The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

South of Jiangling City, the vast river flows. Heifu stands on the beach by the river, listening to the sound of the tide hitting the embankment. The green water, the curved sandbank, and the Bashu ship slowly sailing from west to east form an interwoven painting.

Of course, people are indispensable in this painting. Young men and women stand on both sides of Heifu. They are wearing newly made spring clothes. The rich wear silk and the poor wear linen. According to their respective clothes and ranks, they stand at different waters, but they all look at the river with expectations on their faces.

Today is the first Si day of March, a very important festival. Heifu can also take a break and come to the riverside with his colleague Feng Jing to watch the excitement.

"In late spring, when spring clothes are ready, five or six men with hats and six or seven boys bathe in the Yi River, enjoy the breeze in the Wu Yu Temple, and sing on their way home..."

Hei Fu thought to himself, "If Feng Jing hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that this text is about the Shangsi Festival, when Confucius took his disciples to the waterside for a spring outing and bathing."

The theme of the Shangsi Festival is spring outing. The people in the city go out of the city and go to the riverside and ponds to bathe or wash with fragrant herbs, and drink from the flowing cups of Qushui.

Feng Jing looked around curiously and whispered, "This custom also exists in the Central Plains and Guanzhong, but I heard that Zhengdi and Jingchu Jiangling are the places where this custom is most popular, but I don't know what the difference is..."

They were chatting in a low voice, and heard a chime sound, and saw a building ship sailing downstream from the Jiangling dock. When it arrived at the shore, it dropped anchor and stopped. On the deck of the building ship, an altar decorated with flowers and herbs had been built, and there was a wizard wearing sacrificial clothes, lotus clothes, orchid belts, orchid crowns, and Luli pendants, and painted colorful colors on his face.

Although County Magistrate Ye Teng governed the local "obscene customs" and destroyed many obscene temples in Nanjun, there were also officially recognized witches, and the one in front of him was one of them. But she and a group of dancers struck the bronze chimes on the building ship and danced as a sacrifice, and the people on the shore also responded one after another, either joining the dance or kneeling by the river with their eyes closed, and offering sacrifices on their own.

"What are they saying?"

Feng Jing had just arrived in Nanjun, and he could not understand the words of the witch and the people on the shore, who spoke in a heavy accent. Hei Fu explained on his behalf: "They are praying to the gods to bless the earth, wishing a good harvest, orchids and irises in the garden, exorcising evil spirits, and multiplying offspring."

"The words said during the Weishui sacrifice in Xianyang are almost the same."

Feng Jing smiled. At this time, after the witch finished the dance and sacrifice, with the sound of a chime, many young men and women dressed as witches ran from the shore and distributed the orchids that the witch had prayed for the gods to bless to everyone. Basically, everyone had one in their hands.

"Hu Jiangli and Bizhixi, Ren Qiulan as a pendant", like Qu Yuan, people in Chu all love orchids. In this activity, orchids have always been used as spiritual objects.

After getting the orchid grass, the people on the shore laughed as if they had received an order. Regardless of gender, they all undressed and walked into the river...

This is the main activity of the Shangsi Festival, "Xì". To put it simply, it is to take a bath by the water, which is said to wash away the bad luck on the body.

Of course, it is not to take off all your clothes and jump into the river, which will make a fool of yourself. Don't expect a large-scale mixed bathing between men and women, where everyone is honest with each other. It is said that this was really the case during the reign of the Chu State, but since Ye Teng came to Nanjun, this custom has been banned as "obscene".

Men such as Hei Fu and Feng Jing only took off their upper clothes and scooped up river water to wash their upper bodies. A group of women dozens of steps away from them untied their hair and washed their hair with scented orchid grass. Although there was a little distance, the girls' lotus-like arms could still be seen.

On the other side, there were also women who secretly looked out and saw Hei Fu's strong and sturdy warrior body. Several girls blushed and whispered and laughed with their female companions.

Spring has arrived, and the air by the Yangtze River is filled with an ambiguous atmosphere...

Yes, this is the second function of the Shangsi Festival: to get rid of singleness!

In the Warring States period, the people were simple and open-minded, especially in Chu. Large-scale group open-air mixed bathing naturally led to men and women hooking up, which easily led to free love, that is, elopement.

