Double Ninth Festival

The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Double Ninth Festival. In the ancient *I Ching*, the number "6" was designated as a yin number, and "9" as a yang number. On the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, both the day and the month are yang numbers, with two nines overlapping, hence the name "Chongyang" (Double Yang) or "Chongjiu" (Double Nine). Ancient people regarded this as an auspicious day worthy of celebration and have observed the festival since early times.

Celebrations of the Double Ninth Festival are colorful and romantic, typically including activities such as going on outings to enjoy scenery, climbing heights for a distant view, admiring chrysanthemums, wearing cornel, eating Double Ninth cakes, and drinking chrysanthemum wine.

The Double Ninth Festival, with "nine" (jiu) homophonous to "longevity" (jiu) in Chinese, and nine being the largest single digit, carries connotations of longevity. Moreover, autumn is the golden season of harvest in a year. The Double Ninth Festival, with its profound implications, has always held a special place in people's hearts. There are many excellent poems in Tang and Song poetry celebrating the Double Ninth Festival and praising chrysanthemums.

Today, the Double Ninth Festival has been given new meaning. In 1989, China designated the 9th day of the 9th lunar month as Senior Citizens' Day. The clever combination of tradition and modernity has made it a festival for respecting, honoring, loving, and assisting the elderly. Government agencies, organizations, and neighborhoods across the country often organize elderly people who have retired from work to go on autumn outings to enjoy scenery, play by the water, or climb mountains for exercise, allowing their bodies and minds to be bathed in the embrace of nature. Many younger generations in families will also help their elderly relatives go outdoors or prepare some delicious food for them.

Origin of the Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival was already mentioned in the *Chu Ci* during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Qu Yuan wrote in *Far Roaming*: "Gathering at Chongyang to enter the imperial palace, creating the beginning of the ten-day period to observe the clear capital." Here, "Chongyang" refers to the sky, not the festival. In the *Letter on the 9th Day to Zhong Yao* by Emperor Wen of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, feasting on the Double Ninth Festival was clearly recorded: "Years pass and months go by; suddenly it is the 9th day of the 9th month again. Nine is a yang number, and both the sun and the moon correspond to it. People admire its name, thinking it is suitable for longevity, so they hold banquets and grand gatherings."

The Jin Dynasty literati Tao Yuanming said in the preface to his poem *Leisurely Living on the 9th Day*: "I live in leisure and love the name of the Double Ninth. Chrysanthemums fill the garden, but I have no way to hold wine; I can only wear the nine flowers and express my thoughts in words." Here, both chrysanthemums and wine are mentioned. Probably during the Wei and Jin dynasties, the customs of drinking wine and admiring chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival already existed. By the Tang Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was officially designated as a folk festival.

In the Ming Dynasty, on the Double Ninth Festival in the 9th lunar month, the entire imperial palace would eat flower cakes to celebrate, and the emperor would personally climb Wansui Mountain to enjoy the autumn mood. This custom continued into the Qing Dynasty.

Legends of the Double Ninth Festival

Like most traditional festivals, the Double Ninth Festival has ancient legends.

It is said that during the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a plague demon in the Ru River. Whenever it appeared, every family had someone fall ill, and people died every day. The people in this area suffered greatly from the plague demon's tyranny.

A plague took the lives of the parents of a young man named Heng Jing, and he himself nearly died from the illness. After recovering, he bid farewell to his beloved wife, elders, and fellow villagers, determined to go out to seek immortals and learn skills to eliminate the plague demon for the people. Heng Jing searched everywhere for masters and Taoists, visiting famous mountains and virtuous men across the land. Finally, he heard that there was an ancient mountain in the east where there lived an immortal with boundless magical power. Heng Jing, undaunted by hardships and the long journey, found the mountain and the immortal with magical powers under the guidance of a crane. The immortal was moved by his spirit, finally accepted him as a disciple, taught him swordsmanship to subdue demons, and gave him a demon-subduing sword. Heng Jing practiced day and night without sleep or rest, eventually mastering extraordinary martial arts.

