The Winter Solstice, a solar term symbolizing the gradual lengthening of daylight in winter, has carried profound cultural significance since ancient times and is regarded as an important festival no less than the Spring Festival, with the reputation of “Winter Solstice is as big as the year”.
In the past, during the change of seasons, on the winter solstice, the emperor had to personally visit the outskirts and hold a grand ceremony to worship the heavens, while officials presented congratulatory watches and joined in the grand ceremony. The grandeur of all rituals was comparable to that of a new year’s celebration.
Entering the Qing Dynasty, Manchu banner people also followed the ancient system. On the winter solstice, they not only worshipped the heavens to pray for national prosperity and people’s peace, but also worshipped their ancestors to seek family prosperity and disaster relief. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the head of the family would tie up a plump pig in the courtyard and have an experienced butcher perform this auspicious slaughter ceremony with a single blow to kill it. Subsequently, the whole pig was stewed with water without any seasoning, known as “white boiled meat”. Its pure taste symbolizes devout respect for the ancestors of heaven and earth.
On the day of the festival, relatives, friends, or horseback riders come together to gather together. In the courtyard, there is a low table dedicated to the “God of Heaven and Earth”, a birch lacquered plate filled with boiled white meat, and the host devoutly burns incense and prays on the table. Guests then bow down and pay their respects one by one. In addition, there is a towering “ancestral pole” in the courtyard, on which flags and buckets are hung. After the sacrifice, pigs are lowered into the water and hung on it for birds to peck at, symbolizing natural circulation and endless life.
After the festival, the host and guest sit together and share the “divine surplus” – the white boiled meat removed from the ritual. The meat is served in a bright red lacquered meat trough, and the whole piece is served. Guests need to cut it with a knife and then use birch chopsticks to taste it in a small bowl. There was no seasoning on the table, so the guests took the “oil paper” they had prepared beforehand – a thin film made of pure soy sauce, pretending to wipe the knife and bowl, but actually using hot soup to boil it and turn it into a rich sauce, which blended with the meat soup. This is a tradition left by the Manchu people outside the Great Wall, and it is said that the imperial banquet is also of the same interest.
And those from the southern regions who were in the capital would also hold banquets to worship their ancestors and invite colleagues and friends to gather together. During the banquet, they would chat and have a unique flavor. Although the people in Beijing do not emphasize the Winter Solstice Festival, they enter the “Number Nine” cold weather from the Winter Solstice onwards. Scholars and ink masters are enthusiastic about holding “Cold Relief Meetings”, which are held every nine days. The number of people must match the number of “Bright Nine” or “Dark Nine”, sitting around the stove, reciting poetry and painting, and meeting friends with poetry and wine, enjoying themselves. At the Anti Cold Festival, poetry, songs, poems, calligraphy, and painting were all centered around the theme of “nine”. For example, using Bai Juyi’s “Asking Liu Nineteen” as a reference, a picture of snow scenery drinking wine was painted, with children warming wine and friendship blending in front of the snow window, perfectly matching the charm of the Anti Cold Elegant Collection.
During banquets, the drinking tradition also revolves around the character “nine”, which can be used as a theme or as a source of amusement. The feast ends with nine plates, nine bowls, or “nine pieces of flowers” as a sumptuous delicacy. Amidst laughter and joy, we spend a wonderful time under the warm winter sun.