However, elopement today will not be condemned.

"In the middle of spring, men and women are ordered to meet, and at that time, elopement is not prohibited." Probably to encourage childbirth, even the official is endorsing unmarried men and women to get rid of singleness.

This is also the reason why Hei Fu and Feng Jing were driven to the riverside by Li You, the county lieutenant, to participate in the event, because both of them were unmarried.

"I thought Feng Jun had been engaged in Xianyang." Hei Fu finished bathing and put on his upper clothes.

Feng Jing smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Don't mention it, I haven't met the right one yet."

The two of them broke off willow branches from the willow trees on the shore and inserted them into their hair. "On March 3rd and above, pick mugwort and willow catkins." It is said that willow branches have the effect of exorcising evil spirits.

At this time, there were already many young men and women sitting on the lawn on the shore. There were many single men and women from the common people who were jealous when bathing and immediately went into the woods afterwards.

The sons and daughters of nobles and officials were more reserved. They would look for a partner who was well-matched and pleasing to the eye at a blind date meeting of similar status.

Hei Fu and his friends were going to such a gathering place, a high platform on the riverside: Lantai.

…

"Lantai, I heard it was the temporary palace of the King of Chu on the riverside. Before King Qingxiang of Chu moved east, he often wrote poems with Song Yu and Jing Cha on this platform."

Looking up at the high platform building by the water, Heifu felt ironic. The kings of Chu built many temporary palaces on the Yangtze River in successive dynasties. It is said that if they built it to Wushan in the west, they could see the clouds and rain of Wushan, and if they built it to Yunmengze in the east, they could see the red leaves of Xiangshan. But now, most of the most magnificent Zhanghua, Yunmeng, Gaotang and other platforms were destroyed in wars, and only a few such as Lantai remained.

There were people guarding outside the palace platform to check the identity of the people entering. The most advanced matchmaking meeting in Jiangling was held here, and those who were not the sons of officials or above were not allowed to enter.

Heifu obviously met the standards, and Feng Jing's father was a fifth-rank official, and he had been established as the queen, so he could also enter.

Lantai was seven or eight feet high, but the high platform was only open to the county governor and county lieutenant. They went to the Liushui Pavilion under the platform.

As he walked, Heifu said: "I still think that Feng Jun should come alone in such occasions, and there is no need to drag me along. I am sure that I don't know any of the people present, which is bound to be awkward."

Indeed, although he arrived in the county city, Heifu's social circle has always been very narrow. At most, he would get together with his old comrades such as Man to reminisce about the past. He rarely interacted with those officials of various departments and the sons of noble families with the same title as him.

"Who is familiar with him the first time? It is not bad for Zuo Bingcaoshi to interact with these people more."

Feng Jing smiled and said: "When you reach the position of Zuo Bingcaoshi, such things are inevitable, not to mention that today is Shangsi Festival."

As they talked, the two had arrived at the place. The reason why it is called Liushui Pavilion is that the pavilion is built on a pool of running water. With the railings, you can play the game "Yushang Follows the Flowing Waves" that is often played in Shangsi.

There were already more than 20 young men and women sitting here. The man sat on the right with willow branches in his hair, and the woman sat on the left with wet hair just washed. There were no later etiquette restrictions, and everyone was familiar with each other, talking and laughing all the time, which was very lively.

Feng Jing came from the capital Xianyang, and had a father like Feng Wuze. There were many people in Jiangling who wanted to curry favor with him. In more than a month, he had eaten ten welcoming banquets, so he was already familiar with this circle, so he introduced it to Heifu in advance.

"Most of those sitting inside are children of officials, including the sons of county magistrates, the sons of Gongcao, and the daughters of thieves Cao... Most of them don't have their own titles, but they are the descendants of their fathers and study laws and regulations in the school."

At this time, the group of children of officials also saw Feng Jing, and several of them immediately stood up and bowed to him.

"So Mr. Feng is here to purify himself today."

Although Feng Jing was of high status, he was polite and bowed to everyone in return.

Many women looked at this gentleman with fiery eyes. It was not until Feng Jing sat down that they saw the black-faced young man next to him.

