''Renri'' is the 7th day of ''Zhengyue'', the first month in the
traditional Chinese calendar. According to Chinese customs, ''Renri'' was the day human beings were created. It is celebrated not only in China, but also in the
surrounding region influenced by Chinese culture.
Origin
In Chinese mythology,
Nüwa
Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.
As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay.
In the Huainanzi ...
was the goddess who created the world. She created the animals on different days, and human beings on the seventh day after the creation of the world.
''Questions and Answers on Rites and Customs'' () by Dong Xun () of the
Jin dynasty and the ''Book of Divination'' (), an earlier of publication by
Dongfang Shuo
Dongfang Shuo (, c. 160 BCE – c. 93 BCE) was a Han Dynasty scholar-official, ''fangshi'' ("master of esoterica"), author, and court jester to Emperor Wu (r. 141 – 87 BCE). In Chinese mythology, Dongfang is considered a Daoist ''xian'' ( ...
in the
Western Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
dynasty, both specify the order of creation:
: First of ''Zhengyue'':
Chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
s
: Second of ''Zhengyue'':
Dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s
: Third of ''Zhengyue'':
Boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
s
: Fourth of ''Zhengyue'':
Sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
: Fifth of ''Zhengyue'':
Cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
s
: Sixth of ''Zhengyue'':
Horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s
: Seventh of ''Zhengyue'':
Mankind
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
.
Hence, Chinese tradition has set the first day of ''Zhengyue'' as the "birthday" of the chicken, the second day of ''Zhengyue'' as the "birthday" of the dog, etc. And the seventh day of ''Zhengyue'' is viewed as the common "
birthday
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Many relig ...
" of all human beings.
Celebration
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
According to legend, the custom dates back to the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, and gained importance after the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period and Jin dynasty. Ancient Chinese had a tradition of wearing head ornaments called ''rensheng'' (), which were made of ribbon or gold and represented humans. People also climbed mountains and composed poems.
Emperors
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
after the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
granted ribbon ''rensheng'' to their subjects and held festivities with them. If there were good weather on ''Renri'', it was considered that people will have a year of peace and prosperity.
Fireworks and ''huapao'' (花炮) are lit, so ''Renri'' celebrates the "birthday" of fire as well.
Since the first days of ''Zhengyue'' are considered "birthdays" of different animals, Chinese people avoid killing the animals on their respective birthdays and punishing prisoners on ''Renri''.
Nowadays during ''Zhengyue'', ''Renri'' is celebrated as part of the
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
. Chinese people prepare lucky food in the new year, where the "seven vegetable soup" (七菜羹), "seven vegetable congee" (七菜粥) and "''jidi'' congee" (及第粥) are specially prepared for ''Renri''. Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese use the "
seven-coloured raw fish" () instead of the "seven vegetable soup".
Japanese
In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, ''Renri'' is called . It is one of the . It is celebrated on January 7. It is also known as , "the feast of seven herbs", from the custom of eating to ensure good health for the coming year.
The celebration of the feast in Japan was moved from the seventh day of the first lunar month to the seventh day of January during the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, when Japan adopted the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
.
References
{{reflist, 30em
See also
*
Genesis creation narrative
The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word ...
Festivals in China
Winter events in China