Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival of The Seventh Month - A Trick That Has Fooled People For Over Six Hundred Years
七月鬼节-唬弄人六百多年的诡计
The fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month (the fifteenth in some places) is called Zhongyuan Festival by Taoists, Ullambana Festival by Buddhists, and "Ghost Festival" by the common folk.
农历七月十四日(有些地方是七月十五日), 道教称为中元节, 佛教称为盂兰节, 民间则称“鬼节”.
According to legend, during that month, the gates of hell are opened, and the ghosts from the underworld are released.
相传那一个月, 地狱大门打开, 阴间的鬼魂会放禁出来.
Those with families return home; those without wander around, lingering in any place people can be found, looking for things to eat.
有主的回家去; 没主的就到处游荡, 徘徊于任何人迹可到的地方找东西吃.
Therefore, during the seventh month, people hold "Pudu" ceremonies with chanting and rituals to universally deliver the lonely souls, fearing they might bring disaster to the human world, or to pray for the ghosts' help in curing illnesses and protecting their homes.
因此, 人们纷纷在七月里, 以诵经作法等事举行“普度”, 来普遍超度孤魂, 恐防他们为祸人间, 又或祈求鬼魂帮助治病和保佑家宅平安.
Thus, the southern region of Taiwan has the custom of Pudu on this day.
因此, 台湾南方地区在这一天有普度的习俗.
Whenever the seventh lunar month arrives, many Chinese people are frightened at night.
每逢农历七月来临, 不少华人夜间心惊胆跳.
Because the Chinese in the Minnan and Taiwan areas generally believe that the "Ghost Gate" opens on the first day of the seventh month and closes on the thirtieth, they offer lavish meals to the homeless lonely souls on the first, fifteenth, and thirtieth of the month.
由于闽南、台湾一带的华人普遍相信七月初一“开鬼门”, 七月三十“关鬼门”, 所以期间初一、十五及三十, 便以丰盛菜肴祭祀无主的孤魂.
During this month, the Minnan people do not marry, celebrate birthdays, move houses, or hold any kind of celebration, for fear of leading lonely ghosts into their homes.
在这个月中, 闽南人不婚嫁、不祝寿、不乔迁、不办各种喜庆之事, 惟恐将孤魂野鬼引进家门.
Among the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, many still observe the aforementioned taboos.
马来西亚和新加坡的华人当中, 也有不少人仍守着上述禁忌.
Is the seventh month really the "Ghost Festival"?
七月真的是“鬼节”吗?
Is the seventh month a "Ghost Month" that Chinese people should treat as taboo?
七月是华人所该禁忌的“鬼月”吗?
On August 10, 2010, the legend of the Ghost Month faced an unprecedented challenge, as Taiwanese folklore experts countered, "The 7th month is not a ghost month, but an auspicious month!"
2010年8月10日, 鬼月的传说受到空前未有的重大挑战, 因为台湾民俗专家反击说 “7月不是鬼月, 而是吉祥月!”
It turns out that the Ghost Festival of the seventh month originated from a lie by the Ming Dynasty emperor (Emperor Taizu) Zhu Yuanzhang, allowing the notion of a Ghost Month to be passed down to this day with profound influence.
原来七月鬼节是起源于明朝皇帝(明太祖)朱元璋的谎言, 让鬼月一说流传至今, 影响深远.
Yan Rong-feng, deputy director of the Taiwan Folk Village at Asia University, pointed out that experts have examined many ancient Chinese classics, including the Book of Odes' descriptions of the seventh month, and have found no records of it being an inauspicious sign.
亚洲大学台湾民俗馆副馆长颜荣丰指出, 专家考证不少中华古代经典, 包括诗经描述七月, 都未找到有不祥之兆的记载.
Since Emperor Wu of Liang began setting up altars for the "Ullambana Dharma Assembly," it became common for people to make offerings to honor their parents on the fifteenth of the seventh month, a custom that continued into the Tang Dynasty.
自梁武帝开始设坛举行“盂兰盆法会”, 民间便普遍选择在七月十五设盂兰盆斋为孝亲之供, 此习俗到了唐朝时代仍然沿袭.
Yan Rong-feng stated that until the Song Dynasty, no records have been found of the seventh month being a ghost month (the origin of Ghost Month); what has been found is that the "Zhongyuan Festival" on the fifteenth of the seventh month was an important day for ancestral worship in the olden days.
