In ancient times, there were no high-speed railways and airplanes, so it was inconvenient to go back and forth, and it took a lot of time for people from afar to go home for the New Year, so the Spring Festival holiday was usually longer than other holidays. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, from Beijing to Luoyang and other places at all levels, the nineteenth to the twenty-second day of the lunar month was "sealed" on the holiday, and only rushed back to the Yamen office around the twentieth day of the first month of the New Year.
Of course, not everyone can enjoy a good holiday, and there are always some people who have to work overtime during the Spring Festival, even Su Shi, the great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, is no exception.
I want to accompany the emperor for the New Year first.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the "office workers" who were officials in the court had more than 100 days of vacation a year, and there were small long holidays during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.
The reason is very simple: it's not that he can't catch up with the carriage, and it's not that he can't afford to pay for it, just to accompany the emperor for the New Year.
In ancient times, the Spring Festival was not a ** festival, but called "New Year's Day", or "Yuan Day" and "Yuan Zheng". In ancient China, the lunar calendar was used, and in the concept of the ancients, the first day of the first lunar month was "New Year's Day".
Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty. "Tang Hui Yao" recorded that the Tang Dynasty had a 3-day holiday before and after the first day, and a total of 7 days off during the Spring Festival. On the first day of the first lunar month, the first leader of the capital and the local state capital must enter the palace to participate in the court meeting, greet the emperor for the New Year, eat, drink, and play together, and arrange private affairs only after the meeting.
Beijing officials, who live in other places, rushed to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor on the first day of the Lunar New Year, pinching their heads and tails, so naturally they did not have enough time to go back and forth to their hometowns to visit relatives.
The ** who lives in the capital is not idle. The imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty was north of the Luo River, and most of the courtiers lived on the south side of the Luo River. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, before dawn, the weather was cold and freezing, everyone had to get up from the hot quilt, dress neatly, brave the wind and snow, cross the river and cross the bridge to the palace, and participate in the "Yuan Day Great Dynasty Meeting".
The ancients called the ministers "court", and the kings saw the ministers as "will". Participating in the court meeting is the first priority in Beijing, if you are absent without reason, or if you arrive late and leave early, the emperor will be very angry, and the consequences will be very serious.
The scale of the Yuan Dynasty was grand and grand, and the emperor had to accept the congratulations of his ministers and envoys from various countries. After the civil and military officials entered the palace, they were in place, respectful, worshipped again and again, went through a whole set of processes according to etiquette, and shouted long live three times, so that they could be relieved, and they were more tired than going to work on weekdays.
The "Fu Leopard Straight" that makes people lose their temper
If you want to be on duty during the Chinese New Year, it is difficult to return to your hometown for the New Year.
The Tang Dynasty poet Wei Yingwu sighed in "Yuan Ri Sending Brothers and Presenting Cui Dushui": "One is from Shouzi County, and the two temples are ......."The sun and the moon are still in the period, when will you rest. "Since I became an official, I haven't returned to my hometown for the New Year, and I miss my relatives every festival. This situation is a true portrayal of many magistrates in ancient times when they celebrated the New Year.
Song Notes** "Southern New Book" records that the Tang Dynasty's Yushitai is very good at handling newcomers, and all new recruits are "new to Taiwan, accompanied by 25 days, and holidays for 5 days, called 'Fu Leopard Straight'." The first official accompaniment of Baisizhou County has this name".
Straight through the value. The so-called "Fu Leopard Straight" means that the other ** are gone, leaving this person on duty, "like a leopard hiding in ambush, waiting to fight".
In ancient times, the officialdom hierarchy was strict, and the phenomenon of seniority was serious, and those who stayed on duty during the Spring Festival were generally those with shallow qualifications or no background.
Newcomers with money in their hands and active brains, seeing that it is their turn to be on duty during the Spring Festival, often make a good relationship in advance, and find a reason for the New Year (such as the old mother at home who is sick and hopes for the return of her children), and slip away. And those who are poor, even if they are really sick during the Spring Festival, they are afraid that it will be difficult to ask for leave; Even if you take a leave of absence, you will have to pay for it on a rest day set by the case.
The "old fritters" who have been in the officialdom for many years do not play their cards according to common sense. "Mengxi Writings" records that the Hanlin Pavilion in the Song Dynasty took turns to be on night shift, and the ** on duty often excused himself from going, and wrote a seemingly legitimate reason on the "Sleepover" - the duty signature sheet: "Stomach restless, free sleep." "Coming and going, the "Su Li" was jokingly called the "Bad Belly Calendar" by the people of the time.
Su Shi, the great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, was an honest man who was not good at making up reasons for vacation. When he was young, he was on duty in the government for the New Year, staying up late to watch the New Year, "sitting for a long time with the lights falling, looking at the Beidou oblique", and still encouraged himself to "work hard tonight, and the youth can still boast".
Who wouldn't know how to write a "bad belly calendar", but those who work hard don't want to be fooled. The Chinese New Year does not mean that everything stops, and someone must stick to their posts in order to maintain the stability of social order. Since I have to work overtime, I simply raise the ideological realm, work hard for me, and be happy for thousands of families. (Luoyang Evening News).