyes of the ancients, Zanthoxylum bungeanum has many fruits, which is a symbol of having many children and good fortune; Cypress trees are evergreen and have the connotation of longevity. A glass of pepper and cypress wine expresses the expectations of the elderly for health and longevity and the expectations of the young for having more children.
After drinking the Jiaobai wine, Xie Daoqing added: "This third glass of wine is very different from previous years. It is a new high-quality liquor created by the officials themselves. Because the wine is too strong, everyone can just taste it."
"Ah, such spicy wine." Qiu Fei, who was not good at drinking, said after finishing her drink.
"It's spicy but refreshing. I didn't expect there to be such a delicious wine." Yang Meiren has a large capacity for wine. She praised it after finishing the drink.
"You should each drink this kind of high-quality liquor according to your own drinking capacity. Just enough is enough."
"Yes. Queen Mother."
As the host, Xie Daoqing greeted cheerfully: "Well, three glasses of wine have passed. Let's eat some spring dishes first."
The so-called spring plate is a platter of various vegetables. Unlike the platters that were said in later generations, which were mostly composed of meat dishes. It originated from the five-spice plate. The so-called five-spice dish refers to garlic, garlic, leeks, and yun. There are five kinds of spicy vegetables, including sprouts and coriander. The ancients would eat these five kinds of spicy vegetables together during the Chinese New Year. They also gave it a rather poetic name "Five Spicy Plate". Later, people also called it "Five Spicy Vegetables". The Five-Spicy Plate was improved. Seasonal vegetables such as radish, mugwort, young celery sprouts, and young leeks were added into one plate. It was called "Spring Plate". In later generations, spring pancakes in the north and spring rolls in the south were derived from spring pancakes. The disk evolved.
"Thank you, Queen Mother."
Xie Daoqing looked at everyone kindly and said: "Okay. Now everyone can eat as you like. Eat to your heart's content."
"Yes. Queen Mother."
After eating the spring plate, cold dishes and hot dishes were brought to the table by the palace maids. The number of dishes was dizzying. Except for a few seafood such as abalone, almost all the meat foods in later generations were available. However, the variety of vegetables was not as good as in later generations. The varieties are so complete. However, the food during the Song Dynasty was not contaminated. It was a truly environmentally friendly food.