Dragon, Lion Gongs and Drums (Prose)
Lei Xuexue (Miao)
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The "New Year" ritual of the Miao people in southwest Hunan began from the "small year" in the south of the 24th year of the big year.
Entering the new year, families began to slaughter fat pigs, beat glutinous cakes, grind tofu, steam sweet wine, boil rice wine, make pig blood cakes, dry "yin rice" (the main ingredient of Miao oil tea), send rice flowers, kill New Year's pigs, and invite relatives and friends to reunite for dinner. The Chinese New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year are the most solemn and elaborate auspicious days for the Miao people.
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The Spring Festival is coming, and every household in Chengbu Miao Township is playing glutinous rice cakes for the New Year
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The Miao people in Chengbu, Hunan Province are very particular about the New Year's greetings, and the etiquette is extremely heavy. After the breakfast on the first day of the new year, the young men of the Miao nationality descended on the young people, and went to the elders' homes in groups to pay New Year's greetings, gifts can be brought or not, but firecrackers must be brought, in the sixties and seventies of the last century, it was popular to set off one hundred, two hundred, five hundred firecrackers, and the most polite is the "thousand whips". Now it's popular to set off cannons and fireworks. At that time, the New Year's greeting is a real worship, the younger generation to the elder's house, see the elders, pull the elders' hands, plop, knees on the ground, forehead to the ground, mouth called "to the elders New Year's greetings", the elders are busy pulling up the younger generations, please go into the teahouse to eat morning flower seeds, golden melon seeds, peanuts, sweet wine, the rich at home will also send a few candies, and even a few cents of small red envelopes. Now the New Year's greeting is just shouting in the mouth, not really worshipping, melon seeds and candies are eaten at will. Before the 80s of the last century, there were no cigarettes, so I used a bamboo cigarette pot to toast cigarettes, smoked one, rubbed the mouth of the cigarette tube with the placket of my clothes, and handed it to the next guest with a pot of local tobacco. After that, there were "paper cigarettes", from "Longhui", "Xiaomei", to "Baisha", "Changsha", until now "Furong King", "Hetianxia" and "Great China", from one by one to two or four or even the whole pack of cigarettes, the fragrance is fragrant. At that time, melon seeds and candies were placed in the palm of the hand and distributed according to the number of grains, and now they are placed on the table and eaten at will. At that time, the red envelope given to the younger generations of the children was a few cents and a few cents, and now it is tens of hundreds of yuan, in addition to relatives, all young students and college students in the group village who come to pay New Year's greetings must give red envelopes, and they are happy, all are happy, the New Year is auspicious, and everyone is happy.
On this day, children who have separated from their families and live independently should bring gifts or red envelopes to their grandparents, and "righteous sons" should pay New Year's greetings to their "righteous parents." Miao people believe in the "five elements", where the birth of the eight characters in the lack of one of the "five elements", then through the "name" way to recognize the "father-in-law", such as the lack of wood, then find a famous tree such as pine and cypress, maple tree, beech and so on to take the name, such as "pine and cypress", "pine", "osmanthus", "forest sheng" and other names; On the first day of the new year, these "righteous sons" have to bring wine, meat, candy and firecrackers to greet the "righteous parents" for the New Year.
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In Chengbu Miao Township, during the Spring Festival, the "righteous son" should bring firecrackers and gifts to the ancient tree "righteous father" to pay New Year's greetings
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On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the sons-in-law take their children to their parents-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings. If it is the first New Year's greeting after marriage, it is called "New Year's greeting", and the groom can enjoy quite high treatment when he worships the New Year. First of all, you can sit in a row with the elders of the class and sit at the table, and you will not be able to enjoy this high-standard courtesy in the future. At the beginning of the meal, the younger generations first present six cups of rice wine to the groom with a red lacquered tea tray, and the elders order him to drink first, which is called "Lu Cheng Chun" wine by the Miao people. After drinking, the people at the table toasted the groom in turn, each with six glasses. The wine is prosperous, and everyone respects the wine such as "newlywed happiness", "a hundred years of good harmony", "early birth of a noble son" and "four seasons of wealth...... In this way, the bridegroom, no matter how much he drinks, will surely be drunk.
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Chengbu Miao proverb said, "The mouth of the dragon's head is ah, enter the house to beg for poop". The dragon and lion entered the house to congratulate the New Year Yang Wenwu
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In Dankou, Lanrong, Wutuan and other Miao villages, there is also a custom of "hot groom". On the second day of the new year, the mother's family learned that the groom was going to enter the village to pay New Year's greetings, so they waited early at the gate of the village or at the door of the house, after receiving the New Year's gifts from the groom, they lit the firecrackers to welcome the guests, and threw them at the front foot of the groom, the firecrackers roared, and the smoke was everywhere. If the groom doesn't know the rules, the firecrackers will be thrown directly on the groom, which is called "hot groom", ...... "hot groom" is both a welcome and a hint: "If you don't treat my girl well, our family will not let you go." Because of this, after the groom has been "scalded", the father-in-law and mother-in-law will hold a banquet to entertain them.
