Nongliershisijieqi
01 · Historical Records
When Tang Xianzu (1500–1616), the famous Ming dynasty writer, served as county magistrate of Suichang in the twenty-first year of the Wanli reign (1593), he promulgated a "Spring Ploughing Order" to the townspeople and composed the two poems "Banchun" (Issuing Spring). After the founding of the Republic of China, official spring-urging activities ceased, while folk spring-urging activities continued to be held. In the late 1970s, the villagers of Datian Village spontaneously restored the ritual of "issuing spring and urging farming", including a procession, presenting offerings, lighting incense and candles, sacrificing to the First Farmer, inviting the Mangshen, arranging flowers, drinking flower wine, whipping the spring ox, setting off firecrackers, opening the first furrow in the fields, and distributing spring cakes. In 2009, Datian Village in Datuo Town established a base for "issuing spring and urging farming" activities and founded the Datian Folk Custom Museum, collecting physical materials of farming culture.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
"Issuing spring and urging farming" (banchun quannong) is a form of welcoming-spring culture within traditional agricultural civilization preserved in Suichang County, Zhejiang Province. "Ban" is equivalent to "to promulgate", so "banchun" means promulgating the spring command; "quannong" means urging agricultural work and spurring on spring ploughing. Since ancient times, county magistrates serving in Suichang have, as spring ploughing approached, performed the rite of whipping the spring ox, issuing the spring command and urging the people to farm — a practice called "issuing spring and urging farming". The folk background of the "Urging Farming" episode in his famous drama The Peony Pavilion was drawn from Suichang. On the day of Beginning of Spring, people in town and country alike prepare incense and candles, sacrifice to heaven and earth (the gods), insert plum blossoms and set off firecrackers, to signify "welcoming spring and receiving blessings". This custom has continued to the present day.
Proclaiming the spring order
Ban means to proclaim; county officials proclaimed the spring order and urged the ploughing.
Rites to the first farmer and Mang
Offerings and incense precede the rites to the first farmer and the god Mang.
Parade and the flower wine
A village parade with flowers, wine and firecrackers makes the order a social occasion.
Whipping the ox and opening the furrow
After the symbolic whipping, the first real furrow is opened.
Handing out spring cakes
Spring cakes are handed out at the close, ending the rite over a shared meal.
The Datian base for the spring rite
A base and folk museum house the objects of the rite alongside its texts.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Local people regard Beginning of Spring as being like the New Year.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This item is a precious survival of China's long-standing traditional folk rituals of agricultural civilization; it is of great significance for carrying on the fine traditions and promoting the spirit of the Chinese nation, and also has important research value in history and folklore studies. The institutional basis of "issuing spring and urging farming" is that officials urge and the people respond. "Ban" has the same meaning as "to promulgate": issuing spring means promulgating the spring command, and urging farming means urging agricultural work and spurring on spring ploughing. Though the name is simple, the practice fell year after year on concrete people and concrete whips. The Ming writer Tang Xianzu, serving as county magistrate of Suichang in the twenty-first year of the Wanli reign, promulgated a spring ploughing order to the townspeople and composed the two poems "Banchun" (Issuing Spring) — the most famous application of this name and practice in Suichang; the folk background of the "Urging Farming" episode in his famous drama The Peony Pavilion was drawn from Suichang, which shows how deeply the matter of urging farming permeated daily life here. After the founding of the Republic of China, official spring-urging activities ceased, but the countryside continued to organize them on its own according to the old custom of Beginning of Spring: every household prepared incense and candles, sacrificed to heaven and earth, inserted plum blossoms and set off firecrackers to welcome spring and receive blessings. In the late 1970s, the villagers of Datian Village spontaneously restored the whole ritual — procession, presenting offerings, lighting incense and candles, sacrificing to the First Farmer, inviting the Mangshen, arranging flowers, drinking flower wine, whipping the spring ox, setting off firecrackers, opening the first furrow in the fields, and distributing spring cakes — with no step omitted, and the village thereby became the most reliable preserver of this ritual. In 2009, Datian Village in Datuo Town established a base for "issuing spring and urging farming" activities and the Datian Folk Custom Museum, collecting physical materials of farming culture, so that both the ritual and the artifacts now have a secure place. Local people regard Beginning of Spring as being like the New Year; the weight of the solar term lies precisely in ritual sequences of this kind that refuse to be interrupted.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yang Xingya 05-3004
- Wu Haishen 05-3005
- Feng Wanming 05-3006
- Feng Wu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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