Festival introduction

The Dragon Boat FestivalThe Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice（糯米）wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period(475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side. A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong（铜锣）beaters and cymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.Qing Ming Jie（All Souls' Day）Qing Ming is a time to remember the dead and the dearly departed. More important, it is a period to honor and to pay respect to one's deceased ancestors and family members. Because it reinforces the ethic of filial piety, Qing Ming is a major Chinese festival.Literally meaning "clear" (Qing) and "bright" (Ming), this Chinese festival falls in early spring, on the 106th day after the winter solstice. It is a "spring" festival, and it is an occasion for the whole family to leave the home and to sweep the graves of their forebears. Chinese being practical people this sweeping of the graves is given an extended period, that is, 10 days before and after Qing Ming day. Among some dialect groups a whole month is allocated.Qing Ming is popularly associated with Jie Zi Zhui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small principality, he invited his faithful follower to join him. However, Jie declined his invitation, preferring to lead a hermit's life with his mother in the mountains.Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. To his consternation, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death. To commemorate Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie's death. Thus began the "cold food feast", a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.The "cold food" festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival. As time passes, the Qing Ming festival replaced the "cold food" festival. Whatever practice is observed，the basic observation of Qing Ming is to remember one's elders by making a special effort to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors, and the story of Jie Zi Zhui who choose death over capitulation.Chinese Ghost FestivalJust as the West features Halloween for ghosts and ghouls, the Chinese have a holiday to honor the departed spirits of the underworld -- the Chinese Ghost Festival. It is said that ghosts roam the world every year for one lunar month. In some areas of China, visitors can see small roadside fires, where believers burn paper money and other offerings to appease the restless spirits that have temporarily been released from Hades.The Chinese Ghost Festival is also called "Half July" (Lunar). It is a popular occasion celebrated throughout China on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.Historically, families offer sacrifices of the newly harvested grain to departed ancestors on this day, which also coincides with the Buddhist Ullambana (Deliverance) Festival and the Taoist Chinese Ghost Festival. Since each of these traditions in some way honors the spirits of the departed, the seventh lunar month has come to be known as "Ghost Month" and is a time when the "Good Brethren" (ghosts from the underworld) come back to earth to feast on the victuals offered by the living. Over time the Ullambana Festival and Ghost Festival have melded together to become the present-day Chung Yuan Putu or "Mid-origin Passage to Universal Salvation."The Chinese believe that the dead become ghosts between heaven and earth. Spirits without descendants to care for them are summoned during the Ghost Festival so that they may also enjoy the warmth of life among the living. This custom -- an extension of the traditional Chinese ethic of "universal love" -- has been woven together with the didactic legend, "Moginlin Saving His Mother from Hades." It lends the Ghost Festival a positive spin as a time for remembering the importance of filial piety. People now have inherited releasing river light as an important activity. It is said that river light can comfort and warm homeless ghosts.Chinese Ghost CultureThere are many ghosts in Chinese culture; they have been worshipped by the Chinese for a few thousand years. Even Confucius said, "Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them."While many people believe in ghosts, there are others who don't. The Chinese people often say, "If you believe it, there will be, but if you don't, there will not." The ghost is a classical image in Chinese culture, i.e., the young woman whose face is covered by long black hair, who dies due to misfortune, then comes back for revenge.The word "ghost" for many Chinese conjures up similar images. Often the ghost is a beautiful young woman. The sudden switch from a beautiful girl to a frightening ghost is striking. The seemingly fragile, helpless and beautiful woman turning into fearless killers is a favorite theme among Asian movie directors and storywriters.Burial of the deadIn the past, the burial of the dead (cremation is traditionally uncommon) was a matter taken very seriously in Chinese society. Improper funeral arrangements could wreak ill fortune and disaster upon the family of the deceased.To a certain degree, Chinese funeral rites and burial customs were determined by the age of the deceased, the manner of his/her death, his/her status and position in society and his/her marital status.According to Chinese custom, an older person should not show respect to someone younger. Thus, if the deceased was a young bachelor his body could not be brought home but was left at the funeral parlor and the parents could not offer prayers for their son. Since the deceased was unmarried he had no children to perform the rites, which was why the body did not enter the family home. If a baby or child died no funeral rites were performed since respect could not be shown to a younger person. The child was, therefore, buried in silence.Chinese funeral rites for an elderly person must follow the prescribed form and convey the relevant rites that befit the person.Chinese thoughts towards life after deathYoung women in traditional societies are rarely endowed with much power, and malignant powers are only summoned with keen hatred and a desire for revenge. The more badly one is wronged, the more powerful he or she becomes after death.Such beliefs are closely related to the Chinese attitude towards life after death -- a combination of superstition and religion.Buddhist doctrines about the life cycle led to many vivid descriptions in Chinese legends about karma. For example, Buddhism forbids murder; in folklore, people believe that butchers return in the next life in the form of the animals they killed. People who treat others badly or do cruel things become pathetic beings, suffering for the rest of the next life.Besides retribution in lives to come, vivid and complicated descriptions of heaven and hell also exist in Chinese legends.People have imaginatively transfigured their real life experiences into visions of the unknown world. The Chinese legendary hell, for example, is governed by a king in a completely bureaucratic system.The king of the underground takes charge of people's lives, keeping a book that spells out the exact time of everybody's death.In the classic novel, Pilgrimage to the West, the Monkey King Wu Kong goes to visit the king of hell and reads the book of death. He looks for his own name and erases it, ensuring himself everlasting life.。