Genius remembers in a second [Aishang Novel Network biquge.info] to provide you with wonderful novels to read.

5. Crazy superstitions and taboos!

In addition to the bulky aristocratic costumes, poisonous aristocratic cosmetics, and absolutely unhealthy aristocratic diets, the boring aristocracy of the Heian period seemed to be not masochistic enough, so they revealed all kinds of dizzying taboos and superstitions—the contents of which were so cumbersome and complex that if we were to strictly follow them one by one, I am afraid that it would be enough to drive us modern people crazy.

In Heian period Japan, although it was superficially polite and peaceful, the court was still full of sordid power struggles. Due to the heavy exploitation, the people at the bottom live in extreme misery, and they always feel that they have no hope. There are also many frustrated and pessimistic people among the nobles and nobles, who feel quite confused about the future. This kind of general mental malaise eventually led to the prevalence of superstitious activities, and the theory of ghosts and gods was very loud.

In the cognition of the Japanese minister at that time, the demons and monsters in various legends did not live in distant forests, islands and valleys, but lived in this capital with human beings, or even under the same roof.

These demons often haunt mankind and bring untold fear and suffering to mankind. Humans are active during the day, while ghosts haunt at night, and sometimes they will pass by in groups on the streets of the capital - this supernatural phenomenon is known as the "Night Walk of a Hundred Ghosts". Anyone who accidentally witnesses this scene is said to be cursed to death!

Because the cultural people of the Heian period were too good at associative ability, they simply imagined the capital where they lived as a terrible demon cave with ghosts and ghosts. Therefore, those nobles who are less courageous than rabbits, know all kinds of ways to scare themselves, but they only feel that there are dangers everywhere around them, and they must find professionals to find ways to bless safety.

As a result, the onmyoji group represented by Abe Harumi came into being in Kyoto, Japan during the Heian period. The Heian period, which lasted for four centuries, became the most active stage for the onmyoji, and even many court affairs depended on the opinions of the onmyoji.

To be honest, no matter how many mysterious and mysterious veils have been put on by later literary works for legendary onmyoji such as Abe Harumi, the methods used by Japanese onmyoji in the Heian period to exorcise evil spirits are actually not much different from the gods and witches in our Chinese countryside. It is nothing more than a scattering of the head, whispering a mysterious incantation, dancing a strange dance that twists around, then swinging a few swords into the air, pulling a bow, throwing a few handfuls of salt or beans outside the door (this custom has been passed down to this day), pasting a few talismans, and finally dressing up and telling you that this ghost has run away, pay quickly!

- Note that the Onmyoji of the Heian period generally drove away the ghosts under the pretext of "abstaining from killing", rather than destroying them on the spot.

In this way, the nobleman's home had just been stable for a few days, and soon there was another supernatural incident, and when he asked the onmyoji, he was told that "the ghost came back last time". So, the poor aristocratic lord had to grit his teeth and take out another sum of money, asking the onmyoji to do the ritual again, to exorcise the evil ghosts again, and so on and on......

I have to say that the onmyoji of that era was very economical and knew the truth of the long stream. Just as the hospital now doesn't want patients to heal immediately, they hope that they can hang there without dying, and pay money out every day.

However, the level of flickering of the Onmyoji is obviously higher, and he insists that the entire Kyoto is a demon cave, so that the rich ministers live in fear under the shadow of ghosts all their lives, and regard themselves as the only saviors...... Well, from here, it seems that there are some psychological factors in the short-lived life of the aristocratic ministers of the Heian period......

For the general atheist traverser, although the above things are ridiculous, they don't hinder themselves anything, so it's good to watch the fun. But then there was another trouble, but it made everyone who was interested in career or travel at that time feel a headache.

- In the Heian period, the vast majority of nobles and ministers, and even those with a little status, were convinced of the auspicious and evil theories of the position and date. Not only do they have to choose a day to pick a direction whenever they go out to run errands, but even daily chores such as the time to get up, the order of washing, and the dishes they eat have corresponding taboos. Once there is a disease and disaster in the family, it is considered that it is a ghost, and an onmyoji must be invited to drive away the evil spirit.

As for weddings, funerals, housewarming and other major events, it is necessary to repeatedly divinate the bad fortune and investigate the feng shui.

