Celebrating the Lunar New Year with You | An Appreciation of the Sequential Art Series “One Hundred Scenes of Ancient Customs” (Part 10)

65. Beating the Ash Heap (Song Dynasty)
 

“Hitting the ash heap,” also known as “hitting as one wishes,” is an ancient Chinese folk custom. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, at the crowing of the rooster, people in rural China would go to the ash heap and beat it, believing that this practice would bring wealth.
 

As the last watch of New Year’s Eve draws to a close and the morning stars blaze, the heap of refuse is beaten as one wishes.
 

The staff strikes the ash, sending it flying as it leaps over the fence, unbothered by the dust that soils its fresh sleeves.
 

The old woman repeatedly offered her blessings, praying only that my family might live in prosperity.
 

A light boat returns laden with goods, while a great she‑cattle leads its calf and the hen feeds her chicks.
 

——Song Dynasty, Fan Chengda, “Poem on Piling Up Ash”
 

66. Posting Door Gods (Ming Dynasty)
 

Two weary soldiers, worn out by the watch at the pass, are all but ready to lay down their arms—yet I, with a carefree air, merely wave them off.
 

Jian’er’s fame and success rest only on old papers; beside whose door does lasting affection dwell?
 

The halberd mourns as rain’s traces erase the fading painting, while the helmet clings, its thread‑like bonds entwined with the severed plume.
 

Do not dwell on grievances with the bridegroom; next year, on this very night, all will be clear.
 

— Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou, “Sending Off the Door Gods”
 

67. New Year’s Money (Qing Dynasty)
 

The universe lies empty and desolate, while the years pass by with majestic grandeur.
 

At life’s end, storms and tempests assail; on the desolate frontier, one endures frost and snow.
 

Life fades as the year draws to a close; body and world alike are forgotten.
 

No more dreams of Tu Su wine; I sit by the lamp, the night yet far from over.
 

— Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang, “New Year’s Eve”

68. Soro Pole (Qing Dynasty)
 

Once, a crow saved the Khan; atop the Soro pole, it offered grain in battle.
 

Now, the Dan-level halls are seldom trodden; before the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility, the moon casts a dim, yellow glow.
 

69. The New Bride Does Not Kneel (Tang Dynasty)
 

During the Tang dynasty, it was customary for the groom to bow to the bride but not for the bride to return the gesture. This custom is said to be linked to Empress Wu Zetian.
 

Standing tall, silent, I gaze toward my husband; on all sides, with no home, the stones are my neighbors.
 

A single comb through her cicada‑like temples, and her hair is coiled into a thousand‑year knot; her silkworm eyebrows, swept long, seem to hold ten thousand years of spring.
 

— Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi, “The Stone Bride”

70. Displaying the Dowry (Qing Dynasty)
 

The master’s daughter is getting married, and her trousseau overflows with pearls and jade.
 

The road draws many admiring glances, and the gatehouse gleams with splendor.
 

——Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mei, “Wedding Dowry Verse”