颜荣丰表示, 直到宋朝为止, 都未查到七月是鬼月的记载(鬼月由来), 所查到的是, 七月十五的“中元节”乃是旧时祭祖的重要日子.
The General History of Taiwan also records similar ancestral worship activities.
台湾通史也记载相同祭祖的活动.
Besides the ritual of ancestral worship during Zhongyuan, Buddhism added the story of "Maudgalyayana Rescues His Mother," adding the significance of filial piety to the Zhongyuan Festival on the fifteenth of the seventh month.
佛教在中元祭祖礼俗之外, 另加添了“目连救母”的说法, 让七月十五的中元节添上了孝亲意义.
Therefore, in Chinese history, the seventh month was originally a very auspicious month.
故此, 在中华历史上, 七月本是大吉之月.
Yan Rong-feng presented another piece of evidence: the Qing Dynasty feng shui master Jiang Dahong, in his "Tianyuan Wu Ge," relayed the mnemonic of the great feng shui master Yang Jiupin, "Since ancient times, emperors are buried in the seventh month," meaning that emperors have been buried in the seventh month since antiquity.
颜荣丰提出另一项根据, 清朝勘舆师蒋大鸿在“天元五歌”中转述堪舆大师杨救贫的口诀, “古来天子七月葬”, 意即自古以来皇帝是在七月下葬.
Why the seventh month? Because the seventh month is the so-called "Shen month."
为何七月? 因为七月是所谓的“申月”.
The character "申 (shēn)" has the character "十 (ten)" inside the character "田 (field)" with its ends extending upwards and downwards, thus having the propensity to "obtain the timeliness of heaven above and the advantage of the earth below," so the Shen month is an auspicious month.
“申”字是“田”字里面的“十”字上下出头, 故有“上得天时, 下得地利”之势, 所以申月即是吉月.
In addition to following the custom of "emperors being buried in the seventh month since ancient times," most Ming Dynasty emperors also chose to be enthroned in the seventh month, repeatedly showing that the seventh month was indeed a very auspicious month.
明朝皇帝除了依循“古来天子七月葬”的礼俗之外, 还多数选择七月登基, 在在显示七月实为大吉之月.
So when exactly did this auspicious seventh month become an inauspicious one?
那究竟七月这吉祥之月从何时变成不祥之月?
Taiwanese folklore expert Yan Rong-feng said that according to the records of "Mr. Huang Shaonian" from the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, Zhu Hongwu's (Zhu Yuanzhang's) military advisor Liu Bowen proposed a plan to have many people disguise themselves as Taoist priests in the seventh month and spread messages like "a great disaster is coming from heaven" in various prefectures and counties.
台湾民俗专家颜荣丰说, 查到“黄绍年氏”记载元末明初(元朝末期、明朝初期), 朱洪武(朱元璋)军师刘伯温献计, 在七月叫许多人假扮道士, 向各州县散播“天将降大灾”等讯息.
Yan Rong-feng pointed out that this was because Zhu Yuanzhang was a firm believer in feng shui and also deeply believed that the seventh month was an auspicious month, but he wanted to "monopolize" this auspicious time. He wanted to enjoy all the blessings of the "timeliness of heaven and advantage of the earth" of the Shen month and not have the common people compete with him for fortune. So he sent people to spread rumors among the populace that "the seventh month is a ghost month, and disaster will befall from heaven." He also had people disguise themselves as Taoist priests to sell talismans everywhere, swindling and deceiving, causing the common people to be terrified and not dare to hold weddings or various entertainment activities in the seventh month.
颜荣丰指出, 这是因为朱元璋笃信风水之说, 也深信七月就是吉祥月, 但他却要“独享”这段吉时, 想要占尽申月的“天时地利”之福, 不要民间老百姓与他争福, 所以派人在民间散布谣言说“七月是鬼月, 天将降祸”, 还派人假扮道士四处卖符, 招摇撞骗, 使到平民百姓心惊胆跳, 不敢在七月办喜事, 或举行各种娱乐活动.
This is the origin of "the seventh month is an inauspicious month," which is also the origin of the Ghost Month.
这就是“七月乃不祥之月”的由来, 也即是鬼月的由来.
After understanding the origin of the Ghost Month, some on the internet have commented that since Taiwanese people are immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, they are the only group in the Chinese-speaking world to have completely preserved the Ming Dynasty custom of "the seventh month is the Ghost Month." This custom can be said to have "fooled the Taiwanese people for over 600 years."
