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If you were in official circles in ancient times， it was essential to visit each other. The widely spread means to give New Year's greetings in officialdom included mass greetings， one-to-one New Year's greetings， and New Year cards in ancient times， namely the New Year's greeting cards.
Mass greetings prevailed in Qing Dynasty
During the Spring Festival in Qing Dynasty， mass greetings， a group activity for people to celebrate the New Year through gathering together prevailed among capital officials. In fact， mass greetings were the extension of New Year's morning meeting， had a wide range in Qing Dynasty， and could be divided into the mass greetings among the officials in officialdom， the mass greetings among the friends and relatives， and the mass greetings among the fellows according to the scope of the participants.
If you are a capital official， do not miss the routine mass greetings among the officials in officialdom at the beginning of a year， which varied greatly in size， the larger ones included mass greetings among Nine Ministers and Six Ministries of Joseon. The mass greetings among the officials in officialdom were not only a procedural engagement， but also a good opportunity to develop relationships. If you were an official in Beijing coming from outside， you could participate in the mass greetings among the fellows. Like the fellow gatherings in university， the mass greetings among the fellows could make friendly contacts， improve the friendship with each other， and also ease your homesickness when you were homesick on the New Year's Day. Mass greetings have been followed until now， such as tea parties， mass greetings and evening parties hold on CCTV each year.
Ever-lasting
New Year's
greeting cards
Do not think sending New Year's greeting cards is a Western custom， in fact， New Year's greeting cards were very popular since the Northern Song Dynasty in China， but there were differences in names. New Year's greeting cards were called "Shouci" and "Menci" in Song Dynasty， and "Cunchu" and "Hongdan" in Qing Dynasty. In ancient times， the transportation was inconvenient， everyone was busy in the New Year， and there were many relatives and friends to visit， therefore， it was impossible to visit one by one， sending New Year's greeting cards was undoubtedly a wise choice.
If you were a scholar-official in the Song Dynasty， you could send New Year's greeting cards to others. At that time， the New Year's greeting cards were two-inch wide， three-inch-long paper cut up by plum paper with the names and addresses of the people being greeted and words expressing good wishes on them. Some households would attach a red paper bag on the door with the words of "receive good fortune" on it to accommodate New Year's greeting cards. In Ming Dynasty， the New Year's greeting cards had entered ordinary households， but the disadvantage of "excessive packaging" appeared. For instance， some New Year's greeting cards were made of red damask （a kind of red silk） and written with genuine gold. Some New Year's greeting cards were made of brocade with the auspicious words were woven in advance.
New Year's greeting cards in Qing Dynasty were more complicated， which should not only be signed， but also be stamped， in addition， a special box to accommodate New Year's greeting cards should be set. The box was made of precious wood， carved with patterns， and even decorated with gold and silver and other items. Besides a New Year's greeting card， some antique treasures， jewellery and even silver drafts were usually put in the box.
Because there were too many guests on New Year's Day， some rich households would prepare a special record official to record guests' coming and going and New Year's greeting cards. Opening the record book， you could see four fictitious persons giving New Year's greetings， namely one was a one-hundred-year old man named Shou Bailing who was living in Lane Baisuifang， one was a rich man named Fu Youyu who was living in Yuanbao Street， one was a honourable man named Gui Wuji who was living in Daxueshi Archway； and another one was a fortunate man named Fu Zhaolin who was living in House Wufu. Although the characters were fictitious， people's wishes of wealth and longevity were vivid.
Mass greetings prevailed in Qing Dynasty
During the Spring Festival in Qing Dynasty， mass greetings， a group activity for people to celebrate the New Year through gathering together prevailed among capital officials. In fact， mass greetings were the extension of New Year's morning meeting， had a wide range in Qing Dynasty， and could be divided into the mass greetings among the officials in officialdom， the mass greetings among the friends and relatives， and the mass greetings among the fellows according to the scope of the participants.
If you are a capital official， do not miss the routine mass greetings among the officials in officialdom at the beginning of a year， which varied greatly in size， the larger ones included mass greetings among Nine Ministers and Six Ministries of Joseon. The mass greetings among the officials in officialdom were not only a procedural engagement， but also a good opportunity to develop relationships. If you were an official in Beijing coming from outside， you could participate in the mass greetings among the fellows. Like the fellow gatherings in university， the mass greetings among the fellows could make friendly contacts， improve the friendship with each other， and also ease your homesickness when you were homesick on the New Year's Day. Mass greetings have been followed until now， such as tea parties， mass greetings and evening parties hold on CCTV each year.
Ever-lasting
New Year's
greeting cards
Do not think sending New Year's greeting cards is a Western custom， in fact， New Year's greeting cards were very popular since the Northern Song Dynasty in China， but there were differences in names. New Year's greeting cards were called "Shouci" and "Menci" in Song Dynasty， and "Cunchu" and "Hongdan" in Qing Dynasty. In ancient times， the transportation was inconvenient， everyone was busy in the New Year， and there were many relatives and friends to visit， therefore， it was impossible to visit one by one， sending New Year's greeting cards was undoubtedly a wise choice.
If you were a scholar-official in the Song Dynasty， you could send New Year's greeting cards to others. At that time， the New Year's greeting cards were two-inch wide， three-inch-long paper cut up by plum paper with the names and addresses of the people being greeted and words expressing good wishes on them. Some households would attach a red paper bag on the door with the words of "receive good fortune" on it to accommodate New Year's greeting cards. In Ming Dynasty， the New Year's greeting cards had entered ordinary households， but the disadvantage of "excessive packaging" appeared. For instance， some New Year's greeting cards were made of red damask （a kind of red silk） and written with genuine gold. Some New Year's greeting cards were made of brocade with the auspicious words were woven in advance.
New Year's greeting cards in Qing Dynasty were more complicated， which should not only be signed， but also be stamped， in addition， a special box to accommodate New Year's greeting cards should be set. The box was made of precious wood， carved with patterns， and even decorated with gold and silver and other items. Besides a New Year's greeting card， some antique treasures， jewellery and even silver drafts were usually put in the box.
Because there were too many guests on New Year's Day， some rich households would prepare a special record official to record guests' coming and going and New Year's greeting cards. Opening the record book， you could see four fictitious persons giving New Year's greetings， namely one was a one-hundred-year old man named Shou Bailing who was living in Lane Baisuifang， one was a rich man named Fu Youyu who was living in Yuanbao Street， one was a honourable man named Gui Wuji who was living in Daxueshi Archway； and another one was a fortunate man named Fu Zhaolin who was living in House Wufu. Although the characters were fictitious， people's wishes of wealth and longevity were vivid.