In the folk culture of fireflies, the most wonderful and vivid is the legend of "rotting grass into fireflies", which is widely circulated in ancient times to explain the origin of fireflies.
The ancients had this understanding because the environment in which fireflies lived was mainly wet and corrupt grass. The ancients often saw fireflies coming in and out of it, so the saying that "rotten grass turned into fireflies" was intuitively produced.
Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty recorded this in the most detailed way: there are three kinds of fireflies: one is small and flies at night, and its belly is bright, which is also transformed by Maogen, so is the so-called "rotten grass turned into fireflies" in Lu's Moon Order; A candle that looks like a maggot, with light behind its tail and no wings. It is the pen name of bamboo root, and its common name is firefly maggot. The so-called "rotten grass turns into maggots" in Tang Mingyue Ling is also true. Its name is nocturnal, the root of Phyllostachys pubescens, which has light at night, feels damp and hot, and gradually deforms; A water firefly lives in water, and so does the so-called "how the grass becomes, how the spring becomes" in the water firefly Fu written by Ziqing in Tang Dynasty.
There are three kinds of fireflies, one is very small, flies at night and can glow below the abdomen. It is the root of thatch, and it is also the "rotten grass turns into fireflies" described in Lu's "Moon Order";
Long ones, like candles or maggots, have glowing tails and can't fly without wings. It lives in water. It is a kind of insect made of bamboo root, commonly known as firefly maggot. It is the "rotten grass becomes a worm" recorded in the "Bright Moon Order". It is also called night travel. It is the root of Phyllostachys pubescens. The root seems to glow at night. When it feels the hot and humid air,
There is also a kind of firefly, which lives in water. It was written by Ji Ziqing in the Tang Dynasty in Shui Ying Fu. "What is that grass? What kind of water life is this? "
The wingless fireflies mentioned in Compendium of Materia Medica are actually firefly larvae. As for the generation of fireflies, Li Shizhen believes that the root of Phyllostachys pubescens looks shiny at night and decays in a humid and sultry environment.
2, Jing Xuehua firefly
The ancients believed that not only decayed grass can turn fireflies, but also blood after death can turn fireflies. "Zhi Guai, the Ancestor of the Jin Dynasty" records: "When Jin Huai Emperor Yongjia and Ding Zuo crossed the river to the Yin Ling boundary, it was foggy and there were things that looked like people in the north. Two eyes dripping blood from the head, gathered in two places, each with a surplus. Just sing and drink with your brother. Destroy and disappear. The blood gathered in the stands turned into thousands of fireflies and flew away. "
It means: "During the Yongjia period of Jin Huai Emperor, when a man named Qiao Guo Ding Zuo crossed the river to the boundary of Yin Ling, it was dark and foggy, and he saw something standing on the north side of the road that looked like a human being. Bloodshot eyes flowed from head to ground and gathered into two pools of blood, each with several liters. Ding Zuo and his cousin drank it in unison, and it was gone. The blood gathered in its place turned into thousands of fireflies and flew away. "
3. The soul of fireflies
Amazingly, the ancients also had folk beliefs that turned fireflies into souls. The reason for this idea is that the ancients only observed fireflies flying at night and could not see their bodies, so they regarded them as phosphorus fires, which were called ghost fires by the people, so they had the idea of turning people's souls into fireflies after death. Jin Fuxian's "Firefly Fu" says: "The annihilation of fire, sorry, is close to rotten grass." It means lamenting the annihilation of the soul, because it is near rotten grass.
Here, Fu Xian combined the theory that rotten grass turned into fireflies with the theory of soul, and produced the theory that the soul became fireflies after being dispersed.
4, female ghost fireflies
"Nocturnal girl" is the name of a bird in folklore. It's a female bird, aunt, a kind of female ghost. Press "Xuanzhong Ji" and say: "This bird is called ancient fire. A woman in heaven and earth, a bird in hiding, and a woman who walks at night are all taken from others to raise. There is a Children's Home who is determined to spot his clothes with blood. The deceased was named a ghost bird. " I don't know when it started, and the people also linked this female ghost with fireflies, thinking that the nocturnal fireflies were transformed by female ghosts.
"Youyang Miscellaneous Notes" contains: "There are scholars in Dengfeng who have been working for more than ten years. Guizhuang and Zhuangzhuang are in Dengfeng County. After a long night, scholars can't sleep. Suddenly, there was a spark under the wall. First, the firefly rose slightly, as big as a projectile, flew around the corner, gradually lowered, and turned back and forth, only reaching the scholar's face. Look carefully, there is a woman in the light, Guan Chai, red shirt and blue skirt, shaking her head and wagging her tail, very cute. The scholar reached out and grabbed it. The candle was rat dung as big as a chicken. Breaking the difference, there is a worm with a naked head and blue body, kill it. "
There was once a scholar in Dengfeng who went out to study for more than ten years and returned to Zhuangzi and Zhuangzi in Dengfeng County. It's late at night, and the scholar can't sleep. Suddenly, sparks appeared under the wall. At first, it was the light of fireflies, and then it gradually became bigger, as big as a projectile, flying around, slowly flying low, spinning back and forth, only a few feet away from the reader's face.
Look carefully, there is a woman in the lamp, wearing beads and red and blue clothes, shaking her head and tail. She was very cute, so the scholar opened his hand and caught the light. By candlelight, it's rat dung the size of an egg. When she opened it, she found a bug with a red head and a blue body, so she killed it.
The mysterious relationship between fireflies and ghosts makes people respect and awe them.
5. Yeast reads at night
Fireflies are also a symbol of hard work in folk culture. This is related to the well-known story of "yeast reading at night". "Biography of Che Yin in the Book of Jin" records: "Yin Gong is diligent and knowledgeable in politics. A poor family seldom gets oil. In Xia Yue, there are dozens of fireflies in the practice bag to take pictures of books, day and night. "
Che Yin, a native of A Jin, was poor and eager to learn when he was young, and had no money to buy an oil lamp to read at night. In summer, he caught fireflies and put them into practice bags, and studied day and night by fluorescent lamps.
Later generations used night reading to describe studying hard and educating their children in a difficult environment, expressing people's praise and admiration for the spirit of diligence and learning. This inspirational spirit has made countless students from poor families successful.