明白了鬼月的来龙去脉, 有者在互联网上表示, 台湾人是明朝时移民来的, 是华人世界唯一完整保留“明朝七月是鬼月”习俗的族群, 这习俗可说“唬弄台湾人6百多年”
In fact, it has not only fooled the Taiwanese but also the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, because many of the ancestors of the Chinese in these two regions also immigrated during the Ming Dynasty, and thus they too have preserved the custom of "the seventh month is the Ghost Month."
事实上, 它不仅唬弄台湾人, 也唬弄了马来西亚和新加坡一带的华人, 因为这两地区也有不少华人的祖先是在明朝时代移民来的, 故也保留了“七月是鬼月”的习俗.
Zhu Jie-yang, director of the Taiwan Folk Village at Asia University, said: "Folk customs should advance with the times, conform to the era, and serve an educational function. The superstitious parts must be eliminated, so that folk customs are rational, logical, and have more cultural taste."
亚洲大学台湾民俗馆馆长朱界阳说: “民俗应与时俱进, 符合时代, 符合教化功能. 迷信部分有必要汰除, 让民俗合乎常理, 合乎逻辑, 让民俗更有文化品位.”
To uncover the truth about the Ghost Month, the Taiwan Folk Village at Asia University held an event on August 10, 2010, called "Rectifying the Name of Ghosts, Correcting the Customs of the People," which attracted competing reports from domestic and international media and was widely spread on the internet.
为了揭开七月鬼月的真相, 亚洲大学的台湾民俗馆在2010年8月10日举办“为鬼正名, 为民正俗”的活动, 并吸引了国内外媒体相争报导, 更在网络广传.
To explore the Chinese folk customs of ghost worship and the origin of the Ghost Month, on September 6 of that year, Malaysian producer Leong Chee Kong of Flying Pigeon Communication, along with a camera crew, made a special trip by plane to Asia University, the Taiwan Folk Village, and other places to conduct on-site interviews.
为了探索华人民间拜鬼的习俗和鬼月的由来, 当年9月6日, 马来西亚飞鸽传播制作人梁志光偕同摄影小组, 专程搭飞机去到亚洲大学、台湾民俗馆等地进行实地访问.
Through the detailed explanations of Director Zhu Jie-yang and Deputy Director Yan Rong-feng, they finally understood the origins of the Ghost Month.
透过朱界阳馆长和颜荣丰副馆长的详细说明, 他们终于明白鬼月的来龙去脉.
They later produced a 30-minute short film titled "Whose Ghostly Trick on the 14th of the Seventh Month" to clarify the origin of the Ghost Month, hoping to correct the superstitions of Malaysian Chinese regarding the Ghost Month.
他们过后制作了长约30分钟的短片“七月十四谁的鬼计”, 以厘清鬼月的由来, 希望以此端正大马华人七月鬼月的迷信.
In short, the Ghost Festival of the seventh month was a trick by Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang.
简言之, 七月鬼节是明太祖朱元璋的诡计.
He could be said to have "blamed it on the ghosts," deliberately spreading the idea of an inauspicious month to prevent the common people from sharing the "auspicious days and times" with the royal family.
他可谓“嫁祸于鬼”, 刻意散布不祥之月的说法, 不让民间百姓与皇族共享“吉日吉时”.
However, his trick could succeed because of the widespread "fear of ghosts" among the people.
不过话说回来, 他的诡计可以得逞, 乃因为民间普遍存有“怕鬼”的心态.
People fear ghosts and thus respect them, even worship them, living in fear of the seventh month generation after generation.
人因怕鬼而敬鬼, 甚至拜鬼, 一代接一代活在七月的恐惧中.
People fear ghosts because they have no peace.
人怕鬼, 因为没有平安.
Today, many people still burn incense and worship during the Ghost Festival, seeking peace for their families.
现今许多人在七月鬼节仍然烧香祭拜, 为求一家平安.
But year after year, they are still fearful every seventh month and still have no peace.
但年复一年, 每逢七月依旧恐惧, 依然没有平安.
How can one have true peace?
怎样才有真正的平安呢?
It turns out that true peace lies in knowing the true God.
原来真正的平安乃在于认识真神.
The Bible says: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee" Job 22:21.
