Han Dynasty Stone Relief and Stars
The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid originated from the worship of stars in ancient times, which is the result of people deifying and personalizing the stars in the sky. Altair is located in the east of the Milky Way, Vega is located in the west of the Milky Way, and the two stars face each other across the river, which makes people have endless reverie. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid originated in Chu State. In the Han Dynasty, with the development of astronomy, its legends became more extensive, concrete, vivid and vivid, and became important materials for painting and sculpture. The Han Dynasty is an important period in the history of astronomy development in China. Nanyang in the Han Dynasty is one of the famous cities in China, and it has become the intersection of the development of culture and science and technology in the north and south. The collision of various cultural factors has produced profound cultural accumulation. A generation of astronomy master Zhang Heng was born here. In this context, a large number of Han Dynasty stone reliefs have appeared in Nanyang, among which the "Cowherd and Weaver Girl Constellation" vividly combines stars with legends, which is a historical necessity.
Silk and Weaver Girl
According to documents, sericulture and silk industry existed in Nanyang Zhou Dynasty. During the Western Han Dynasty, Nanyang County was one of the eight silk producing areas in China. The "Imperial Daughter Mulberry" recorded in Dunan Fu by Zhang Heng in the Eastern Han Dynasty came from Nanyang and became famous all over the world. Many versions of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are inseparable from the weaving technology of the Weaver Girl. In the folklore of Tian Kai, the birthplace of Pangu, it is recorded how the Weaver Girl taught the skills of sericulture, reeling and weaving. This is closely related to the famous Nanyang silk. Begging for Qiao, a custom activity originated from Valentine's Day in China, is mainly because the Weaver Girl is the "granddaughter of the Emperor of Heaven" and is ingenious and admired by girls on earth. Today, when people talk about begging for cleverness, they often quote the record of "Dream in a Dream" written by Nanyang people in the Southern and Northern Dynasties: July 7 is the night when Petunia and Weaver Girl get together. At night, do women tie colorful buildings, wear seven-hole needles or use gold and silver? ? Stone is the needle, and Chen Guaguo is clever in court. According to the History of Chu State published by Henan University Press, "Jingchu starts from southern Henan in the north, Hengyang in the south and Jiujiang in the east. The' Jingchu' referred to in the literature before the Western Zhou Dynasty should be in the area from Nanyang Basin to Jianghan Plain in Henan Province. " So Nanyang is located in the land of Jingchu, thus forming the custom of begging for cleverness, as evidenced by a folk song:
Tonight on Tanabata, I looked at the blue sky and led the cowherd and weaver girl across the river bridge.
Every family watches the autumn moon, and every family wears HongLing.
The above witnessed the initial relationship between the Weaver Girl in Kit Kat and Nanyang Silk.
Legend Nanyang
The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is widely circulated throughout the country, with many versions, but the core content is basically the same. The myths and legends of the Han nationality have formed the same story from birth to spread. Generally speaking, adhering to the place name and scenery of the place of origin is a manifestation of the localization of Han myths and legends, which makes people feel emotionally or intuitively that this story is more credible and spread more widely. According to many modern folk publications, most of them record that the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl originated in Nanyang. For example, Cheng Jianjun said in "Folk Myth" by Haiyan Publishing House (1997) that Cowherd was a mulberry man in Nanyang County, while "Su Jie" by Religious Culture Publishing House and "China Folk Art Encyclopedia" by Three Gorges Publishing House all recorded that "it is said that a long time ago, there was a wise man in Niujiazhuang, west of Nanyang. In Tongbai County, Nanyang, the birthplace of Pangu Tiankai, there is another version of the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl: When Pangu created the world, because there was no food on the ground at that time, cows stole food from the barn and scattered it to the world, and were given heaven by the Jade Emperor, and their legs were broken. Sun Ruyi cured the cow with Baihua dew, and the cow helped the cowherd and the weaver girl become a family. Later, regardless of punishment, the scalper helped Weaver and Cowherd steal silkworm blue, silkworm eggs, looms and looms from the Heavenly Palace. Since then, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have been working together and living happily. This story also describes how the Weaver Girl taught.
