Fujian Ba Min Cultural Heritage

Cultural heritage
As early as 180000 years ago, ancient humans were active in the Wanshou Rock area. The Tanshishan culture, Minnan culture, Hakka culture, Mazu culture, shipbuilding culture, and other regional cultures that date back 5000 years ago have great charm. Famous figures such as Zhu Xi, Zheng Chenggong, Lin Zexu, Yan Fu, Chen Jiageng, Bing Xin, and Chen Jingrun shine in the annals of history. [63]
Dialect slang
Fujian Province has always been known for its complex dialects. There are seven major types of Chinese dialects in China, with five of them located within Fujian province - Min dialect, Ke dialect, Gan dialect, Wu dialect, and Mandarin dialect. The formation of dialects is mainly due to social division, people's migration, ethnic integration, and geographical barriers. [64]
Food culture
Before the Qin and Han dynasties, the indigenous people of Fujian liked to live by the water. In terms of diet, the people of Tanshishan in the Neolithic Age mainly relied on collecting shellfish and marine mollusks as their main source of food, as recorded in the Book of Yizhou: "Dongyue sea clams". Traces of millet grains and straw were found in the Dongzhang Cultural Site in Fuqing, indicating that cereal grains also played an important role in the food structure at that time.
In the Qin and Han dynasties, agricultural production in Fujian developed, with rice as the staple food and fish, clams, and fruits as side dishes. The "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of the Merchant Colonies" records: "In the land of Chu and Yue, the land was vast and sparsely populated, with rice, rice, soup, fish, or water plowed by fire, and clams harvested from fruits. Chu Yue "includes Fujian. At that time, there was a slight surplus of grain, which was used for brewing wine.
After the Han Dynasty, people from the Central Plains (narrow definition refers to the present-day Henan area; broad definition refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River or the entire Yellow River basin) gradually migrated to Fujian, bringing crops and their customs from the Central Plains. Wheat became one of the main foods, and people also planted crops such as soybeans. After the Tang and Song dynasties, with the rapid development of Fujian's economy and the prosperity of maritime trade, Fujian's food categories were greatly enriched, and the cooking of dishes also became more refined. In the mid to late Ming Dynasty, sweet potatoes were introduced from overseas and became one of the staple foods in some areas of Fujian.
After the Ming and Qing dynasties, Fujian cuisine gradually formed its own characteristics. Flavored snacks are well-known in China for their diverse colors and excellent taste, and have formed different regional characteristics.

In terms of hospitality customs, besides inviting guests to drink tea, boiling eggs to entertain guests is also a common custom. In terms of banquet customs, in modern times, they have gradually become luxurious and have many rules. In folk culture, there are also many dietary taboos that are popular. Drinking and drinking tea in Fujian has a history of thousands of years, especially tea drinking, which has become an indispensable and important part of people's daily lives; Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the trend of "tea fighting" has been flourishing, and the "tea ceremony" of Minnan and the "tea beating" of Hakka are renowned both at home and abroad.

Name Origin
The earliest record of "Min" can be found in the ancient Chinese encyclopedia "Shan Hai Jing" in Volume 10 of "Hai Nei Nan Jing": "Min is in the sea, with mountains to the northwest, and the middle of Min is in the sea." In the Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's Chinese character monograph "Shuowen Jiezi" stated: "Min, Southeast Vietnam, snake species, following insects and door sounds." The snake species here refers to the snake tribe, which is the clan that believes in the snake god. The creation of Min characters is based on the sound of insects and doors. The character "insect" is interpreted as "snake", which refers to the clan that worships snakes in their homes. The totem of the Minyue people is a snake. [40-41] Define the Min people as a snake worshiping ethnic group; The writing style of the character "Min" can serve as evidence, and the ancient people referred to snakes as "long worms", which can be explained as "Min is a mountainous area with many snakes and worms, so the character" worm "was added under the door to show its characteristics".
Fujian people have an inexplicable bond with snakes. For thousands of years, snakes have profoundly influenced the religious beliefs, folk customs, and spiritual culture of the people of Fujian, forming a unique snake worship culture. [42-43]
Fujian has been called "Min" since ancient times, and the meaning of "Min" is that there is a snake inside the door. In the Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" did not classify it as part of the "Gate" section, but as part of the "Insect" section, with the definition being "Min, Southeast Yue, Snake Seed". One of the main branches of the ancient Baiyue Yue ethnic group, the Minyue ethnic group, lived in the Minjiang River basin, southeastern hills, and coastal areas with many snakes. They regarded snakes as the symbol of their clan or as totems, and believed that snakes were the ancestors of their clan and worshipped them. Therefore, the Minyue ethnic group maintained the custom of worshipping snakes for a long time, "wearing hair and tattoos to resemble scales and insects", and had the habit of cutting hair and tattoos, depicting snake shapes on their bodies to pray for protection from ferocious animals.
