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The origins of Chinese traditional culture: male left and female right
Since ancient times, the Chinese have followed the principle that men are left and women are right. We are not unfamiliar with the saying that men are left and women are right. In our daily life, men are left and women are right. It seems that the convention has penetrated into all aspects of our social life.
When going to the public toilet, the male is on the left and the female is on the right; when wearing a wedding ring, the male is on the left and the female is on the right; in addition, there are also wedding photos, and the couple attends certain ceremonial occasions, etc. The male is often on the left, and the female is often on the right. If the positions are reversed, some people will joke that it violates the custom of “men on the left and women on the right”. And how did this kind of male-left-female-right argument come about?
In 1965, a blessing “Fuxi Nuwa” was unearthed in Astana, Xinjiang. It has been verified as a work of the Tang Dynasty. This painting shows the image of the ancestors of human beings in ancient Chinese myths and legends, and also reflects Chinese traditions. some features of the culture. In the picture, Fuxi is on the left, Nuwa is on the right, Fuxi holds the order with his left hand, and Nuwa holds the rule with his right.
According to legend, after Pangu, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, was transformed into an immortal, his body organs were transformed into the sun, moon, stars, four poles and five mountains, rivers and lakes, and all living beings. The god of the sun is Fuxi, who is transformed by Pangu’s left eye; Nuwa, who is eclipsed by the sun and the moon, is transformed by Pangu’s right eye. This is actually the origin of the custom of “men on the left and women on the right” in Chinese culture.
In China, male left and female right seems to have permeated all aspects of life by convention: in public toilets, male left and female right; wearing a wedding ring, male left and female right; attending certain ceremonial occasions, male left female right; Chinese medicine diagnosis pulse, male Take the pulse from the left hand, women take the pulse from the right hand…
Now, let’s go back and look at the orientation map of the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. Men should be positive and work hard to earn money to support their families. Women should know how to manage a house. If a man earns money and hand it over to you, you should save it and not spend it casually. Makes sense.
The custom of “men on the left and women on the right” is closely related to the philosophical views of ancient people. Ancient Chinese philosophers believed that the two opposites of ordinary things and people in the universe are yin and yang. Things in nature have size, length, up and down, left and right and so on. The ancients classified them as large, long, upper and left as yang, and small, short and right as yin. The yang is strong and the yin is weak. Man’s character, violent and strong, belong to Yang, on the left, and women’s gentleness and gentleness belong to Yin, on the right.
In my country’s feudal society, many things have the distinction of high and low. In ancient times, the south was regarded as the supreme, while the north symbolized failure and surrender. The palaces and temples all face due south, and the seats of the emperors are all facing the south. When the emperor becomes the emperor, he is called “respect from the south.” It is precisely because the direction of due south is so respectful and free of taboos that he was convicted.
In addition to the south and the north, in the east and west, the ancients also put the east as the first and the west as the second. The residences of the queens and concubines are divided into the East Palace and the West Palace. The East Palace is the main one, and the West Palace is the second one. The “dongjia” and “landlord” in modern Chinese also come from this.
Chinese culture is extensive and profound. “Men on the left and women on the right” is left by the ancestors and is a customary custom.
Men are left and women are right. It is a custom, which is the result of the thousands of years of tradition that men are superior to women. From left to right, male and female. This is the charm of Chinese culture. Chinese culture has been slowly accumulated and passed down through thousands of years of history.