In fact, the old society and even the Chinese in the countryside today still retain similar superstitious customs, and before doing any major things, they have to turn over the old yellow calendar and look at the bad luck.

However, now the common people all over China use the same old yellow calendar, at least the same city's yellow calendar should be the same, and what the neighbors avoid on this day, we can also see it on our own calendar, so as not to make embarrassment in daily interactions.

However, the Japanese onmyoji felt that it was too impersonal to compile only one old yellow calendar every year, and the income was too small (at that time, the Japanese calendar was compiled by the onmyoji). Therefore, according to the different birthdays and astrological signs, they have compiled a detailed calendar for each of the ministers and nobles with a little status, and everyone is different, so that all the nobles can read it every day when they get up to see what to pay attention to today.

And at the end of each year, the calendar of your nobles will be replaced with the new year's, and naturally you will also have to pay the next fee to the onmyoji...... It's like modern paid software that has to be updated and upgraded every year.

(Of course, there are some ministers who resolutely do not believe in evil, are not afraid of ghosts, and do not ask for help from the Onmyoji, but there are only a few.) ）

In this way, since everyone has their own old yellow calendar, the things that everyone taboos and the days that need to be avoided are different, and they change every year. As a result, those who want to flatter their bosses or have a relationship with someone are going to have a headache. I am afraid that I have chosen the wrong day, given the wrong gift, worn the wrong clothes, or said the wrong thing...... In short, he unconsciously committed the other party's taboo, so that the horse's hooves slapped on the horse's feet, which made the other party angry, and the plan was ruined.

However, this kind of evasive calendar is absolute**, unless they are best friends, the ministers rarely circulate and communicate with each other. It's really not easy to find out in a roundabout way......

In addition to a lot of precautions to avoid, the nobles were also very worried about going out and running into evil spirits, and if they "touched" on the road, that is, they saw the corpses of cats and dogs, or filthy things, and other bad signs of fire and funeral, they had to stop what they were doing and go home to "avoid it".

The so-called "Fang Ji" means that when you go home, you don't go out, you don't receive guests, you just pray for the forgiveness and blessing of the gods...... As for whether he was actually praying or not, only he knew.

In later anime and novels about the Heian period, this nervous practice of avoiding work has evolved into a relaxed method of absenteeism: in the manga, it is not uncommon to see an official sitting in an ox cart with a sad face, and suddenly hear the coachman report "My lord, there is a dead cat/dead dog in front of him", and the official immediately turned on his face and ordered him to turn around and go home—finally he could justifiably absent from work!

In the Heian period, if a minister planned to avoid standing in line with the ********, or felt too tired to be lazy at home, or even the grape trellis at home collapsed, trying to escape from the fierce wife (in the early Heian period, the Japanese aristocratic society was still practicing the wife visiting system, the husband and wife lived separately, the wife generally lived in the mother's house, and the husband had an independent house, which was considered by scholars to be a "remnant of matrilineal clan society"), he could use the excuse of guò "fang ji" and stay comfortably in his own home to rest. The shortest ones lasted a few days, and the longest lasted for 45 days.

All in all, in the Heian period, "fangji" and "long vacation" should belong to the same category.

said that there would be a holiday, and it would be a month and a half as soon as the holiday was taken. Such a leisurely working environment naturally makes modern civil servants very envious. But the problem is that if you have something to find an official to stamp the document, but you learn that he is in the "Fang Ji", and you have not arranged for someone to work on the job, but your status is not high enough to drag him out of the house to do things for you, then you have to wait endlessly day by day.

In fact, the Japanese imperial court in the Heian period, because the civil and military officials lacked a sense of time and liked to give themselves holidays, so the work efficiency was terrible, and often the slightest trivial matter could drag on for several years.

An envoy from the Song Dynasty crossed the island of Kyushu 6 to present his credentials to the Kyoto Imperial Court and asked when they would receive a reply so that they could prepare for their return voyage. As a result, the local officials of Kyushu Island told them: Ladies and gentlemen of the Song Kingdom, please be patient! His Majesty the Emperor's reply to last year's Song Dynasty envoys has not yet been written! (The last group of envoys naturally couldn't wait to reply and left.) ）

Alas, no matter what the aspect, the Japanese seem to have a serious spoof spirit!