The custom of worshiping snake like totems has become one of the symbols of Fujian culture. A large number of documents and archaeological excavations have proved that the people of Fujian and Vietnam worship snakes. The Mount Wuyi Seoul ruins found the tile with snake shaped decorative patterns, and the copper Duo fragments carved with snake patterns. Three thousand years ago, pottery from the Bronze Age in Fujian was filled with the imprint of snake totems - there were snake shaped sculptures on the pottery, coiled cobra patterns on the surface, and various geometric patterns imitating snake skin patterns. Snake shaped stone carvings have also been found in Caozai Mountain, Makeng Township, Hua'an County, and Xikou Village, Guanpi Town, Zhao'an County, fully demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of early Minyue people's belief and worship of snakes. The Eastern Han Dynasty's "Wu Yue Spring and Autumn Annals", "Yue Jueshu" and other documents all record the snake totems of the Minyue people.
After the Western Han Dynasty, people moved snakes to be painted on boat caravans, and from then on, Fujian ships must have a snake painted on them. In the early Qing Dynasty, Yu Yonghe's "Records of the Sea" recorded: "In every Fujian ship, there must be a snake named 'Wooden Dragon'." In some places in central and eastern Fujian, it is popular for women to wear snake hairpins on their hair buns, which are made of silver and have complex patterns. The basic style is a small snake with a high head. To highlight the image of the little snake, women in central Fujian often tie their hair into multiple braids. From a distance, it looks like a group of black and shiny snakes clustering together with a white and shiny little snake, which is extremely eerie. This kind of snake hairpin is actually a scaled down emblem of the ancient Minyue ethnic group - a flying snake, and they insert the snake hairpin to show that they will not forget their ancestors.
Fujian folk retains a lot of folk customs related to snakes. In many places, there are snake king temples to worship snake gods. The snake king palaces in Changting Luohan Ridge, Nanping celery, Minhou Yangli, Yongchun and other places are preserved. The snake king temples in Fuqing and Putian are called "Qinggong temples". In Sanping Village, Wenfeng Town, Pinghe County, the custom of "people and snakes sleeping together" is popular. There is a black, non-toxic snake growing locally, which is regarded by every household as a god of protection and called the "Waiter God". Yanping in northern Fujian, Gutian and Youxi in eastern Fujian still retain the ancient custom of worshipping snakes. The Snake King God in Changting, Yongding and other places in western Fujian is regarded as able to "listen strictly and uphold justice". In the past, when there were disputes among the people, they would confess and swear in front of the Snake King God.
The rich and simple snake culture permeates the folk customs of Fujian people. From a physical perspective, snakes are similar to dragons. In the twelve zodiac animals, snakes are called "little dragons" by the people, and it is believed that dragons are evolved from snakes. In Fujian folk culture, there are widely spread beautiful stories of people combining snakes, such as the Snake Lord in the story of "Snake Lord", who is a kind gentleman. People have adapted it into the Fujian opera "Flower and Bird Chronicles", which is deeply loved by the people of Fujian and Taiwan.
In addition to "Min", Fujian has also been known as "Seven Min" and "Eight Min", and is now commonly referred to as "Eight Min". The earliest record of "Seven Min" can be found in "Zhou Li · Xia Guan · Zhi Fang Shi". The book states: "Zhi Fang Shi is in charge of the map of the world, and is in charge of the land of the world, distinguishing its states, countries, capitals, Pixian, four barbarians, eight barbarians, seven Min, nine raccoons, five Rong, and six Di people..." "Seven Min" originally referred specifically to the seven tribes of descendants of the Min ethnic group with snakes as totems scattered in present-day Fujian and southern Zhejiang during the Zhou Dynasty. For example, Jia Gongyan's "Zhou Li Shu" in the Tang Dynasty said: "Uncle Xiong lived in Pu like a barbarian, and his later son was divided into seven types, hence the name Seven Min. Cheng refers to Fujian in general.
The so-called "Ba Min" was named after the Fujian Road during the Song Dynasty, which established eight administrative institutions at the same level, including Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Tingzhou, Nanjianzhou, Shaowu Army, and Xinghua Army.
Min Dong: refers to the vast area in the middle and lower reaches of the Min River and the mountainous areas in the northeast of Fujian Province, adjacent to the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea. Administratively, it includes Fuzhou and Ningde. Among them, Fuzhou dialect is spoken in the six districts and six counties of Fuzhou, as well as in Gutian and Pingnan counties of Fuqing City and Ningde. Other counties and cities in Ningde mostly use Fu'an dialect. In addition, Lianjiang County (Mazu Islands) under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, China also belongs to Mindong.
