What Is Double Ninth Festival?

The concept of "Double Ninth Festival" first appeared in the Book of Changes, which uses the yang line as nine and lists nine as the yang number. The month and day of the Double Ninth Festival coincide with the yang, and the two suns are mutually heavy, hence it is called the "Double Ninth Festival".

In Qu Yuan's "Chu Ci: A Long Journey", it is said: "Gather the Double Ninth Festival and enter the imperial palace, and observe the Qing capital at the beginning of ten days." Here, the Double Ninth Festival refers to the sky, not just festivals. During the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Wu Cao wrote in his book "Nine Days and Zhong Yao" that "as the year goes by, suddenly the ninth day of the ninth month returns. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and moon correspond to each other. It is commonly praised for its name and believed to be suitable for a long time, so it is celebrated as a feast." This clearly describes the banquet of the "Double Ninth Festival".

Climbing high on the Double Ninth Festival was first seen in the book "Continuation of Qi Xie Ji" by Wu Jun during the Liang Dynasty.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, plagues and demons were rampant in the Ruhe area of Runan, causing widespread groans and tears in both urban and rural areas. Fei Changfang told Heng Jing, "On September 9th, the plague demon will harm people again. Go quickly and rescue your father and relatives." He also told him, "On that day, climb high and put the dogwood in your red pocket, tie it on your arm; drink chrysanthemum wine, you can defeat the plague demon and eliminate the disasters of the people." After Heng Jing returned to his hometown, he told his fellow villagers about this method. On the ninth day of September, the Ruhe River surged fiercely, shrouded in clouds and mist, and covered the mountains and towns with plagues and demons. Due to the pungent fragrance of chrysanthemums and the pungent aroma of cornel, the plague was difficult to approach. In the evening, people return home, and their "chickens, dogs, cows, and sheep" die suddenly from the disaster. Father, elderly, and relatives climb high mountains to avoid the disaster. From then on, the custom of climbing high to avoid disasters in Chongyang has been passed down.

In the preface of "Nine Days of Leisure Residence" by the Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming, it is said: "Leisure residence is the name of love for the ninth day. Autumn chrysanthemums fill the garden, while holding wine and indulging in the nine flowers, leaving a deep impression on words." Here, the author also mentions chrysanthemums and wine, which illustrates that during the Wei and Jin dynasties, ancient people followed the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine and appreciating chrysanthemums on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Double Ninth Festival. In addition, "Jianhu Sequel" records that "there are spring and autumn sacrificial offerings. Wang Yishao repaired the sacrificial offerings at Lanting, and this spring sacrificial offering is also known as the" Book of Han ". In August, the sacrificial offerings were placed on the Ba River, and the autumn sacrificial offering was added. Later, when Shangsi Day was fixed to the third day of the third lunar month, the corresponding Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month naturally emerged in the calendar. As a matter of fact, Chongyang Festival should be regarded as a substitute for Xiasi Festival. Wei Anshi's poem "On the ninth day of the Fenghe Festival, I was fortunate enough to climb to the Wei Pavilion and obtain a branch character" says, "On the ninth day of the Chongjiu Festival, I received a movement of Chenyi

Poet Wang Jin wrote in his poem "Nine Days of Writing", "Today, when I climb a high tower and drink wine, I wonder if there are chrysanthemums or not. Poet Wang Wei's "Nine Days in Sichuan" says: "On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, when I look at my hometown, I offer a cup to a guest from a foreign land. Human feelings have grown tired of the hardships in the south, and wild geese come from the north.

In the Ming Dynasty, on the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th, the palace would eat chrysanthemum cake together to celebrate; The emperor wants to personally climb Mount Wansui to express his autumn aspirations. This custom has been passed down until the Qing Dynasty. Some local people also take advantage of the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th to climb high, pay respects to their ancestors' tombs, and commemorate them. According to the investigation, there are more people in Putian who worship their ancestors on Chongyang than on Qingming Festival. Therefore, there is a local custom that says "March is the Little Qingming Festival, and Chongyang is the Great Qingming Festival". Due to the coastal area of Putian, the "Double Ninth Festival" on September 9th is also the anniversary of Mazu's ascension to heaven. Local people often go to the "Mazu Temple" in Meizhou or the "Tianhou Ancestral Temple" and "Palace Temple" in Gangli to offer sacrifices and seek shade and blessings. The sacrificial scenes are also very grand.