Although Hei Fu's skin was a little dark, he was not ugly. He was now seven feet seven inches tall. He insisted on exercising to make his body strong. After experiencing life and death in the battlefield, he also had a bit of an unusual temperament. As for his appearance? When he looked in the bronze mirror, he always felt that he looked like Louis Koo after he turned black...

So Hei Fu quickly attracted everyone's attention. Seeing that he was a new face, they thought he was a friend brought by Feng Jing, so they asked him to introduce him.

Feng Jing smiled and said, "This is the Left Military Officer. He is a senior official at a young age! His rank is higher than that of a junior officer like me."

Everyone was surprised. This person is a famous figure in Nanjun recently. In the past, when the Qin army was defeated, this person assisted the county lieutenant in the army and led the Nanjun soldiers back in triumph. More recently, it was his proposal that made Jishan Tongguan make a water mill that can automatically operate without human power, which has become a legend.

After attracting everyone's attention, Heifu had to introduce himself: "I am Heifu, nice to meet you two or three."

Upon hearing this name, many children of officials looked at each other in surprise, and the son of Gongcao couldn't help laughing: "Heifu? Could it be that Zuo Bingcaoshi has Hei as his surname? It's rare."

Heifu thought about it, and said: "Heifu is just a name, I don't have a surname."

"No surname?"

This group of young men and women from noble official families began to whisper to each other. The women who knew less about the outside world found it incredible. Nowadays, even women have begun to get used to adding surnames before their names, but men don't have them?

The son of the county magistrate also shook his head and said: "When a man is born, he inherits his father's surname. How can he not have a surname? Unless he is..."

Unless he is a low-status commoner.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him, but Heifu was not ashamed to admit the fact: "Unfortunately, my ancestors for three generations were all farmers without a surname."

The atmosphere was a little awkward now. Some people suddenly realized it. Although they dared not say it openly, they had a trace of contempt in their hearts. Most of the people present had a distinguished family background. Their ancestors were not only officials in Qin for generations, but also officials as noble as the Chu Dynasty!

The son of Gongcao was very good at socializing. He seemed to be concerned and said: "Why doesn't Zuo Bingcaoshi give himself a surname? Just change the verification in the place of origin. I have seen that many small officials promoted from counties and townships among Gongcao will do this."

But in their eyes, even so, it can't cover up the original inferior status of Heifu's ancestors. Just like his dark skin exposed to the wind and sun, he is not tolerated in this small banquet and is not the same as their circle.

Such a person, how dare he come to the Shangsi gathering with a vulgar name? The dozen women present asked themselves, they would not choose a man without a family name.

Feng Jing remained silent and did not help Heifu, because he wanted to see how Heifu would react.

"A group of people who are not practical and like empty reputation."

Heifu sneered in his heart, thinking that he was wasting time here, it would be better to go to a gathering with his comrades. If the men and women in front of him were so shallow, then there was no need to get married.

However, if he left in anger at this time, he would be laughed at, so he had to think of a way to deal with it.

However, before Heifu could speak, a soft female voice sounded outside the pavilion.

"I heard from my father that surnames are not innate. In ancient times, people were given surnames at birth and given surnames based on the land they were given. The fact that everyone here has surnames only means that our ancestors were either princes or officials, and the legacy has been passed down to this day."

"But Qin is no longer a country that honors relatives and respects others. It no longer looks at the origins of ancestors, but instead awards titles based on military merit. Those with great merit are honored, and rewards are given based on merit and officials are given based on ability. Today, everyone here is not ashamed of having no merit or title, but thinks that Zuo Bingcaoshi, who got the title of an official by his own efforts, should be ashamed of having no surname. Isn't that absurd?"

Upon hearing the voice, Hei Fu and everyone present immediately turned around and saw a girl wearing a green skirt and wooden clogs, standing outside the pavilion with her hair hanging down after bathing.

Her body has not yet fully grown, her shoulders are slightly thin, but her face is like a piece of finely carved white jade. She looks surprisingly young, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, and it is hard to believe that the words just now came from her.

"So she's the daughter of the county governor!"

Everyone stood up and saluted, and the sons of Gongcao and the county magistrate looked at her eagerly.

Seeing everyone looking back, the girl bowed slightly and bowed to them, then looked at Heifu and smiled politely at the first meeting.

"I'm still young, so my views are superficial, please don't mind..."