Minzhong: refers to some areas of Putian and Sanming. Sanming City has jurisdiction over Sanyuan District and Shaxian District, including 9 cities and counties including Yong'an City, Youxi County, Datian County, Mingxi County, Qingliu County, Ninghua County, Shaxian County, Taining County, Jiangle County, and Jianning County. Datian speaks Minnan and Mindong dialects, Sanming, Yong'an, and Shaxian speak Minzhong dialect, Ninghua and Qingliu speak Minxi Hakka dialect, Taining, Jiangle, Jianning, Mingxi, and Shaowu speak Mingan dialect, and Youxi speaks Mindong dialect instead of Minnan dialect. Putian City includes Xianyou County, Chengxiang District, Licheng District, Hanjiang District, and Xiuyu District.
Minnan: refers to the area in the southern part of Fujian Province, including the Jiulong River and Jinjiang River basins, adjacent to the Taiwan Strait. Administratively, it has three cities in the People's Republic of China: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou. The economy is relatively developed, hence it is also known as the Minnan Golden Triangle. In addition, Jinmen County under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, China also belongs to southern Fujian. The Minnan region is a hometown of overseas Chinese, with immigrants from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, also known as Heluo people, being the ancestral homeland of most overseas Chinese and Taiwanese Heluo people. Pass the Heluo language. The western region is adjacent to the western part of Fujian and transitions to the Hakka area. There are also distribution points of Hakka language, such as Xiuzhuan, Guanpi, Xiage, Taiping, Hongxing and other towns in Zhao'an County, as well as some areas in Yunxiao County, Nanjing County, and Pinghe County. Hakka people in this area have also immigrated to Taiwan.
Northern Fujian: refers to the upper reaches of the Minjiang River in northern Fujian, the southeast side of the northern section of the Wuyi Mountains and the northwest side of the Daiyun Mountains. Administratively, there are parts of Nanping and Sanming in the People's Republic of China; To the east is Ningde City, to the west is Shangrao City and Yingtan City in Jiangxi Province, to the south is Sanming City, and to the north is Lishui City in Zhejiang Province. It is the ancestral home of overseas Chinese and speaks Hokkien.
Minxi: In ancient times, it referred to Tingzhou, the westernmost prefecture in Fujian province. Except for Longyan City and Zhangping, all other counties were inhabited by Hakka people, making it one of the four Hakka prefectures. This place was also one of the ancestral homes of Hakka immigrants to Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Sichuan, and other places, represented by Liu Guangdi in Wuping County and Wu Boxiong in Yongding District. In modern times, it refers to Longyan City, the westernmost city in Fujian. Yongding Tulou is a world cultural heritage site.
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Fuzhou: Shoushan stone, cow horn comb, olive, Fujian orange, longan, Fujian ginger, hibiscus plum, jasmine tea, bodice lacquerware, wooden paintings, wood carvings, paper umbrellas, shell carvings, porcelain, etc;
Putian is rich in seafood such as eels, prawns, swimming crabs, and anchovies. Among the fruits, longan, lychee, loquat, and pomelo are well-known both domestically and internationally;
Zhangzhou: "Three Famous Flowers" such as narcissus, camellia, and orchid, and "Seven Famous Fruits" such as green plum, mandarin, lychee, Tianbao banana, longan, Pinghe honey pomelo, and pineapple; There are also various dried seafood, Pien Tze Huang, Ba Bao Yin Ni, Pien Tze Huang pearl paste, Zhen Bei lacquer painting decorative board, Narcissus brand oil essence, puppetry, etc;
Longyan: Liancheng sweet potato jerky, Liancheng white duck, Liancheng orchid, Longyan peanut, Changting tofu jerky, Shanghang radish jerky, Wuping pig bile jerky, Yongding vegetable jerky, Hetian chicken, etc;
Quanzhou: various melons and fruits, famous trees and flowers, Dehua porcelain, Hui'an stone carving, Anxi oolong tea (Anxi Tieguanyin Tea), Laofanzhi Wanying Divine Comedy, Yongchun Vinegar, Yuanhetang Candied Fruit, Quanzhou puppet head, Yongchun lacquer basket, artificial flowers, etc;
Xiamen: various subtropical fruits, pies, fish skin peanuts, Bodhi pills, Qingjin fruits, Xiamen pearl embroidery, lacquer thread carving, Xiamen colored sculptures, Xiamen porcelain sculptures, mushroom meat sauce, Xiamen medicinal wine, dried seafood, etc;
Nanping: Wuyi Rock Tea (Dahongpao), bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, lotus seeds;
Ningde: Tea, edible mushrooms, four season pomelo, betel nut taro, late maturing lychee, late maturing longan, oil chestnut, seedless persimmon, chestnut and other popular products both at home and abroad. Ningde also produces sea treasures such as yellow croaker, grouper, prawns, Erdu clams, Xiapu sword clams, etc.