Your impression of Tang Dynasty will not still be on national affairs such as Xuanwu Gate Change , Anshi Rebellion , right?
Do you know how ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty eat, drink and have fun?
Tang Dynasty people, especially those in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, were eager to make achievements, not afraid of difficulties, and spared their lives, but they never refused to play.
Tang Dynasty people who fought for cats
If it is a cat, it is a cat
For modern people, cats are an important member of the family, and it is not new to find them after they are lost. But do you know that the Tang Dynasty people actually alarmed the government in order to fight for a cat? "Black cat, white cat , catching a mouse is a good cat." This sentence turns out to come from the Tang Dynasty? Cats and mice live in peace and the years are peaceful, but they are actually raised to a political level? If a cat has a child on the same day, one of them dies, and the other actually takes the initiative to become a wet nurse. Let’s look at the Tang Dynasty people’s two or three things about cats.
"Cat" (cat) and "dog" (dog) have always been people's favorite animals. The ancestors of domestic cats are supposedly Egyptian cats or Persian cats , which have been domesticated by humans for 3500 years. Because the cat has big eyes, soft and beautiful fur, and a cute expression, it makes people feel pity for it at first sight, without any resistance, and is willing to be a shoveler for it. In this sense, it is not humans that domesticate cats, but cats that domesticate us humans.
Ming Dynasty Zhu Zhanji's "Picture of the Rainbow Slave Under Flowers"
Don't look at the fact that there are no cats among the twelve zodiac signs. In ancient times, during festivals, cats enjoy sacrifices. "Book of Rites: The Special Saints of the Sub-Secret Life": "Beasts and beasts are the ultimate benevolence and the end of righteousness. In ancient times, gentlemen would definitely repay them. Welcoming cats means eating field mouse ; welcoming tigers means eating bai pigs, welcoming them and offering sacrifices to them."
The ancients said that among beasts, those who are helpful to people should be grateful. There are sacrifices during the Chinese New Year, because cats can eat field mice and tigers can eat wild boars, so during the festivals, people will welcome cat gods, tiger gods, , and sacrifice. At that time, cats were one of the "Eight Gods".
Middle Tang poet Li Duan has a poem saying: "When lice are happy, welcoming the cat to the fullest year." This is the scene written, which shows the respect for cats at that time.
Tang Zheng Bi wrote the book "The Book of the Creation of the Heavens" and said that Pei Xi was a local official in Henan Province. On this day, two wives came over to beat the drum and complain. Pei Xi thought it was a big deal, but the result was a fight for a cat. The paper says: "If it is a cat, it is a cat. If it is not a cat, it is not a cat." That is to say, if it is a male cat, it is my cat. If it's not a male, it's not my cat. Pei Xi was funny and funny. She laughed at the paper and wrote "Another judgement on the Cat": "The cat doesn't know the master, and she will snatch the mouse by her family. The two families don't need to fight. They will go to Pei Xi in the future." Mao Er didn't know the master, so she ran to someone else's house to catch the mouse. Don’t argue with you two, give it to me. Pei Xi must be a veteran cat slave. Seeing that the cat was so cute, he took the opportunity to confiscate it. Both families laughed at Pei Xi for her "eating appearance". The so-called "The Book of Kaitian Chuanxin" says, "The cat is then accepted, and everyone who fights laughs at it."
However, from this matter, we can also know that the people of the Tang Dynasty loved cats very much. Otherwise, they would not have disturbed the government because of a cat. As a dignified official in the court, Pei Xi would not have ignored his identity and made the cat openly take it for himself.
Nowadays, there are many interesting scenes of children and cats becoming playmates. During the Tang Dynasty, it was no exception, but unfortunately there was no video information at that time. However, in the writing of the late Tang poet Luther Yan , we see this scene: a child "has fat arms as fat as a gourd, and his skin is softer than a cotton one.The long head covers the forehead, and the corners gradually droops the shoulders." A little boy with pink and tender hair style combed Nezha, his arms are as white as melons, and his skin is as soft as cotton. What are the things he usually plays with? "The tender bamboo rides as a horse, and the new pony is folded as a whip. The oriole chick is tied with golden thighs, and the cat is tied with colorful silk" - the tender bamboo is placed horizontally under the crotch as a horse, the newly grown catgrass is folded as a whip, the young oriole chick is tied with metal rings, and the cat is pulled to play with colorful silk thread.
Modern people raise cats, basically do not pay much attention to its mouse-catching function, but the ancients were very troubled by the rat-hide suffering because of their limited accommodation conditions. However, the ancients used cats to catch mice without sticky mouse boards, mouse-catching clips, rat poison and other items. It is the simplest and most effective method, as it is said in Liu Zongyuan "The Rat of Yongmou": "Fake five and six cats, close the door, remove the tiles, pour the holes, buy the servants to catch them, kill rats like hills" - borrow five and six cats, close the door, remove the tiles of the house, pour water into the rat's hole, and let the children catch them together, so the killed rats pile up like mountains.