圣经说: “你要认识神, 就得平安; 福气也必临到你” 约伯记22:21.
How can man know the true God? It is through the words revealed by God — the Bible.
人如何认识真神呢? 乃是透过神所启示的话 — 圣经.
The Bible clearly tells us that this true God is the Creator of the universe and mankind.
圣经清楚告诉我们, 这位真神是宇宙万物和人类的创造主.
He placed the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve, in the beautiful Garden of Eden and blessed them.
祂把人类的始祖亚当和夏娃安置在美丽的伊甸园, 赐福他们.
But they were separated from God because of sin Genesis 1-3.
但他们因为犯罪而与神隔绝 创世记1-3章.
Their descendants also generally lived in sin (except for a few godly descendants), not worshiping the true God, but instead worshiping all kinds of idols Romans 1:20-25.
他们的后代也普遍活在罪中(除了少数的敬虔后代), 不敬拜真神, 反倒敬拜各式各样的偶像 罗马书1:20-25.
If a person does not acknowledge and provide for their own parents, they are rebellious and unfilial, a great transgression, and deserve punishment.
人若不承认和供奉自己亲身的父母, 便是悖逆不孝, 大逆不道, 该受责罚.
Similarly, if mankind does not acknowledge and worship the true God who created them and gave them life, and sins and does evil to offend God, should they not be judged and punished?
同样的, 人类不承认和敬拜那位创造他、赐他生命的真神, 并犯罪行恶得罪神, 岂不该受审判和刑罚吗?
For the wages of sin is death Romans 6:23; and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment Hebrews 9:27. Those who have committed great and small sins, even "all liars," shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Revelation 21:8. You and I have surely told lies, how can we escape this terrible punishment?
罪的代价乃是死 罗马书6:22, 死后还有审判 希伯来书9:27, 犯了大罪小罪的人, 连“一切说谎话的”, 都要被丢进火湖里永远受苦 启示录21:8, 你我肯定说过谎话, 试问怎能逃避这可怕的刑罚呢?
But we thank God, for He is not only a righteous judge, but also a loving Savior.
但我们感谢神, 祂不仅是公义的审判官, 更是慈爱的拯救者.
He sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to be born as a man, to become the "scapegoat" of God, to bear the sins of man, and to die for man on the cross.
祂差遣独生子主耶稣降世为人, 成为神的“代罪羔羊”, 代担人的罪, 为人死在十架上.
Three days after His death, He was gloriously resurrected from the dead, showing that He is the Lord of life, victorious over the power of the devil, death, and hell Acts 2:24-28.
祂死后三日从死里荣耀的复活, 显明祂是生命的主, 战胜魔鬼、死亡和阴间的权势 使徒行传2:24-28.
As long as we are willing to sincerely believe in the Lord Jesus, confess that we are sinners, and accept Him as our Savior, we will be saved: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" Romans 10:9.
只要我们愿意真心信靠主耶稣, 承认自己是个罪人, 接受祂作我们的救主, 就必得蒙拯救, “你若口里认耶稣为主, 心里信神叫祂从死里复活, 就必得救” 罗马书10:9.
Dear friend, although you now know that the seventh month is not the Ghost Month, ghosts and demons can come at any time and be anywhere.
亲爱的朋友, 虽然你已知道七月不是鬼月, 但鬼魔随时可来, 随处可在.
Are you afraid of ghosts?
你怕鬼吗?
In fact, what people should fear most is not ghosts and demons, but the judgment of condemnation and eternal punishment after death!
事实上, 人最应该惧怕的, 不是鬼魔, 而是死后那定罪的审判和永远的刑罚!
The Lord Jesus is your only way of escape.
主耶稣是你唯一的逃生之路.
If you believe in Him, not only can you be delivered from the power of darkness in this life Colossians 1:13, but you can also escape the terrible judgment of the lake of fire in the life to come.
你若信靠祂, 不只今生可以脱离鬼魔的黑暗权势 歌罗西书1:13, 更在来世得以逃脱地狱火湖的可怕审判.
Listen, this is the promise of the God who gives peace: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16.
听啊, 这是那位赐平安之神的应许: “叫一切信祂的(即信靠主耶稣为救主的人), 不至灭亡, 反得永生” 约翰福音3:16.
Original Source: https://malaccagospelhall.org.my/2014/11/七月鬼节-唬弄人六百多年的诡计/
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