In Chengbu Miao Township, the group worship activities with a strong New Year's flavor during the Spring Festival are "Dragon and Lion Dance", "Gong and Drum New Year" and "Rural Spring Festival Gala".
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Photo by the Miao compatriots in Baimaoping Township, Chengbu County, who held the Rural Spring Festival Gala by themselves
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The Chengbu Dragon and Lion Dance was popular as early as the Tang Dynasty. According to the record of "Chengbu Miao Section": In the Tang Dynasty, there were many primitive inhabitants in the area of Changxishui, where there were many primitive inhabitants, commerce and culture, and there were 48 slaughtering tables for slaughtering pigs and sheep alone, and 12 dragon lanterns were played in the first month.
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Every year during the Spring Festival, Chengbu Miao compatriots will celebrate the New Year with a lion dance. Profile picture
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The New Year of the Dragon is the highest ritual of the New Year in Miao Township, mysterious and grand. After the dragon lantern is tied, choose a day to pick up the dragon. On the night of Solitaire, the dragon enters the village, goes door to door to celebrate the New Year, the main family immediately sets off fireworks and firecrackers at the gate to greet them, and offers red envelopes and cigarettes to thank them, and some will also tie a red silk to the dragon horn to show the color. The dragon lantern team will also be invited to the adjacent Miao village to pay New Year's greetings, in addition to the incense case in the neighboring villages, but also by each family in batches to receive the dragon lantern dance personnel, good smoke, good wine and good food warm reception, the guests and hosts are happy, the atmosphere is warm, the joy is harmonious, and the New Year's flavor is particularly strong.
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The Spring Festival dragon climbing custom of Xiyan Town, Chengbu County, the performance is wonderful, and the dragon dance skills are superb Yang Wenwu
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Different from the dragon dance, the lion dance does not enter the house, but chooses the spacious flat in the center of the village to perform. The lion dance of the Miao nationality in Chengbu is divided into "Wen Lion" and "Wu Lion", "Wen Lion" focuses on character performance, and "Wu Lion" focuses on skill performance. Miao compatriots believe that the lion is a divine beast that drives away demons and suppresses evil spirits, and all the villages where the lion has been to are auspicious, the group village is safe, the five grains are abundant, and the six animals are prosperous.
There is also a group worship activity with a warm atmosphere called "Gonggong New Year". Starting from the third day of the first lunar month, the gongs and drums of the New Year are sounded, and the village enters the house to congratulate the New Year. According to the traditional parade route, every house sets off firecrackers to greet them, and in the middle of the night, they are invited to smoke and drink tea (Miao oil tea), drink and eat. The New Year's gong and drum performance team is composed of more than 5 to 30 people, with two pairs of cymbals, one class gong, one big gong, one big drum, and countless lanterns. The sound of gongs and drums is unique, sonorous and pleasant, the rhythm is bright and strong, high-pitched and passionate, earth-shattering, and resounding throughout the village. "Knock knock, knock
In the Jiangfang, Dankou, and Chang'anying areas at the junction of Chengbu and (Hunan) Suining, a unique gong and drum idea is popular, that is, according to the homophonic beating of "Dong Bu Dong Qiang, Qianlong exempts me from 578 loads of grain". In the last years of Kangxi, the phenomenon of land annexation in Chengbu Miao District was serious, the number of tenant farmers surged, Ding Yao's burden was heavy, and the officials bullied the people, just like a flood and beasts, forcing the Miao Yao people to revolt. In February of the fourth year of Qianlong (1739), Su Xianyu, the leader of the Miao people in Longjiaxi, Hengling, Chengbu, Yang Qingbao, the leader of the Miao people in Moyitong, Chengbu, and Zhang Laojin, the leader of the Miao people in Jiangdi, Yining County, Guangxi, held a secret meeting to discuss the uprising. In November of the same year, the "Tongshi Incident" occurred in Suining County, which opened the prelude to the Miao uprising. In March of the fifth year of Qianlong (1740), the uprising broke out. The rebels attacked Yingxun, "plundered" the official treasury, cut off the fields, and shook the imperial court. The Qing court hurriedly sent Liu Ceming, the chief soldier of Zhenxiao Town, to lead his troops to suppress it, but the Qing army was defeated because of the high momentum and high spirits of the righteous army. In July of the same year, the Qing court reassigned Zhang Guangsi, the governor of Guizhou and the prime minister of Miaojiang, to command 13,000 troops and tens of thousands of village warriors to conquer the rebels. In August, the Miao Yao rebel army was finally defeated due to being outnumbered, more than 20,000 people of all ethnic groups in Miao Dong Yao were killed, and Su Yang and other uprising leaders were captured and religious. After this uprising, the Qing court had to take some concessions to the Miao people in Chengbu Suining and other places, exempting rents and taxes to reduce the burden on the Miao people. In the tenth year of Qianlong (1745), Qianlong issued an edict to exempt all money and grain in the city, and five times in succession "exempted from deferred levy", and in the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong (1770), the number of exempted seedlings increased to 578 stone and 5 buckets, which eased the national contradiction to a certain extent. In order to celebrate the hard-won victory of reducing the endowment in exchange for the lives of countless compatriots, the Miao people in Chengsui and Sui used dragon and lion dances, blowing reed sheng, and New Year's gongs to congratulate the New Year and pray for peace.