The famous poet monk Shi De once had a poem: "If you catch the mouse, it is not the Five White Cats. If you can understand reason, then you will be covered by the beautiful scenery. "The five white cats are black cats with four legs and five sides of the nose, which are the best among cats. The original meaning of picking up is to prove Buddhism by itself, and there is no need to seek outside. Later, people spread it from time to time and spread it to black and white cats, becoming the original source of "black cats, white cats, catching mice is a good cat" (cat theory).
Tang Dezong , when eunuch Wu Chengqian was asked to carry a cage and put it in the court, and saw a cat and a mouse locked in the cage. Strangely, this cat neither swallowed the mouse in one bite, nor was it like Tom and Jerry fights endlessly, but lives peacefully, and looks peaceful.
This world is too crazy, rat is used as bridesmaids for cats! Many ministers watched the fun in a silly and happily, while minister Cui Youfu immediately elevated this matter to the level of political sensitivity. He spoke generously: "Now this cat does not eat mice, and benevolence is benevolence, isn't it because it is lost in nature? ...If a cat is raised by humans and animals, and abandons his post and does not practice it, it is not different from a law official who does not diligently touch evil or a border official who does not diligently defends the enemy? ...If you are afraid that you must decree the Constitutional Department, inspect corrupt officials, and warn the border guards, and do not miss the patrol, then the cat can achieve success and the rat will not harm you. "
What does he mean in a literary way? Cui Youfu said that it is not a good thing to cats not eat mice. This cat seems to be kind to mice, but loses its responsibilities. People raise cats just to make them catch mice. Now it does not do anything. Isn't it like law enforcement officials do not fight corruption and border officials do not resist foreign enemies? I think this is God reminding the emperor , the "inspection team" (Ceijing) should be sent to conduct a comprehensive inspection. Is this happening? Only in this way can the "cats" (representing bureaucratic institutions) in the whole society play their due role, and the "rats" (representing social violations) cannot cause harm.
masu was a famous general in the mid-Tang Dynasty. After the Anshi Rebellion, there were many remnants of various forces. They were very rampant. Tang Dezong once escaped from Chang'an in a panic. However, Ma Sui played a mainstay in quelling the rebellion, so he was named Prince of Beiping, which is a high position that few ministers of the Tang Dynasty could achieve.
Ma Sui's domestic cat is said to have happened. Two female cats gave birth to a baby on the same day. Unfortunately, one of the female cats did not give birth. After a long time, he died of breath after not having to hold on for a few days. The two cats didn't know that the mother cat was dead, and they still pricked them in the mother's arms to feed, but the mother cats were already cold and stiff, so where was there milk? The two cats were unable to eat milk, and the two cats were moaning very sadly. At this time, the mother cats, who were also breastfeeding, seemed to hear the baby's cry. It stood up and listened, and then ran over and took them all into its own nest. Although it was not their own, the mother cats treated the two cats as their biological children and breastfeeded together.
famous writer Han Yu After hearing this, he felt deeply moved. He felt that it was Beiping Prince Ma Shue, who is noble in character and honest in family tradition, so that even the pets at home have kindness and righteousness. So I wrote an article like "Cat Girl" to let us know this strange thing. From this we can also know that it was very common for people in the Tang Dynasty to raise cats.
Recommended reading
Content introduction
Use the systems and etiquette in official history to build a solid framework, enrich the flesh and blood with the anecdotes and trivial matters in notes, and sink the trivial life of the Tang people eating, drinking, playing and having fun through documents and cultural relics!
"Eating, drinking, having fun in the Tang Dynasty" This book explains the daily life of the people of the Tang Dynasty through eating, drinking, having fun in 4 major themes and 15 small topics. It talks about systems and etiquette in solid and profound, and also quotes many anecdotes from the Tang Dynasty notes, which are absolutely reliable and interesting.
This book mainly quotes Tang Dynasty documents and adopts the method of mutual verification of poetry and history. In some places, it expands relevant materials from other dynasties to broaden readers' horizons or make vertical comparisons. At the same time, more than 100 pictures were taken with the text to intuitively reproduce the style of the Tang Dynasty.
Author profile
Shi Jihang, pen name Jianghu Yeyu, CCTV4's "Chinese Love" Poetry Series invited writer and literary consultant, the champion of the third season of the large-scale cultural program "Chinese Good Poetry", and the poetry expert of the first season of the "Chinese Poetry Conference". Many works have been published in Zhonghua Bookstore and People's Literature Publishing House. To date, 39 classical cultural books such as "The Tone of the Song Dynasty", "The Red Sleeve Scent Under the Moon in Chang'an", and "The Guide to Survival of the Tang Dynasty", and 4 works have been published in traditional Chinese versions by Sanlian Bookstore, Hong Kong, China and Eslite Bookstore in Taiwan.