The long history of cattle
The localization of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is not only related to the characters, places and places in the legend, but also reflects the obvious characteristics of agricultural areas. Cattle raising is an indispensable labor force in agricultural areas and the main "productivity" of farming. At the same time, the cow is also the main role in the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
Nanyang Yellow Cattle is one of the top five thoroughbred cattle in China, enjoying a high reputation at home and abroad. Nanyang cattle have a long history, and naturally there are many stories of "cattle": "Funiu Mountain", "Chang 'e Black Cattle" and "Priscilla Cattle Raising" ... among which Cowherd and Weaver Girl are the most wonderful. Today, Nanyang is a large agricultural area, and the agricultural field in Han Dynasty is also brilliant. Zhang Heng praised his hometown's "Nanfu", which is said to be "a hundred valleys, two wings and harmony". As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Nanyang yellow cattle had entered the stage of house feeding and enclosure feeding. A native of Qin Xiang Bai Li Xi, he is good at raising cattle. In his down-and-out life, he lived by herding cattle in Qilingang, west of Nanyang. He once heard that Zhou Tianzi liked cattle, that is, raising cattle as a ladder to meet him, which was a much-told story. In the Han Dynasty, bullfighting became a popular activity in Nanyang at that time, and a large number of cattle images appeared in the world-famous Han Dynasty stone relief in Nanyang. It is not surprising that such a "cow" culture has produced a "cowherd" in Niujiazhuang, west of Nanyang City.
Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Area is located in Yanyan Town, southeast of Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, which is15km away from the county seat. The scenic spot is mainly composed of Daxian Mountain and Yihe River at an altitude of 532 meters, with an area of about 4.5 square kilometers and a forest coverage rate of 92.7%. It is a national AAAA tourist scenic spot, a national water conservancy scenic spot, a national geological park, a provincial scenic spot, a provincial forest park and a cultural industry demonstration base in Zibo. The love story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, a beautiful love legend widely circulated among the people in China, happened here.
Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Area is rich in cultural heritage. There is the only ancient building site in China with the theme of the folklore of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. Geomorphological features vividly show "the Milky Way in the sky" and "the underground Yi River", with the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the sky and the Cowherd Temple in the underground, forming the wonders of "the Milky Way in the sky and the Yi River on the ground" and "imaging in the sky and forming with the earth". It is the best tourist resource in China, so it is called "the cradle of love culture in China".
The main attractions of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl Scenic Area are the Weaver Girl Cave, the Cowherd Temple, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl Folk Exhibition Hall, the World Love Stamp Museum, the Lover Valley, the Weaver Girl Spring, the Ginkgo biloba, the Pavilion of Praying for the Year, the Nine Pagodas, the Wushen Temple, the Eighth Route Army Arsenal Site, various stone carvings and forests. Among them, Zhinv Cave was approved by Shandong people as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit in 2006; In August 2007, the first national symposium on "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" was held in Yiyuan, which was awarded the "Hometown of the Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" by the Chinese Folklore Society. In June 2008, the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in Yiyuan was listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list. In August, 2008, the second symposium on "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" was held in Beijing, and the Art Garden was fully recognized as "the source of China's love culture" by academic circles. In April 2009, CCTV's "Exploration and Discovery" column concentrated on broadcasting a large-scale historical and cultural documentary "Yiyuan Cowherd and Weaver Girl", which had a great influence at home and abroad. In 20 10, the World Love Stamp Museum successfully applied for the Guinness Book of Records in Shanghai, becoming the museum with the largest number of stamps with the same theme (love). 20 10 was awarded the title of "Brand Shandong" as the most competitive scenic spot, and 20 1 10 was awarded the title of the most beautiful China (Shandong) top ten scenic spots with the most humanistic characteristics.