Iron Flower is a folk entertainment activity of the Han nationality in Queshan County, Zhumadian City, Henan Province and its surrounding areas. Queshan Iron Flower is the only large-scale traditional Han folk fireworks in Henan Province. It was selected into the list of provincial intangible cultural heritage of Henan Province in 2006 and the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. According to folklore, Iron Flower originated from the Northern Song Dynasty. It is said that during the Northern Song Dynasty, Queshan County suffered a severe drought one year. In order to relieve the drought, the villagers voluntarily donated money to build a temple and cast a big bell to be placed in the temple. So each household took the ironware in their home to the open field, and the blacksmiths melted the ironware into iron juice. Who knew that at this time a group of crows flew over, perched on the tree and croaked non-stop, and no matter how they were blasted, they could not be driven away. At this time, an old man walked out of the crowd. He picked up two willows from the ground, dipped them in some molten iron, and hit the willows upwards. The iron splashed golden sparks more than ten meters high, illuminating the sky like fireworks, and the crows were frightened and flew away. When everyone was amazed by this sudden wonder, the old man had disappeared. Since then, a traditional folk entertainment activity of the Han nationality that is popular among the masses, "making iron flowers", has been passed down. The history of making iron flowers can be traced back to the Northern Song Dynasty. Its heyday was in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. Queshan iron flowers were once on the verge of extinction. Queshan iron flowers are unique to Henan and the only "folk fireworks" in the country. The performance of making iron flowers is very particular. The performance form and operation process of Queshan iron flowers are full of mystery and thrills. There are three main skills: building a flower shed, setting up colors, and hitting flowers. Building a flower shed: People first build a large shed more than ten feet high on a wide field, called a "flower shed". Setting up the color: A layer of fresh willow branches is laid on the top of the flower shed, and all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers are tied to the branches. A pole more than ten feet high is erected in the middle of the top of the "flower shed", which is called the "old pole". Firecrackers and fireworks are tied to the top of the "old pole", which is called "setting up the color". A furnace for melting iron liquid is set up next to the flower shed to melt the pig iron prepared in advance into iron liquid for later use. The tool for making iron flowers is called "flower sticks", which are two fresh willow sticks as thick as wrists, called "upper stick" and "lower stick", each more than a foot long. There is a fingertip-sized round hole on the side of one end of the "upper stick" to hold the iron juice. Striking flowers: When making iron flowers, the person who makes iron flowers holds two flower sticks in his hands, 1 upper body, with a gourd ladle turned upside down on his head, and quickly runs to the bottom of the flower shed, and hits the "upper stick" with the "lower stick". The iron juice in the small round hole rushes to the flower shed, and the hot iron juice hits the willow branches on the roof and splashes everywhere. The flying iron flowers ignite the firecrackers and fireworks on the shed, and the fire starts. Immediately, there are trees of fire and silver flowers, which is spectacular. More than a dozen "flower beaters" travel between the furnace and the flower shed. After the iron juice in the sticks rushes to the "flower shed", it immediately bursts and scatters when it encounters the willow branches on the roof, and the iron flowers ignite the firecrackers and fireworks on the shed. Iron flowers fly, meteors are like waterfalls, and firecrackers blast together, shaking the sky. According to research, in ancient times, not only large workshops and large-scale craftsmen organized the "Queshan Iron Flower Festival", but also the "Queshan Iron Flower Festival" was held in the "Queshan Iron Flower Festival". "Activities, small furnace makers and blacksmith shops in village and town markets will also hold small "iron flower" activities. They usually don't build flower sheds or hold sacrificial activities, but just choose a not-too-tall willow or jujube tree, tie firecrackers and fire starters to the tree, melt the scrap iron voluntarily donated by the masses into iron juice, and hit the tree with wooden boards or wooden shovels. This small-scale iron flower activity brought infinite joy and excitement to the villagers in ancient rural areas where the living standards were very low and the cultural and artistic life was extremely poor. This "iron flower" activity with strong Taoist and industry characteristics has gradually gained the love and support of people from all walks of life, and has become a traditional Han folk entertainment activity that the masses love to see. The large-scale iron flower performance in Queshan was originally a collaboration between alchemy Taoists and folk gold, silver, copper, iron, During the Spring Festival every year, the five craftsmen of Xi hold a ceremony to jointly worship the ancestor Taishang Laojun, which is full of Taoist colors and characteristics of the industry. Taoism was revered in the Song Dynasty. Old Leshan in Queshan County was once a holy place of Taoism. Taoist temples are spread all over the county. In Leshan alone, there is a place known as "Nine Palaces, Two Temples and One Worship Platform". The five craftsmen of gold, silver, copper, iron and tin in society worship the same ancestor Taishang Laojun as the Taoists, so the craftsmen and Taoists can be described as brothers. The iron flower originated from the sacrificial activities of the craftsmen. At the beginning of each year, before the five craftsmen