Peach trees have been widely cultivated all over the country since ancient times, which are easy to survive and bear many fruits, so they are regarded as a symbol of fertility and life. In ancient times, peach trees were also planted outside shrines and were regarded as one of the sacred trees for offering sacrifices to gods. Therefore, peach wood also has the function of exorcising evil spirits and praying for blessings, such as peach wooden swords and peach wooden symbols. They are widely circulated folk exorcism instruments. Peach, on the other hand, means longevity. Give the old people a birthday and give them a plate of longevity peaches to show that they wish them a long and healthy life.
Feicheng, located at the west foot of Mount Tai, has the largest peach blossom garden in the world and has a cultivation history of thousands of years. Legend has it that in the west of Laofeicheng County, there is a mountain called Taotao Mountain, between Taoshan and Xiaotaishan. Around the top of the mountain is a cliff that stretches for dozens of miles. Seventy-two caves are scattered like flowers, and there are monsters in these seventy-two caves. Whenever night falls, the 72-hole monster comes out of the hole and rushes into Feicheng, where the monster dances wildly, making waves, harming the people and wasting his life. This story spread to Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea. Hearing this, Shen Tu and Lei Yu were furious. They soon came to Feicheng, used local materials, broke peach branches as weapons, killed the monster, wounded him and ran away. The monster who narrowly escaped was scared out of her wits when she saw the peach branches. Because the East China Sea and Feicheng are northwest-southeast, and the peach branches folded when Shen Yu and Er Shen went to Feicheng face southeast, so the peach branches facing southeast have aura and have the function of eliminating disasters and avoiding evil spirits.
The theory of recording the evil spirits of peach branches in Southeast China has a long history. Etymology: "In ancient times, people who chose peach branches to carve peach trees stood indoors to ward off evil spirits. Until now, people still believe that mahogany products can ward off ghosts and evil spirits. In the Han dynasty, the carved peach seal was hung on the portal, which was called peach seal.
Legend has it that "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" are two immortals who specialize in ghosts and gods, and they are also widely accepted door gods. Where they live, there is a big peach tree, commonly known as "the gate of hell", which is a place of all evils. On weekdays, they sat on both sides of the "gate of hell" and used peach wooden sticks to exorcise ghosts, so peach wood later became people's evil spirits.
There is such a description in Shan Hai Jing: "There is a big peach tree on Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea, which bends three thousand miles. Its humble branch is called the gate of hell in the northeast, and it is full of ghosts. And Er Shen, one is Shen Tu, the other is Lei Yu, the victim of reading ghosts. It is said that there is a sacred mountain "Dushuo Mountain" in the East China Sea, and there is a particularly large peach tree on Dushuo Mountain. This big peach tree winds for three thousand miles. At the northernmost end of its branch, there is a "ghost gate", which is the gateway for ghosts to enter and exit. Two gods guarding the gate of hell, one named Shen Tu and the other named Lei Yu, prevent harmful ghosts from entering people's homes.
In addition, there are some legends that describe these two door gods in more detail: the southwest gate is called "Shenmen" and is guarded by Shentu. Whenever an evil spirit steals peaches from the mountains, Shen Tu cuts his neck with a peach wooden sword, pierces the peach in his cheek, and throws the evil spirit into the sea to feed the dragon. The northeast gate is called "The Gate of Hell" and is guarded by Lei Yu. If hungry ghosts are found stealing food from trees, they will be tied up with reeds, shot to death with peach arcs, and thrown into the mountains to feed tigers.
From the fairy tales such as Shan Hai Jing, it can be seen that people at that time had a custom besides sticking to the door gods: sticking to peach trees. The ancients believed that mahogany can ward off evil spirits and has the function of exorcising ghosts. Writing symbols on mahogany to form spells; Polishing peach wood into a sword is the peach wood sword exorcism. The lost article in "Searching for Ji Shen" records: "In the current custom, every year on the New Year's Eve of Lasuo, peach people are decorated, reeds are hung, tigers are painted on the door, and two lights are placed on the left and right, like the eyes of tigers, to drive away the ominous. 」
Later, people wrote the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on a mahogany board and hung them at the door. This is the "hanging peach symbol". Fu Tao is replaced once a year. Wang Anshi, a poet in the Song Dynasty, wrote in "January Day": "A year away from firecrackers, spring breeze enters Tu Su from send warm. The rising sun sheds light on doors of each household, New peachwood charm is put up to replace the old. 」