Nongliershisijieqi
01 · Historical Records
The rite of beginning the plowing arose together with the mountain people's clearing of hillsides for fields: Meiyuan lies in the southwest of Yunhe, with terraced fields descending layer upon layer along the slopes, the ox is the only source of power, and when Grain in Ear arrives, summer weeding and the summer harvest follow one after another, so a ritual had to fix the timing of going down to the fields. The mountain people do not separate the farming calendar from ritual custom; instead they gather their reverence for water, soil, and the seasons into the procedures of welcoming the gods at the niu (rotating host) villages, praying for the harvest with mountain songs, and distributing the red meat. Thus the urgency of the farming season actually produced the fine detail of the ritual order.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The timing of the Meiyuan Grain in Ear Plough-Opening Festival accords with the local rice-growing tradition; it has formed an operating mechanism in which niu 'host villages' are designated, and its contents combine sacrificial rites, folk music, folk opera, and food culture, giving it the dual character of entertaining the gods and entertaining the people. Its rich contents express the villagers' reverence for and gratitude toward nature and their pursuit of the ideal of an abundant, peaceful, and happy life. The Plough-Opening Festival activities have had a positive and far-reaching effect on displaying the farming civilization of Yunhe, helping the revitalization of rural culture, and raising the villagers' cultural awareness and confidence.
Establishing the twelve wards and welcoming the gods
Twelve villages each take charge, and the gods are welcomed to the Yu temple before the solar term.
Processional blessings
The procession starts at Wushan and is received by eighteen villages, binding the mountain community together.
Reed horns and the opening call
Horns sound before any ploughing, fixing an order in which ritual precedes the field.
Offering to the field god and rewarding the ox
The field god is honoured on the terrace and the working ox rewarded before the ploughing starts.
Sharing the ritual meat
Meat is divided among households, the simple act confirming each village's part in the ploughing.
The thank-the-gods play and the fairy-lady meal
Opera repays the gods by evening the people share a meal, with local and She mountain songs between.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Meiyuan Grain in Ear Plough-Opening Festival is a folk activity by which the farmers of the Meiyuan mountain area of Yunhe County, Zhejiang Province, begin summer plowing during the Grain in Ear period each year; it is also called the 'Ox King Festival' among the people, and its scope is mainly concentrated in the eighteen villages of the Chongtou Town area in the southwest of Yunhe County, centered on Meizhu and Xiayang villages. The Meiyuan Grain in Ear Plough-Opening Festival takes the sacrifice to the spirit of the fields, the rewarding of the oxen, and the rite of beginning the plowing at Grain in Ear as its core, fusing the culture of the twenty-four solar terms with local belief; it is practiced and transmitted collectively by the local people and expresses their respect for the land, the plow oxen, the environment, and the seasons. The specific contents of the activities mainly include setting up the niu and welcoming the gods, the procession of blessing, beginning the plowing at Grain in Ear, performing the opera that repays the gods, and eating the immortal woman's rice. Setting up the niu and welcoming the gods means that the villages of the Meiyuan area set up twelve niu as host villages to plan the affairs of welcoming the gods; before Grain in Ear an auspicious day is chosen, and the welcoming procession brings each god who bestows blessing to the King Yu Temple in Meizhu Village. The procession of blessing means that the parade sets out from Wushan Village and goes in procession among the eighteen villages to pray for blessing. Beginning the plowing at Grain in Ear means that on the day of Grain in Ear the villagers of the eighteen villages and the procession all go to the terraced fields of Xiayang Village, where an incense table and offerings are set out, and the chief officiant, the Taoist priests, and the members of the eighteen clans together perform the rites of sounding the reed horn, shouting the mountain-opening calls, sacrificing to the spirit of the fields, rewarding the oxen, beginning the plowing, and distributing the red meat, while the mountain people sing the local Shapu mountain songs and the She mountain songs. Performing the opera that repays the gods means that the procession goes to Xiayang Village, where the local huagu opera and other programs are performed on the stage for the people to watch and enjoy. Eating the immortal woman's rice means that in the evening the clanspeople of Xiayang Village eat the immortal woman's rice and talk over their fellow-villagers' affection, and with this the Plough-Opening Festival comes to an end. The Meiyuan Grain in Ear plough-opening custom witnesses and transmits the mode of production by which the mountain people of the Meiyuan area cleared the hillsides for fields; it has become a vehicle for displaying local life and helps us to understand, from multiple dimensions, the distinctiveness of China's traditional farming culture. Through the activities, the local villagers have also strengthened regional cultural consensus, bound the community together, and advanced the building of a harmonious society.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi · Nongliershisijieqi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The essential point of the Meiyuan Grain in Ear Plough-Opening Festival is that it binds the twenty-four solar terms and local belief into one: setting up the niu and welcoming the gods solves cross-village mobilization, the procession of blessing draws people together, beginning the plowing at Grain in Ear fixes the deadline for going down to the fields, and performing the opera that repays the gods and eating the immortal woman's rice fold the merit of the gods back into human feeling. The mechanism by which the eighteen villages take turns as host has also made it a sustainable form of rural organization in the southwest of Yunhe County.
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)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。