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At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Weixi gong used by the folk of Chengbu County for the New Year
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As a new group worship ceremony, the "Rural Spring Festival Gala" has been popular in Miao Township cottages in the past decade. Chengbu Rulin, Dankou, Baimaoping, Lanrong, Tingping and other towns have successively held the "Rural Spring Festival Gala". Daping Village, Jiantou Tian Village, Lanrong Township, is an ancient Miao village with a history of 1,000 years, Miao culture is rich, there are many literary and artistic talents, starting from 2010, Daping Village has held the Spring Festival Gala year after year, mountain songs, color tunes, erhu, suona, Miao boxing, lion dance, dragon dance, Qinggutang and other traditional Miao cultural programs and contemporary popular literary and artistic programs, all have been well performed here, for Daping Village and more than 10 nearby villages Miao Han compatriots sent excellent Spring Festival gifts. （2024.2.2）
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About the Author
Lei Xuexue Close-up in Chengdu in December 2023
Lei Xuexue, male, Miao, member of the Communist Party of China, from Chengbu, Hunan, graduated from Beijing Normal University with a bachelor's degree in Chinese. He has successively served as a teacher of Chengbu Middle School, a cadre of the County Education Commission, the head of the communication group of the Propaganda Department of the County Party Committee (deputy section), the chairman of the trade union (Zhengke), the president and editor-in-chief of the Chengbu Newspaper, the deputy director of the United Front Work Department of the county party committee, the director of the County CPPCC Learning Culture and History Committee, and a deputy division-level cadre (fourth-level researcher). He is a member of the Miao Studies Professional Committee of the Chinese Ethnology Research Association, a member of the China Folklore Society, a member of the Hunan Ethnic Studies Society, a director of the Hunan Miao Society, a member of the Hunan Folk Literature and Art Association, a member of the Hunan Folklore Society, a researcher of Shaoyang Literature and History, an advanced individual in the work of the Shaoyang CPPCC, and an excellent social science expert in Shaoyang. His research interests include Miao history, culture, folklore, and language. He has published more than 200 essays, reportages and essays in important domestic media such as People's Daily, People's Political Consultative Conference, China Minzhu Daily, Hunan Daily, Shaoyang Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Culture and History Publishing House, and China Social Science Network. His main works include "A Brief History of the Miao Nationality in Chengbu", "Architectural Culture of the Miao Nationality in Chengbu", "The Miao Nationality on the Tip of the Tongue", and the e-book "Miao Love Stories". His representative works include "The Past and Present of Ancient Miao Characters in Chengbu", "Only the Communist Party Can Save the Miao Nationality", "Investigation and Reflection on the Customs of the Miao Nationality in the Border Area of Hunan and Guizhou", "The Value and Protection Path of the Traditional Architecture of the Miao Nationality in Southwest Hunan Province", "Let the Ancient Villages and Ancient Houses Become the "Treasure of the Town", "Let the Beautiful Miao Village Sing Ancient Songs", "The Bear Comes Out of the Tiger and the Deer Comes", "Cracking the Magical Code of the Stone Carvings of the "Three Fish and the Common Head" on the Hunan and Guizhou Border", etc., among which "A Comparative Study on the Economic and Social Development of the Miao Nationality in China" He won the first prize of the 2015 annual meeting of the Hunan Provincial Federation of Social Sciences, and many of his works won the second and third prizes of the outstanding works of the Hunan Provincial Political Consultative Conference and the Propaganda Department of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the "Five One Project" award for the construction of spiritual civilization in Shaoyang City, the outstanding social achievement award of Shaoyang City, the third prize of the National Goddess Festival Essay Contest for Contemporary Literature and Art, and the first prize of the Chengbu County Integrity Culture Prize Essay Competition.
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Author's work unit and position: Former director of the CPPCC Study, Culture and History Committee of Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Hunan Province, and fourth-level researcher.
Click on the link Lei Xue "Miao Customs Story" - "Link"