Qixi Festival
01 · Historical Records
The Wuchuanlou Xiansheng Zazi (Miscellaneous Characters of Mr. Wuchuanlou), dated to the fifty-seventh year of the Qianlong reign (1792), also records the basic content of the Yunxi Qixi custom as it has been passed down to the present day. Worth mentioning is that the Man'yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves), compiled in the 8th century and the oldest extant anthology of Japanese poetry, contains more than 130 poems on the theme of the 'Seventh Night' (Qixi).
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yunxi Qixi is a folk festival custom prevailing in the basins of the Han River, the Tianhe River and the Jinqian River within Yunxi County, Hubei Province; its principal ritual is 'Inviting the Seventh Sister' (Qing Qijie), and it contains the cultural connotations of praying for blessings and seeking skill. Yunxi lies in the northwest of Hubei Province, and the Tianhe River, an important tributary of the Han River, runs through its territory. As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, Yunxi, by virtue of natural landmarks such as the Tianhe River, the Golden Hairpin Rock (also called the Zhuanjing Wonder Rock), the Weaver Girl's Cave, Stone Grandpa and Stone Grandma, gave rise to retellings of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl myth of the Double Seventh. The Jiajing first-year (1522) Huguang Tongzhi (General Gazetteer of Huguang) records: “The Tianhe River, one li west of the county town, rises in the Huming Valley and descends past Jia Mountain to reach the Han.” The Ming-dynasty Huguang Tujing Zhi (Illustrated Gazetteer of Huguang) preserves the poem 'On the Zhuanjing Wonder Rock' by Hong Wenyi, instructor of the Chenghua era: “The combing fairy flies away, casting aside her golden hairpin, its radiance dazzling the eyes.” The Tongzhi-era Yunxi County Gazetteer of the Qing likewise records: “On the Double Seventh, the women of the inner chambers offer melons and fruits in sacrifice to the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl; this is called qiqiao (seeking skill).” As the core ritual of the Yunxi Qixi custom, 'Inviting the Seventh Sister' mainly comprises the three stages of 'inviting', 'asking' and 'sending off'. Through this ritual, the people 'invite' the goddesses, represented by the Weaver Girl, to descend to the mortal world, and then consult them on the year's harvest, divine misfortune and fortune, pray for a happy marriage, and seek skill and wisdom. In addition, the Yunxi Qixi encompasses a rich variety of blessing- and skill-seeking activities. For example, the men carry water to 'gather the seventh water' and fit flower garlands on their yellow cattle to 'celebrate the ox's birthday'; the women display their artistry through 'competing in skill' and 'making skilful foods'; the girls carefully 'dye their fingernails'; the elderly 'observe the stars' to predict drought and flood; the boys and girls 'listen to night talk under the grapevine'; and the heads of households hold 'floating river lantern' ceremonies. Japanese scholars made a special journey to Tianhekou in Yunxi for on-the-spot investigation, and held that the images of 'Tianhe' (the Heavenly River) and 'Tianhan' (the Heavenly Han) mentioned in that anthology are closely related in origin to the Tianhe River of Yunxi. From this it can be seen that Yunxi Qixi plays a vital role in the process of Sino-Japanese exchange on traditional Qixi culture. The Yunxi Qixi keeps fully intact the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend and the traditional rituals and folk activities of the Double Seventh; it carries forward traditional virtues and plays a role that cannot be ignored in promoting harmony within the family and in society and in strengthening local identity and cohesion.
Inviting the seventh sister
With mats laid and incense burning, an elder woman chants formulas of question and answer to invite the weaver sister down.
Questioning the goddess
Questions concern the harvest, fortune, marriage and children; the answer is read in the wind or in the listening silence.
Seeing the goddess off
The goddess is thanked and sent back, the ritual implements put away, and river lanterns are floated to carry the evening’s wishes away.
Drawing water, honouring the ox and watching the stars
Men draw the celestial river’s water, garland the ox, and elders read the stars for rain; each member of the household has his part.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The distribution of the Yunxi Qixi follows the course of the Tianhe River, a tributary of the Han River: villages and towns along the Han, Tianhe and Jinqian rivers within Yunxi County mostly observe the custom. Since the Tang and Song dynasties the local people have retold the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend through such sights as the Tianhe River, the Weaver Girl's Cave and the Golden Hairpin Rock, and the villages around Tianhekou attach particular weight to this festival. Within a household, men and women, old and young each have their allotted part: the men carry water to gather the seventh water and fit garlands on the yellow cattle; the women compete in skill and make skilful foods; the girls dye their fingernails; the elderly observe the stars; and the heads of households float river lanterns. Thus Yunxi Qixi is not the festival of a single village, but a complete day observed by the family as its unit, each step distinct yet orderly.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Qixi Festival · Qixi Festival · Qixi Festival · Qixi Festival.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
On this basis, the Yunxi people gradually formed a Qixi custom passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, Yunxi also preserves the matchmaking custom of 'seven succeeds, eight fails' (qi cheng ba bu cheng), which is grounded in Qixi culture and its particular reverence for the number seven. The Yunxi Qixi custom is of long standing, with broad participation and strong communal transmission; the 'Inviting the Seventh Sister' custom has its own specific procedures, ritual implements and sung formulas, and its line of transmission is comparatively clear and complete. 'Inviting the Seventh Sister' has the three stages of inviting, asking and sending off; with established procedures as well as ritual implements and sung formulas, it has always been transmitted orally from elder women, and the line of transmission is clear. Japanese scholars have conducted on-the-spot investigation at Tianhekou in Yunxi and confirmed its close connection with the images of the Tianhe and Tianhan celebrated in the Man'yoshu, Japan's oldest anthology of poetry; Yunxi Qixi therefore holds a place of its own in comparative studies of Chinese and Japanese Qixi culture.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Qicai 04-1956
- Xi Lanlan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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