Why do people weigh themselves on the Start of Summer?
Traditionally, weighing people on the Start of Summer was mainly to understand their health condition;Qing Dynasty's Gu Lu wrote in "Qingjia Lu": “Families used large scales to weigh people's weight, and they weighed again on the Autumn Equinox to check if they had gained or lost weight during summer.”
Wu Manyun's "Jiangxiang Jiewu Ci" also mentions: “In Hangzhou customs, on the Start of Summer, big scales were hung, and both men and women were weighed to test their health for the year.”
What is the significance of weighing people on the Start of Summer?
According to legend, weighing people on the Start of Summer would bring blessings to Liu A Dou, so people also prayed to the heavens for good luck. Therefore, weighing people on the Start of Summer is also a way to pray for good health and longevity.When weighing people, the person operating the scale would make a "scale flower" while speaking auspicious words.
For the elderly, they would say: “Eighty-seven scale flowers, living to ninety-one.”
For girls, they would say: “One hundred and five jin, a rich family will come knocking. No, no, don't refuse, the son of the状元 has a connection.”
For children, they would say: “A scale flower of one hundred and twenty-three, a young official will grow up to become a mountain official. Even if he becomes a county official, it won't be a problem, and even the three ministers and nine grand secretaries can be reached.”
Making scale flowers must start from small numbers and go up (from small to large), not the other way around, meaning the body should only gain weight, not lose it. If the last digit of the weight is exactly 9, it must be exaggerated by one jin, because 9 is considered an unlucky number, the end of everything.
The Origin of the Custom of Weighing People on the Start of Summer
Legend One:According to "General History of Chinese Folk Customs · Festival Volume", which mentions "Lady Sun Weighs A Dou":
It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, when Liu Bei was about to go on a campaign, he found it inconvenient to take A Dou with him, so he sent A Dou to Wu under the protection of Zhao Zilong, entrusting him to Lady Sun for raising. When they arrived in Wu, it happened to be the Start of Summer. Lady Sun saw the white and plump little A Dou and was very happy. However, she also had concerns, being a stepmother, and worried about any mistakes, which would not only be hard to explain to her husband, but could also lead to gossip in the court and outside.
So Lady Sun thought: today is the Start of Summer, let's weigh A Dou in front of Zhao Zilong, and then weigh him again next year's Start of Summer to see how well the child is raised. From then on, Lady Sun carefully took care of A Dou, and every year on the Start of Summer, she weighed him and reported to Liu Bei to show her sincerity.
Legend Two:
It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, Meng Huo was subdued by Zhuge Liang and submitted to Shu. After that, he obeyed Zhuge Liang's orders without question. The day Zhuge Liang gave his last instructions to Meng Huo happened to be the Start of Summer that year. Meng Huo immediately went to pay respects to A Dou.
Every summer, Meng Huo kept his promise and visited Shu to pay homage. After several years, Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, destroyed Shu and captured A Dou. However, Meng Huo did not forget Zhuge Liang's instructions and visited Luoyang every year on the Start of Summer to visit A Dou. Each time, he would weigh A Dou's weight to check whether he had been mistreated by Emperor Wu of Jin. He warned that if A Dou had been mistreated, he would rise up against Jin.
To accommodate Meng Huo, Emperor Wu of Jin served him a meal made of glutinous rice and peas on the Start of Summer each year. A Dou liked the sticky and fragrant rice porridge and ate more than usual. When Meng Huo came to weigh him, he always weighed a few jin heavier than the previous year.
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