Dragon Boat Festival
01 · Historical Records
The "Suoluolian" of Anhai originates from an ancient folk custom of the Central Plains region; it was already very prevalent in the early Qing dynasty. In the mid-to-late Qing, this activity became closely bound together with the Chinese nation's worship of the dragon totem, and its date was changed to the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional Chinese festival, also known as "Chongwu" ("double noon"), "Duanwu", and "Pujie" ("calamus festival"). "Duan" means "beginning", so the fifth day [of the month] is called "Duanwu" ("beginning fifth"). In the Xia (lunar) calendar the first month is established as the month of Yin; following the order of the earthly branches, the fifth month is precisely the month of Wu, and the ancients often called the fifth day "Wu day"; hence "Duanwu" is also called "Chongwu" ("double Wu"). Dragon Boat Festival customs are found throughout the country and are mainly prevalent in the broad Han areas; the Zhuang, Buyi, Dong, Tujia, and Gelao, among other ethnic minorities, also have the custom of observing the Dragon Boat Festival. There are many legends about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival — commemorating Qu Yuan's drowning in the river, the taboo of the fifth day of the fifth month as a poisonous day, King Goujian of Yue training his navy, commemorating Wu Zixu's throwing himself into the Qiantang River, and Cao E's rescue of her father. Refined over successive generations and combined with the folk activities of the festival, these accounts have formed a unique festival custom of the Chinese nation. The main activities of the Dragon Boat Festival include commemorating historical figures, rowing dragon boats, eating zongzi (rice dumplings), pasting up Duanwu paper-cuts, hanging mugwort and calamus, wearing sachets and other evil-averting objects, and bathing with orchid water; in addition there are games such as doucao (plant contests), ball games, and willow shooting. These activities have produced related implements, articles, and foods, among which dragon boats, zongzi, pictures of the five venomous creatures, mugwort and calamus, pictures of Zhong Kui, pictures of Zhang Tianshi, and images of Qu Yuan are the most common. With the progress of society, the Dragon Boat Festival has gradually developed into a traditional festival rich in content and has gained tremendous vitality. For example, the customs of rowing dragon boats and eating zongzi in the Dragon Boat Festival have been well preserved to the present day and have developed healthily. In view of this, scientific guidance should be applied to the other cultural expressions of the Dragon Boat Festival, so that the festival cultural activities of the broad masses become richer and more colorful. "Suoluo", also called "Cailian" ("picking the lotus"), is a folk activity of the people of Anhai Town, Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, for warding off illness and disaster and praying for peace and health. Today the Suoluolian is preserved very completely in Anhai Town and still plays an important role in folk life. When the Suoluo is held, people carry out the enshrined statue of the Dragon King's head, burn incense, and kowtow, processing through the streets and lanes. The whole procession is led by a man with staggering, drunken steps, wearing a Qing soldier's conical hat and holding a long pole with a mugwort flag; on either side of the troupe playing gongs, drums, and stringed and wind music walk the "pubing" (the runner figure), carrying raw pig's trotters, straw sandals, and wine in a urine-pot on his shoulder and beating a broken gong, and the "flower granny" played by a man — head wrapped in black cloth, dressed in red jacket and red trousers, a basket of fresh flowers in hand and embroidered shoes on his feet. At each household, the flag-bearer rushes into the hall as if drunk or mad, brandishing the mugwort flag to sweep along the beams while loudly intoning prayers such as "the Dragon God comes to pick the lotus; may the household prosper and gain great wealth." After the male "flower granny" has danced a few staged operatic steps in response to the flag-bearer, he presents fresh flowers to the householder, signifying that the Dragon King has left fortune and auspiciousness; the householder takes the flowers and replies with a red envelope in thanks. In addition, on this day the households of the little town of Anhai also carry out activities such as "frying dough strings to mend the sky", tying zongzi, and inserting pine and mugwort at the door. The Suoluo custom has positive practical significance for enriching the cultural life of the people and for promoting cultural exchange across the Taiwan Strait.
The officials who lead the dragon
The procession opens with straw-hatted men carrying long poles of wormwood, follows musicians, and is flanked by straw-sandal men and women dressed as flower grannies.
Sweeping the beams with wormwood
At each door the flag bearer rushes into the hall, sweeps the beams with wormwood and chants blessings as firecrackers answer from within.
Flowers for the household, red packets back
After a comic dance the flower granny offers a bouquet to the host, who must return a red packet in exchange.
Paper patching and tying zongzi
On the same day households fry paper cake said to patch the sky, tie zongzi and set pine and wormwood at their gates.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Suoluolian is a distinctive folk custom of the single town of Anhai; few other townships show the same form. This custom was already seen in the town of Anhai in the early Qing; it later merged with the worship of the dragon totem, and from then on was held specifically on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, passed down from generation to generation without change. In recent years most participants have been middle-aged or elderly; within Anhai Town, stewards are elected by sections of streets and lanes, and the procession calls at every household without missing one. People of southern Fujian who emigrated to the South Seas also call this custom "picking the lotus" (cailian) in their native local tongue; the names differ between the two places, but the procedures are much alike. Beyond gathering medicinal herbs and hanging calamus, wrapping zongzi and frying dough strings to mend the sky are festival foods unique to the local households.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It has important reference value for research on the history of folk customs and related areas. As modernization accelerates, the social foundation on which this folk custom depends has undergone enormous change; some highly accomplished folk artists have withdrawn from the activity because of old age, and the Suoluolian custom lacks successors, so it urgently needs protection. The remaining accomplished artists are mostly elderly; the steps and stopping cues of the flag-bearer, the pubing, and the flower granny can only be passed on through old film footage and oral instruction. Large numbers of young people from the Anhai area have gone away to work, so the size of the procession varies from time to time, and the town authorities often come forward to make contacts and assign duties; the town cultural center has repeatedly sent people to accompany the procession, filming and recording it, and has collected into a volume, one by one, the prayers each household prefers.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Tan Guozheng 05-2970
- Liu Guisheng 05-2971
- Xiang Fuchang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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