The Legend of Nian — A Traditional Chinese Legend

As told by Lady Scholastica Joycors

It is said that in ancient China there lived a mythical beast named Nian who had the head of a lion and the body of a bull and had a ferocious attitude and appetite. During the year this monster lived deep at the bottom of the sea and hunted for his food, but when the winter was leaving and the food was gone he became hungry, Nian would rise up out of the sea and come to the Peach Blossom village to eat their livestock, crops, and even the villagers, especially the children. The villagers were terrified of Nian and to protect themselves the villagers would prepare food which they left at their front doors and escape to the remote mountains while Nian ransacked their village looking for food to feed his belly.

On this particular New Year’s Eve as the people were dashing around in preparation to leave the village with their old and their young, their cattle and their sheep an old beggar entered their village. He was an ordinary looking man with a stick in one hand and a bag hanging from his arm, his silver white hair and beard glistened in the daylight, he had a ruddy complexion, and a strange sparkle in his eyes but no one seemed to notice him in their panic to escape before Nian arrived, for they were much too concerned about themselves.

On the east side of the village a grandmother noticed the old beggar and offered him some food and some advice. She urged him to quickly escape with them up to the mountains to avoid any confrontation with the monster Nian. The old man simply stroked his beard and said with a smile, “If you allow me to stay in your home for the night I am sure I can drive away the monster Nian.”

The old woman was surprised to hear such boldness from this old man and looked at him with discerning eyes and concern, but no amount of begging or prodding would convince the old man to come with her, he simply smiled at her and said nothing, so the grandmother left for the mountain and wished the old man luck and urged him to be careful. As soon as the old woman was out of sight he set down his bag and began to prepare for the arrival of Nian. He put up red banners containing couplets on her door and windows, dressed himself all in red, lit red candles, placed bamboo pieces all around her home and then went inside the old woman’s house to wait.

Around midnight the monster Nian emerged from the sea and rushed to the village prepared to dine on whatever he could find and destroy the village, but finding the air strangely still he approached cautiously. What he saw took him by surprise for in front of him were bright red banners on the door and red papers on the windows which caused him great distress and he squalled as if in pain, for he hated the color red. The strange site made Nian tremble in rage and as he pounced towards the door a loud crackling sound burst in the courtyard startling Nian so he dare not come any closer. Just then the old man burst out of the house dressed all in red robes and laughing like a mad man and the flashing bright lights from the candles bled into the eyes of the monster Nain and this threw him into a panic causing him to bolt back through the darkness as quickly as he could to the safety of the sea.

The next day was the first day of the lunar month. When the villagers returned to their village and saw that it was still there and not destroyed they were all in a bit of a daze and wondered what could have happened. It was then that the grandmother saw the old man gathering up his bag and his staff to leave, when their eyes met he made a simple bow to her as a courtesy to show thanks for her hospitality and threw his bag onto his shoulder. She went to grab his arm to stop him from leaving but stopped short as she and the other villagers looked in awe at the red couplets on her door and the red candles still lit inside her home and the embers of the pile of still crackling bamboo around her home and when she turned back to thank the old man he had vanished.

Everybody concluded that the old man must have been a celestial being come to save them from the ferocious monster Nian and to bless the people and he brought with him in his bag the red banners with couplets on them, the red candles, red cloth, and exploding firecrackers as the magic to frighten away Nian. The villagers were so happy with their good fortune that they all went home and dressed in their best clothes and gathered in the courtyard and celebrated their triumph over the monster Nian.

From that day forward the villagers instead of preparing to leave for the mountains to escape the dreaded monster Nian prepared instead for his arrival by placing red couplets on the doors and windows, dressing all in red, hanging red lanterns around the city and giving each child one for protection, and making lots of noise all night by partying and setting off firecrackers to keep Nian away. Word spread to all the surrounding villages of their good fortune and the 3 keys for keeping their village safe and each year Niam approaches the villages looking for a meal but instead runs away in fright from the noise, the fire, and the color red.

This is the story of how the Chinese New Year or Guo Nian (which literally means to overcome Nian) began and grew to became one of the most celebrated traditions in China.

SOME HISTORICAL NOTES: The Chinese New Year has a far-reaching history of over 3,800 years. The origin of the festival can be traced back to the worshiping activities in China’s ancient agrarian society. The date for the ceremony wasn’t fixed till the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), when Emperor Wudi commanded the people to use the lunar calendar.

The name of ‘Nian’ (year), in fact, emerged in the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC), and the worshiping performance eventually turned into a social practice to observe the beginning of farming in spring. Not only worshiping ancestor and praying for good harvest, they also began to enshrine the Kitchen God, Gate God, Joy God, Wealth God, and Well God.

The festival date had been really entrenched since the emperor Wudi, during the Han Dynasty, fixed the first day of January in the Chinese lunar calendar as the New Year’s Day, which has continued till the present day. At that time, Chinese New Year had become a nationwide event. There was a big festival fair launched by the government, and civil people also gathered for celebration. New custom activities also arose, such as burning the bamboo (setting off fireworks nowadays), hanging Spring Couplets and staying up at night.

In 1912, the government decided to abolish Chinese New Year and the lunar calendar, but adopted the Gregorian calendar instead. People were unwilling to change the tradition, so the policy did not carry out successfully. A compromise was made that both calendar systems were kept, and the Gregorian calendar used in government, factory, school and other organizations while lunar calendar used for traditional festivals.