Why was HIKING a LIFE or DEATH decision on this Chinese festival

Hello everyone, I’m Ally Let’s talk about a traditional Chinese festival that’s coming up, called the Double Ninth Festival 重陽節 Traditionally on this day, people would climb up a mountain, drink chrysanthemum wine, and wear zhuyu plant. This is because doing these things saved the lives of a whole family about 2,000 years ago. During the Eastern Han dynasty, there was a young man named Fei Zhangfang. Let’s call him Fei for short. He lived in the Runan area in Henan Province. His room was located on the 2nd floor above a busy street market. His hobby was to observe market goers from his window. On his street, there was an old man who sold medicine everyday. The old man hung a gourd bottle in front of his stall every morning, but at night he jumped into the gourd and disappeared. Fei couldn’t believe his eyes. He looked around but no one else noticed anything. He thought to himself, this old man must be a deity, I’ve got to talk to him. So the next day, he prepared delicious wine and meat and went to the old man. The old man was indeed a deity, who finished his business in the human world and was about to leave. When he saw Fei, he knew this young man had a chance at cultivation. So he gave Fei a few small tests. First he asked Fei to come back the next day, Fei did. He then asked Fei to follow him into the gourd, and Fei also took a leap of faith without hesitation. Once they were inside the gourd, Fei realized it was another world with magnificent buildings and full of delicious food and wine. At this point, Fei was very inclined to start cultivation but the old man knew Fei was still worried about his family. The old man gave Fei a bamboo stick that was the same height as Fei and told him to hang it behind his room. When Fei’s family came home, all they saw was the sight of Fei’s corpse hanging. They all cried and buried Fei, but no one noticed Fei who was standing right next to them the entire time. So now Fei was ready to start cultivation. The old man gave him many challenges. One time Fei was surrounded by tigers, but he was not afraid and passed the test. Another time, the old man hung a giant boulder that weighed 10,000 lbs right above Fei’s head, and then made countless snakes chew on the rope. Fei did not move one bit even when the rope was about to break. The old man was very satisfied with Fei’s enlightenment quality and gave him one final test. This time, he pointed at a piece of feces that had an intense foul odor with 3 bugs inside and told Fei to swallow it. Fei was disgusted by it and hesitated. For the first time, Fei refused to follow the old man’s order and failed the test. It was such a pity because he could have made it if only he believed in his master. Fei also knew he couldn’t succeed in cultivation anymore. The old man sent Fei home but gave him a few magical items to aid him in the future. After coming home, Fei continued to help others by expelling evil spirits and curing diseases. Over the years, Fei also accumulated a few followers. One of them was a young guy called Huan Jing. He followed Fei for many years. One day, Fei told Huan Jing, a catastrophe is coming to Huan’s family on the 9th day of the 9th month on the Chinese calendar. In order to evade the catastrophe, Huan needed to tell his family to collect zhuyu plant and wear it on their arms, and then climb up on a mountain and drink chrysanthemum wine on that day. Huan followed Fei’s advice and took his family on a hiking trip. When they came back that night, they found all of their domestic animals were mysteriously dead. Fei told Huan, it was the animals that took the hit and saved the family. Ever since then, Chinese people have been following the tradition of climbing up high, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and wearing zhuyu plants on the Double Ninth Festival for the past 2,000 years. Alright, now you know where the customs came from, but do you know why the festival falls on this particular date? Why was the 9th day of the 9th month on the Chinese calendar so special? To answer this question, we have to take a deeper look at the number nine. According to ‘I Ching’, the number 9 is not only a Yang number, but also the biggest of all Yang numbers. The 9th day of the 9th month has two nines, hence the name Double Ninth Festival. It is considered to have the most Yang energy out of the entire year. On this day, the Yang chi will rise up, and dirty chi will sink down, so it’s a wonderful time to fly up to the heavens, that is IF you have been diligent with your cultivation. Many of the Taoist masters chose to achieve consummation and flew up on this date, such as the famous Yellow Emperor, the Xuanwu Great Emperor, the founder of Taoism Master Zhang Daoling, and the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. You might be thinking, wow, this Double Ninth Festival must be the best date in the entire year, we should have the best result in whatever we do right? Not quite Chinese people believe in a saying called “物極必反” which means “Things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme” There’s also a sentence in ‘Tao Te Ching’, that says “Good fortune follows upon disaster; disaster lurks within good fortune.” On one hand, the 9th day of the 9th month has the highest Yang energy available, but on the other hand, misfortune will also be lurking around. That’s why Fei gave that advice to Huan Jing and people have been following them ever since. If you think about it, Fei’s advice actually made a lot of sense. The plant zhuyu is a Chinese medicinal herb with a strong scent that’s able to kill insects and diseases. And going up high will allow people to get the most Yang energy. It’s also good for people’s health. Speaking of health, the number 9 九 in Chinese has the same pronunciation as the word longevity 久 So Chinese people have a tradition of having feasts on this day and consuming food and drinks that will help with achieving longevity, such as chrysanthemum wine. In recent years though, the meaning of this festival has been twisted. You might have heard people calling this day an “Elder’s Festival” or ‘Respecting Elders Day’. But I have to point out that this new name was only created in 1966 and has nothing to do with the original meaning of the Double Ninth Festival. Just like all traditional Chinese festivals and holidays, the Double Ninth Festival was a reflection of the harmonious relationship between humanity, heaven and earth. Respecting elders has always been a part of traditional Chinese culture, and in my opinion, shouldn’t be limited to just showcasing it on one day. It’s a pity that so many Chinese traditions have been changed and lost especially in the last 100 years. Fortunately we now have Shen Yun aiming to revive Chinese civilization and bringing it back to its glory. If you are into music, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is coming to Lincoln Center in New York City on Oct. 22nd, the day before the Double Ninth Festival. It combines Eastern and Western instruments and brings them together in perfect harmony. Seats are limited, make sure to grab your tickets now. I’ll put the link in the description below. Also, for the first time ever, Shen Yun and Fei Tian Academy of the Arts prepared a joint performance to showcase all the amazing dance techniques and it is now available to stream exclusively on GanJingWorld.com This is not a Shen Yun performance, but a sneak peek of some of their incredible dance moves. I’ll put the link down below as well. Make sure you watch until the end, it gets better and better! So what’s the most interesting part of the Double Ninth Festival? Is there anything else you want to learn? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you for watching. I’ll see you next time!