Yuan Zhen, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "Spring Life": "Whip the cattle outside the county gate and fight for the soil to cover the spring silkworm." "Whip first" and then "fight" are two ancient folk words to send winter cold and welcome the new year. Whip spring cattle, also known as whip cattle, originated earlier. Zhou Li Yue Ling: "Digging cows to send cold." Later, it has been preserved, but it changed to spring and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Especially after Song Renzong promulgated the "Cattle Slaughter Classic", the custom of whipping and slaughtering cattle spread more widely and even became an important part of folk culture.
The Records of Ji 'nan Prefecture during the reign of Kangxi recorded: "The day before beginning of spring, the imperial court led the people, with spring cows and gods, to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs. Make a five-coriander, commonly known as spring vegetables, drink spring wine and hairpin spring flowers. People and businessmen in the village dress up as fishermen and farmers, and the festival is a spring building, while children in the city, wearing colorful clothes and ghost faces, dance back and forth, which is also the legacy of the ancient hometown Nuo. At the beginning of spring, officials have their own colorful battles, three of which hit local cattle. Scattering them in the cowshed can promote cattle reproduction.
Ethnic minorities in China also have the custom of expressing sympathy for cows, which is called "offering sacrifices to the king of cows". Buyi people in litchi, Luodian, Anlong and other places in Guizhou take the eighth day of the fourth lunar month as the New Year. On that day, let the cows have a rest and eat glutinous rice. The Niuwang Festival of the Gelao people is also called Niushen Festival, Niuwang Bodhisattva Festival and Niuwang Festival, which is held on the first day of October of the lunar calendar every year. On that day, people stopped letting cows work, made two glutinous rice cakes, hung them on the horns, and then took the cows to the water to look after their shadows to celebrate their birthdays. Among the Dong people in Rongjiang and Dongjiang areas of Guizhou, the "Cattle Washing Festival" is held every summer on the sixth day of June. By that time, the spring ploughing will be over. People take cows to the river to take a bath, and insert a few chicken feathers and duck feathers beside the cowshed to show that they are listening attentively to the cows and praying for their safety and health.
In the communication custom of the Han nationality, there is a saying called "making friends with money", which is popular in Hunan. In the local area, a cow is used as a relative by several families, and once the ownership of the cow is changed to others, its "relative" relationship will stop here. The "Ox King's Club", which is popular in Liuba County, Shaanxi Province, is a title for celebrating the birthday of the elderly, because oxen plow fields, ranking in the forefront of the zodiac, and celebrate the birthday of the elderly in the name of oxen to show their respect.
Miao people have the marriage custom of grabbing the oxtail, which is popular in northwest Guizhou. After the engagement between men and women, the woman should feed a yellow cow, take the cow to the scene on the wedding day, and tie the cow's leg with two Z ropes. Then the bride cuts off the oxtail with a knife, and the groom will immediately grab the oxtail. If he can win the oxtail before the woman's parents arrive, he can get married at once, otherwise the marriage will be ruined.