China has a long history that has lasted for thousands of years, and is the only one of the four ancient civilizations that has been inherited. These long years have nurtured the profound heritage of Chinese civilization and left behind many spiritual and material cultural treasures. Among the treasures of spiritual culture, in addition to poetry and literary creation, the most amazing thing is customs and culture.
These objects may look like "feudal customs", but in fact they all contain the profound wisdom of the ancients. For example, the phrase "dishes do not set three, chopsticks do not become five, and banquets do not become six" contains very profound etiquette norms.
Many people have heard the elders say this when they are young: you can't serve three dishes on the table. No matter how many people are having dinner at the time, this rule must be followed. When we are children, we may not understand the meaning, but when we grow up, we just think that our elders pay attention to etiquette and think that three dishes are not enough. In reality, however, the ban on serving three courses has a profound connotation.
The ancients paid great attention to everything coming in pairs, as they believed that the double number symbolized the happy meaning of family reunion, while the singular number carried some meaning of loneliness and separation. Because of this, the ancients pursued pairs in various affairs, and except for a very few valuables, gifts were also given in pairs. As the saying goes, "the people take food as the sky", in the ancient times when entertainment items were scarce, banquets and meals became a very important social etiquette. The size of the banquet, the setting of the tableware, and even the color, flavor and shape of the dishes will affect whether the banquet can make the guests feel welcome. It's about the host's face and it's also about respecting the guests.
Even if there are only two people sitting together, if there are only three dishes on the table, it will be unpleasant, and the guests may even think that it is the host's indifference or alienation from them, or that they are signaling the guests to leave as soon as possible. This practice is regarded as a great taboo in banquet etiquette. In ancient times, there was a saying that "vegetables do not put three" corresponded to "the lower nine streams". The ancients divided all walks of life into several classes, among which the "lower ninth class" refers to the lowest and most humble group of people in society, so they are despised. The troupe of red and white ceremonies belongs to the "lower ninth" industry, and in order to seek good luck, the host usually sets up a special table to entertain them.
To highlight the difference in status between them and their guests, only three dishes will usually be served. Over time, "don't put three dishes" has become the default rule in the banquet. In addition, the "dish does not put three dishes" also stems from the conflict of sacrifice. In ancient times, pigs, cows, and sheep were often used to sacrifice to gods or relatives, and these three foods were often placed side by side. If the food of normal people is placed according to the rules of sacrifice, it will be a very unlucky performance, and even has a curse meaning, so the ancients attached great importance to "not putting three dishes".
There are roughly two interpretations of this sentence, the first is taken literally, that is, chopsticks on the table can only be placed in even numbers. In addition, as we mentioned earlier, the ancients believed that even numbers represented good fortune, while singular numbers symbolized bad luck and even curses.
The ancients regarded chopsticks as important tableware, because only a pair of chopsticks can be used to pick up vegetables and eat, and one chopstick cannot complete this task. Therefore, guests will feel embarrassed if they only use one chopstick.
Giving five chopsticks to a guest, whether it's an extra one or someone gets only one, will have a bad meaning and will make the whole table feel less emotional. It can even be said that the five chopsticks seem to contain the power of a curse, implying that one of the guests will not be able to enjoy the food. Of course, hosts can also use this to expel unwanted guests. It can be said that the five chopsticks can be regarded as a door created by ancient wise men to chase away guests, avoiding the direct use of evil words to drive away guests.
In addition to the literal explanations, the five chopsticks also symbolize different lengths. The ancients attached great importance to feng shui fortunes, and the three long and two short were the most taboo for them, because it represented the coffin and death. Even when burning incense, the ancients would have worried about the inconsistent length of the incense, let alone the chopsticks used to eat. If the host is careless and gives chopsticks of different lengths to the guests, then the joy of the guest and the host is basically not to think about it. In fact, in the Yuan Dynasty, there were rebellions caused by the different lengths of chopsticks. During that period, there was a Han Chinese named Fan Mengrui who worked temporarily in Yamen in order to support his family. He was expecting to receive his salary, but he learned that his salary was stolen by the official officials, and he could only get one meal as payment.
At that time, the government yamen was powerful, and Fan Mengrui did not dare to resist, so he had to silently endure and participate in the banquet. However, unexpectedly, the official deliberately or unintentionally gave him a pair of chopsticks of different lengths. This made Van Mengrui furious, believing that this was not only the greed of the servants, but also regarded it as a curse on him, so he resolutely decided to revolt in order to seek justice. Soon, he killed the officials, overthrew the government, and established himself as the "King of the Mountain". The local Han people were often bullied by the Yuan people, so they did not blame Fan Mengrui, but supported him even more. Although Fan Mengrui was eventually suppressed, this incident shows the attention of the ancients to the length of chopsticks.
If you are a threesome, you will have my seat.
This sentence describes the fact that six people cannot sit down at the same time at a banquet. One can't help but wonder why a banquet of exactly six people caused dissatisfaction, since the ancients liked to be in pairsIn fact, this is mainly due to the specifications of the ancient dining table. The ancients paid attention to the round sky, so the tables, chairs, benches, and bed furniture were mainly square, such as the most traditional Eight Immortals table. As the name suggests, the Eight Immortals Table can accommodate up to eight people and is of equal length and width on all sides.
Eight people at the same table have no problem, but six people sitting around a square table is quite awkward. The ancients never sat down facing the corner of the table, but sat facing the edge of the table, so that sitting in groups of six could easily lead to a group of two and a group of one. This arrangement makes the table and the person form the shape of a turtle, which is considered a symbol of longevity, but here it has a derogatory connotation. If the guests are seated in this way, not only will the host become a laughing stock, but it will also be difficult for the guests to save face. Therefore, the ancients strictly avoided this embarrassing scene, either a table of five or a table of seven, avoiding "6".
It can be seen from this proverb that the ancients paid attention to meaning and luck, and at the same time had a strict system for etiquette norms. This short proverb has a profound connotation that is amazing.
Although the ancients were not as advanced as modern information, they possessed great wisdom that was inseparable. It is precisely because of the wisdom and culture inherited by the ancients that China has been able to inherit and develop to this day.