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墨書 Inktalez
When a family built a tiled roof house and completed the top, there was a very important ceremony: Lucky Steamed Buns.
At that time, rural areas were generally poor, and any family that built a tiled roof house would definitely "astonish the neighbors." On the day of completion, neighbors of all ages would gather early to wait for the chance to grab the lucky buns.
Once the last tile was laid, the male head of the household would come over holding a basket covered with red cloth. Inside the basket were small steamed buns made from white flour dyed with red spots, totaling 72, with two slightly larger buns and the rest smaller.
The contractor solemnly took them and climbed up the ladder to place them on the roof.
—Friends from the south mentioned that in Jiangsu Rugao, they also say auspicious words during the beam-raising ceremony. The Master Carpenter (the master carpenter who presides over the ceremony) would climb up the ladder while striking his axe and reciting auspicious phrases: "With each strike of the axe, Happy Mantou! The Host Today Builds the Hua Hall! The Hall of Splendor is Built on the Dragon's Mouth! Everyone works together to raise the beam." In the east room lived the Top Scholar, with phrases like "Golden Jade Abundant, Granaries Full," a Phoenix Tree at the entrance, "Livestock Prosperity, Cattle and Horses Strong," "Step Up, One Rank, Become an Official," "Double Happiness at the Second Step," "Three Steps to Prosperity," "Four Steps to Prosperity in All Seasons," "Five Steps to Abundant Harvest," "Six Six Great Smoothness," "Seven Steps to Gather the Seven Stars," "Eight Immortals Arrive at the Eighth Step," "Nine Steps to Success," and "Ten Steps to Perfection!" Generations will be prosperous and wealthy!
This was not something we had in our area.
With the appearance of a basket of buns, it reached its climax.
Once the lucky buns were delivered to the roof, the contractor would loudly announce: “The auspicious time has arrived! Light the firecrackers and start throwing buns!”
Then someone would light red firecrackers. As they crackled loudly, those responsible for Lucky Steamed Buns would sit on the ridge of the roof, using their left hand to hold onto the basket while grabbing handfuls of buns with their right hand and scattering them into the crowd like Heavenly Maidens Spreading Flowers. Some buns would land on heads, some on bodies, and others would hit faces...
When the sound of firecrackers ceased and throwing buns ended, those throwing would turn their basket upside down to prove they had not kept any for themselves.
Another ceremony related to new houses that left a deep impression on me as a child was Burial of Oil Lamps.
When a new house was completed but before the ground was hardened, oil lamps were buried at all four corners and in the center of the new house. These lamps were made from sticky millet flour steamed into candle shapes, which could be filled with a little fuel and lit with wicks.
The entire ceremony is as follows: pits are dug at the four corners of the new house and at the position of the main door. Some soil is taken from the temple and placed into a tool called "sheng" (used for scooping rice and grains). Along the way, one sprinkles the soil while reciting: "Borrow your soil, return your soil, borrow one zhang, return one zhang and five..." Upon returning home, five lamps are lit and placed into the pits. Incense and candles are lit, offerings are presented, and all five people simultaneously use the remaining soil in the "sheng" to bury the lamps.
This entire ceremony is called "Thanksgiving to the Earth."
— The heavens and earth are vast; when building a house, one must first break ground. This ceremony is to thank the deities who govern the land for their blessings, ensuring the successful completion of the house.
"Borrow your soil, return your soil, borrow one zhang, return one zhang and five..." indicates that there is borrowing and returning involved. Borrowing one zhang and returning one zhang and five signifies keeping one's word and expressing sincere gratitude.
Prayers are offered for blessings of peace and health after moving into the new home.
Speaking of building houses, there is another related custom:
At that time, if a family built a new house but did not immediately move in, they would place a pair of shoes worn by a man inside the empty house.
The elders said that an empty new house could easily attract spirits or strange beings. Placing a pair of shoes inside signals to any malevolent entities that someone resides there, discouraging them from causing disturbances.
There is a related legend: Fourth Brother's family had just completed their new house when he and his wife went to work in another city. Their son stayed with his grandparents. After finishing the walls of the new house, it remained empty because they hurriedly left without placing a pair of men's shoes inside.
When they returned home for the New Year, they brought their son Joyful from his grandparents' house to live in the new home.
On the first night, they could not sleep peacefully. Although all three were in bed, they kept hearing footsteps in the living room and sounds of furniture being moved around. When they turned on the lights to check, there was nothing there. This continued for several days, leaving the family exhausted with dark circles under their eyes and feeling lethargic.
They mentioned this to an elder in the family, who suddenly realized: something supernatural must have moved in before them and was now intentionally causing disturbances.
They sought help from a "master" to perform rituals, reasserting their "sovereignty" over the house while offering incense and paper offerings, pleading with any spirits to find another place to reside.
There are still some customs that exist today. For example, it is acceptable to eat in the area facing the door, but one should not sleep there. In the summer, when it gets hot, people in the village would open their doors and lay down on the ground to cool off.
The area by the door is not only a passage for people but also a place that invisible spirits and deities must pass through. Sleeping there could disrupt their "traffic."
Anyone who disregards these rules and casually sleeps by the door might experience sleep paralysis: feeling awake but unable to move or speak.
Therefore, elderly family members always warn their relatives during summer: "Do not sleep by the door!"
Decades have passed, and many people no longer observe these "rules," and there haven't been any recent tales of related spirits.
In the courtyard, there are also some sayings about planting trees. The most typical one is: "Do not plant mulberries in front, do not plant willows in back, and do not plant Ghostly Applause in the yard!"
Elders say that "mulberry" sounds like "mourning," so planting mulberry trees in front of the house is very unlucky. Willows are associated with Yin, which can attract unclean entities. Additionally, willows do not produce seeds, so planting them behind the house is said to be detrimental to descendants. The word "willow" sounds like "slip," suggesting that planting willows will cause wealth to slip away and not accumulate.
"Ghostly Applause" refers to poplar trees. The leaves of poplars resemble hands, and when blown by the wind, they make a rustling sound, especially eerie on stormy nights, resembling the sound of ghostly applause, which can be quite frightening.
It is unclear whether these taboos have any basis in reality, but they are still largely observed in our hometown. Poplars are fast-growing trees that are widely planted, mostly in fields or open areas of the village, but rarely in courtyards. Willows are generally treated similarly.
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