As an important part of traditional culture, proverbs have been passed down for thousands of years, and these proverbs are the crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors, influencing all aspects of people's lives, and some of them can still inspire people today.
As the saying goes: "Don't sit on a human stool when you're tired, and don't eat before the grave when you're starving", is this a superstitious thought, or is there a simple truth hidden in it?
Tired to death does not sit on a human flesh stool
The "human stool" is not a stool, but refers to a person's thighs. In life, I often see some children who are tired of playing and sit on their parents' laps, and some girls sit on their boyfriends' laps, and then their thighs become "human meat stools".
Although children sit on the laps of their parents, and girls in love sit on the laps of their boyfriends to show the affection of men and women, these phenomena can often be seen now, but in the past, the ancestors did not allow this behavior.
In ancient times, people paid attention to the three outlines and five constants, and "Liwei Han Wenjia" recorded: "The three outlines are said to be the ruler for the minister, the father for the son, and the husband for the wife." According to the tradition of "the father is the son", children should respect their parents, obey and attach themselves to them.
Those children who sit on their parents' laps to play or rest are violating traditional etiquette and morality, and have committed the following mistakes, so this kind of "human meat stool" is forbidden by the ancestors.
In ancient times, it also paid attention to "men and women do not kiss", that is, to pay attention to the difference between men and women. If a woman sits on a man's lap, this is a very good behavior, a frivolous and unscrupulous performance, so this kind of "human flesh stool" cannot be sitting.
starved to death and did not eat the grave offerings
"Grave offering" refers to the traditional sacrificial festival or death day, the sacrifices offered by descendants in front of the grave of the ancestors, such as: fruits, cakes, wine and vegetables, etc.
When the sacrifice is over, these offerings will generally be left in front of the grave and will not be taken home. Why did the ancestors think that these offerings should not be eaten?
Offerings are food sacrificed to ancestors or gods, in order to obtain ancestors or gods to bless future generations, if the tribute sacrificed to them is eaten, how can the ancestors or gods be happy and bless future generations?Perhaps there will be calamity and punishment for those who steal the offerings.
In fact, offerings are things to eat, and if people are so hungry that they can't stand it, how can they care if these foods are offerings or not?It's just that with the improvement of people's living standards, these "grave offerings" are considered unhygienic food and are no longer eaten. However, some wilderness farmers still have a full meal when they encounter these offerings, otherwise these "grave offerings" will either spoil or be eaten by animals and wasted.
With the popularity of frugal customs, people in some places will take offerings home for their families to enjoy after the sacrificial ceremony, which also avoids waste.
Conclusion: The "human flesh stool" has now become a form of expression of family affection and love, and those "grave offerings" have also been well handled. Therefore, the saying that "tired to death does not sit on a human meat stool, and starve to death does not eat before the grave" has been transformed with the development of human civilization.