opened their business, the leading craftsman would consult and build a flower shed, and build a god shed to the north of the flower shed and facing south, and select an auspicious day to offer various sacrificial items to the Laojun Temple and the Fire God Temple in the county. Afterwards, each store and brand of the five craftsmen would hold a ceremony to celebrate the occasion. All the people in the shop carried the statue of Laojun enshrined in the shop and marched in a line, playing music and setting off firecrackers all the way to the shrine. The shops of the craftsmen along the way set up incense tables and offerings to welcome and send off the craftsmen. After the team arrived at the shrine, they placed the statue of Laojun in the shrine and held a sacrificial ceremony to pray to Laojun and the God of Fire for peace throughout the year, prosperous business, and prosperity in all seasons. Flower-making began at night. Most of the craftsmen who participated in flower-making were craftsmen from various stores. Before making flowers, they had to kneel and change clothes in the shrine to pray for safety and avoid burns. The craftsmen's sacrificial activities were supported and participated by Taoist priests. Taoist priests either provided a place for making iron flowers (mostly open space belonging to temple property) or contributed money and things. When the craftsmen were offering sacrifices, Taoist priests often organized musical instruments such as sheng, flute, pipe, flute, stringed bamboo, gongs and drums to cheer the craftsmen. Usually, craftsmen cast bells, chimes, cloud cards, incense burners, braziers, etc. for Taoist priests, and they were also free of charge. When encountering major Taoist celebrations, Taoist priests will also contribute money and materials to invite craftsmen to hold them. Holding "iron flower" adds glory to Taoism. This has invisibly promoted the development of the "iron flower" activity. Obviously, the original purpose of "iron flower" is to show the style of the industry, please the masses, expand its influence, which is equivalent to advertising; the second is to seek good luck, using the homophony of "flower" and "fa", taking the meaning of "making flowers, making more and more prosperous", symbolizing the prosperity of the business. Although the folk custom of Queshan iron flower has been interrupted many times, because the skills are attached to Taoism, the implementation is attached to the opening of the furnace and folk festivals and festive days of the blacksmith industry, it has been passed down and continued to this day. After thousands of years of circulation, Queshan iron flower has not only added firecrackers and fireworks, but also absorbed dragon lanterns, copperware, and social fire, forming a unique performance style with magnificent scenes, magnificent momentum, and festive and auspicious. During the performance, ancient music rang out, and flames from more than a dozen iron melting furnaces shot up into the sky. The iron flower artist held a "flower stick" filled with iron juice in one hand ("upper stick"), and a "flower stick" without iron juice in the other hand (called "lower stick"). With his upper body raised and a gourd ladle turned upside down on his head, he quickly ran to the "flower shed" and hit the upper stick with the lower stick. More than a dozen "flower beaters" took turns to hit the upper stick with one stick after another. One stick of iron flower shot up into the sky, and another stick followed. After the iron juice in the stick rushed to the "flower shed", it immediately burst into the willow branches on the roof and rushed into the night sky, like a tree of fire and silver flowers, gorgeous and dazzling. The iron flower also ignited the firecrackers and fireworks on the shed. Suddenly, the iron flower hung upside down like a volcanic eruption, and the firecrackers sounded like two armies fighting fiercely, with mist and mist, colorful and breathtaking. Making iron flowers is a technical job. When making iron flowers, if the molten iron at more than 1000 degrees does not splash, it will flow onto the performer. Making iron flowers requires special skills and a certain amount of courage. Whenever iron flowers are made, the nearby dragon lantern associations will organize dragon lanterns to come to the fun, and shuttle under the flower shed where iron flowers are splashing, which is called "dragon through flowers". "Dragon through flowers" is the best occasion to show the lineup, will and skills of each dragon lantern team. The dragon lantern team that wears the best "through flowers" will be praised and admired by peers and audiences, and will also be rewarded by the organizers of the iron flower, and will become famous in the future. Queshan iron flower making is an intangible cultural heritage with cultural characteristics in the folk customs and folk art of the Han nationality in China. On the one hand, making iron flowers is closely related to the people's wish for blessings, blessing customs, and the secularization of Taoist art. On the other hand, making iron flowers also incorporates the life content of the Han folk beliefs, folk dances, folk music and other life contents in the southern Henan region. It is rich in cultural connotations and very distinctive. The iron flowers in Queshan are not only worth appreciating, but more importantly, they are closely related to the production, life, religious beliefs and festival customs of the working people in the Central Plains, and have been integrated into the national culture. They contain a large amount of ancient cultural information such as iron smelting culture, Taoist culture, folk craftsman culture, sacrificial culture, production and trade culture, festival culture, ancient advertising culture, ancient information transmission, folk craft inheritance, the use of gunpowder, and the creation and development of fireworks and firecrackers in the history of civilization development in the Central Plains. It is the epitome of ancient culture.