中元节祭祀亡灵

中元节祭祀亡灵

Offering Sacrifices to Ghosts in Zhong Yuan Festival*

七月十五日中元节。先数日，市井卖冥器靴鞋、幞头帽子、金犀假带、五彩衣服。……又以竹竿斫成三脚，高三五尺，上织灯窝之状，谓之盂兰盆，搭挂衣服冥钱在上焚之。构肆乐人，自过七夕，便般《目连救母》杂居，直至十五日止，观者增倍。……十五日供养祖先素食。……城外有新坟者，即往拜扫。

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Zhong Yuan Festival. Several days ahead of this date, people start to market boots and shoes, hats and belts, and colourful clothes, all made of paper. These items will be burnt as offerings to ghosts. They also make bamboo tripods three to five feet tall, the top part of which is in the shape of a lamp bowl. This is called the “yulan pot”. The paper garments and paper money are burnt in it. Operatic troupes put on the play Mu Lian Rescuing His Mother** from the 7^th till the 15^th. The audience in that period is double the usual size. On the fifteenth day of the month, people offer vegetarian food to their ancestors. Any family that has a new tomb outside the town must pay homage to it on that day.

宋/孟元老《东京梦华录》

Meng Yuanlao (Song Dynasty)

Records of Dreams in East Capital

* Zhong Yuan Festival: i.e., Yulan Pot Fair, or Ghost Festival, is celebrated mainly to offer sacrifices to the souls of deceased people. The climax is the burning of paper garments and paper money. Since the yulan pot itself is also burnt at the end, the sacrificial rite is called the Yulan Pot Fair.

** “Mu Lian Rescuing His Mother”: According to Buddhist scriptures, the Buddhist disciple Mu Lian once furnished monks with all kinds of fruit to secure his mother’s rescue from privation. It was a custom in the old times to perform the play on July 15^th of the lunar year. The audience crowded the theatre on that day.

（姚红 译）