On this day, the immortal called Heng Jing to him and said: "Tomorrow is the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. The plague demon will come out to do evil again. You have mastered your skills and should return to eliminate the harm for the people." The immortal gave Heng Jing a pack of cornel leaves, a cup of chrysanthemum wine, secretly taught him the method to ward off evil, and let him ride a crane back home.

Heng Jing returned to his hometown. On the morning of the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, according to the immortal's instructions, he led the villagers to a nearby mountain, gave each person a cornel leaf and a cup of chrysanthemum wine, and prepared to subdue the demon. At noon, with several strange cries, the plague demon rushed out of the Ru River. But as soon as it pounced down the mountain, it suddenly smelled the strange fragrance of cornel and the aroma of chrysanthemum wine, stopped abruptly, and its face changed. At this moment, Heng Jing rushed down the mountain holding the demon-subduing sword. After several rounds, he stabbed the plague demon to death with his sword. From then on, the custom of climbing mountains on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month to avoid plagues has been passed down year after year. This was recorded by Wu Jun of the Liang Dynasty in his book *Continued Records of Qi's Wonders*.

Later, people regarded the custom of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival as an activity to avoid disasters. In addition, in the traditional concept of people in the Central Plains, the double nine also symbolizes long life and good health. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival was later established as Senior Citizens' Day.

Customs of the Double Ninth Festival

In the golden autumn with refreshing breezes and the fragrance of osmanthus, the Double Ninth Festival on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month features rich and interesting activities, including climbing mountains, admiring chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating Double Ninth cakes, and inserting cornel, among others.

Climbing Mountains

In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival, so the festival is also called the "Climbing Festival". It is said that this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many poems about mountain climbing written by literati in the Tang Dynasty, most of which depict the customs of the Double Ninth Festival. Du Fu's seven-character regulated poem *Ascent* is a famous work about climbing on the Double Ninth Festival. There were no fixed regulations on where to climb; generally, people climbed high mountains or tall towers. There was also the custom of eating "Double Ninth cakes".

Eating Double Ninth Cakes

According to historical records, Double Ninth cakes, also known as flower cakes, chrysanthemum cakes, or five-color cakes, have no fixed method of preparation and are relatively casual. At dawn on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, people would place a piece of cake on their children's foreheads, chanting blessings that their children would excel in everything. This was the original intention of making cakes in the 9th lunar month in ancient times. Exquisite Double Ninth cakes were made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two small sheep on top to correspond to the meaning of "Chongyang" (Double Yang, with "yang" homophonous to "sheep" in Chinese). Some also inserted a small red paper flag on the Double Ninth cake and lit candle lamps. This probably replaced "climbing high" with "lighting lamps" and "eating cakes", and the small red paper flag replaced cornel. Today's Double Ninth cakes still have no fixed variety; the soft cakes eaten in various places on the Double Ninth Festival are all called Double Ninth cakes.

Admiring Chrysanthemums and Drinking Chrysanthemum Wine

The Double Ninth Festival falls in the golden autumn when chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that the custom of admiring chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, the great poet of the Jin Dynasty. Tao Yuanming was famous for his seclusion, poetry, love of wine, and love of chrysanthemums. Later generations followed his example, thus forming the custom of admiring chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival. In ancient times, literati and scholars also combined admiring chrysanthemums with feasting to get closer to Tao Yuanming's spirit. In Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, the custom of admiring chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival was prevalent, with many varieties of chrysanthemums in various shapes. The folk also called the 9th lunar month "Chrysanthemum Month". During the Double Ninth Festival when chrysanthemums bloom defiantly against the frost, admiring chrysanthemums became an important part of the festival. After the Qing Dynasty, the custom of admiring chrysanthemums became even more popular, not limited to the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, but still flourished around the Double Ninth Festival.

Inserting Cornel and Wearing Chrysanthemums in Hair

The custom of inserting cornel on the Double Ninth Festival was already widespread in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient people believed that inserting cornel on the Double Ninth Festival could ward off disasters and misfortunes. It was either worn on the arm, placed in sachets, or inserted in the hair. Mostly women and children wore it, and in some places, men did too. The wearing of cornel on the Double Ninth Festival was recorded in Ge Hong's *Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital* in the Jin Dynasty. In addition to wearing cornel, people also wore chrysanthemums in their hair. This was already common in the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in subsequent dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom in Beijing on the Double Ninth Festival was to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows to "ward off evil and attract good luck". This was a variation of wearing chrysanthemums in the hair. In the Song Dynasty, people also cut silk into the shapes of cornel and chrysanthemums to give as gifts for wearing.

Customs of Celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in Various Regions

In addition to the above common customs, various regions have some unique ways of celebrating the festival.

In northern Shaanxi, the Double Ninth Festival marks the official harvest season. There is a song that goes: "In the 9th lunar month, the Double Ninth Festival comes, it's time to harvest the autumn crops. Millet, broomcorn millet, all are brought to the threshing ground." In northern Shaanxi, the Double Ninth Festival is celebrated in the evening; during the day, people are busy harvesting and threshing all day. When the moon rises above the treetops at night, people enjoy eating buckwheat noodles cooked with mutton. After dinner, people walk out of their homes in twos and threes, climb nearby hills, light fires, chat, and don't return home until the rooster crows. When climbing mountains at night, many people pick some wild chrysanthemums to take home and insert them in their daughters' hair to ward off evil.

In Putian and Xianyou in Fujian, people follow the old custom of steaming nine-layered Double Ninth rice cakes. In ancient China, there was the custom of eating "er" (food made of rice) on the Double Ninth Festival, where "er" refers to today's cakes and rice cakes. The Song Dynasty's *Precious Canon of the Jade Candle* states: "Eating er and drinking chrysanthemum wine on the 9th day is because millet and sorghum are both harvested at this time, and people get used to tasting new foods with the delicious taste of glutinous rice, thus forming a tradition." Song Zuqian, a poet from Putian and Xianyou in the early Qing Dynasty, wrote in *Odes to Fujian Wine*: "Surprised to hear that the Double Ninth Festival is approaching, delicate hands carry baskets to pick wild fragrance. Jade pestles pound green powder until wet, and pearls (referring to rice cakes) are called out for the man to taste." In modern times, people have transformed the rice cakes into a unique nine-layered rice cake. High-quality late rice is washed with clean water, soaked for 2 hours, taken out and drained, ground into thin pulp, mixed with alum (dissolved in water), added with red sugar (melted into syrup), then placed in a steamer on the pot, covered with a clean cloth, and then the rice pulp is ladled in nine times, steamed for a certain time, and then taken out of the steamer. The surface of the rice cake is coated with peanut oil. This rice cake is stacked in nine layers, which can be separated, cut into diamonds, with distinct layers on all sides, showing a translucent appearance. It tastes sweet, soft, and palatable without sticking to the teeth, and is regarded as the best gift for respecting the elderly on the Double Ninth Festival.

People in some places also take the opportunity of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival to visit ancestral tombs and pay tribute to their ancestors. In Putian and Xianyou, more people worship ancestors on the Double Ninth Festival than on Qingming Festival, so there is a folk saying that the 3rd lunar month is the minor Qingming, and the Double Ninth Festival is the major Qingming. Because Putian and Xianyou are coastal areas, the 9th day of the 9th lunar month is also the anniversary of Mazu's ascension to heaven. Villagers often go to the Meizhou Mazu Temple or the Tianhou Ancestral Temple in Gangli to worship and pray for blessings.

After the founding of New China, new contents have been added to the activities of the Double Ninth Festival. In 1989, China designated the Double Ninth Festival as Senior Citizens' Day. On this day, various places organize elderly people to go on autumn outings and mountain climbs to broaden their horizons, exchange feelings, exercise their bodies, and cultivate people's noble virtues of returning to nature and loving the great rivers and mountains of the motherland.