The custom of watching the tide in Qianjiang River began in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty, and became popular in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is widely spread in Hangzhou and Haining, the estuary of Qiantang River. It mainly includes many folk customs such as belief in the god of tide, tide-playing, watching the tide and singing songs, folk literature about the Qiantang River tide, traditional handicrafts and trade customs. Among them, the worship of the god of tide, iron ox to calm the sea, building towers to calm the sea, grabbing fish at the head of the tide, pond workers' songs, watching the tide market, watching the tide festival Kunqu opera, etc. are the most eye-catching. The custom of watching the tide in Qianjiang River involves many aspects such as folk beliefs, folk literature, traditional knowledge, folk skills, folk music, folk dance, dialects and colloquialisms. (1) Belief in the god of tide. The god of tide believed in in Haining is mainly Wu Zixu, and there are many others who have been successively named as the god of the sea and the god of water and worshipped. There are as many as 21 gods of the sea worshipped in the Yanguan Sea God Temple alone, reflecting the belief in the god of tide that has been passed down from generation to generation among the people in the Qiantang River area. Official tide worship. Since ancient times, on the 18th day of August, the government would prepare a whole pig, a whole sheep (whole animal) and a whole plate of rice dumplings. When the tide appeared several miles away, the officials attending the sacrifice would straighten their clothes and bow respectfully to the tablet of Wu Zixu. Once the tide passed, the officials would offer wine to send him off, and the public servants would throw the pigs, sheep and rice dumplings into the river, and the ritual of worshipping the tide would be completed. The emperors of all dynasties also wrote sacrificial texts and sent officials to Haining to worship the god of tide and read the sacrificial texts. Set up temples to control the tide. Due to the surging tide of Qianjiang River, it once caused a great disaster of "the sea tide was out of control, the big pond burst, the sea water poured in, the farmland was flooded, the houses were destroyed, and the people were killed and injured countless times". For this reason, the people were very awed by the river tide. In addition to building ponds to control the tide, temples were also built everywhere for sacrifice, forming a widespread custom of building temples for sacrifice. Each temple has sacrificial activities every year, and the largest scale is the Yanguan Sea God Temple. Other temples usually hold sacrificial activities on the birthdays or deification days (death days) of gods every year. The first way to worship is to perform a god play, inviting the nearby Beijing opera troupe or shadow play troupe to perform. Although it is dedicated to entertaining the gods, the people nearby come to watch it in droves, which is very lively; the second is to set up a pig's head and three animals to sacrifice to the gods, light incense and candles, and the devout people kowtow and worship; the third is to worship the gods and confess, and the believers pay to invite monks and Taoists to perform the Taoist rituals, also known as "doing good deeds". In the spring farming off-season, many Chaoshen temples have street parades - activities, and the welcoming team includes pavilions, lotus picking boats, incense worship stools, lake boats, stilt teams, literary staffs, and martial arts. The highlight is the dragon dance, which is called "dragon lantern" by the people of Haining. Dragon lanterns are mostly painted cloth dragons, more than ten feet long, and they roll and leap when they walk in the open area, with majestic momentum, and are most popular with spectators. Zhenhai customs. In order to prevent flooding, the people of Haining built ponds and worshipped gods, and also had the custom of building towers and casting cows to suppress the tide. The Zhenhai Tower beside the seawall outside the East Gate of Yanguan was first built in the 35th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1607). It was originally named "Zhan'ao Tower". It was renamed "Zhenhai Tower" after being rebuilt in the 15th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1676); the Anlan Tower outside Xiaojianshan in Huangwan was built around the 5th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1740). The Zhenhai Iron Bull was cast in the 8th year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1730). Five were cast initially, and four more were cast in the 5th year of Qianlong (1740). Six more were cast in the 49th year of Qianlong (1784). The cows were engraved with inscriptions such as "Anlan Yongzhen". They were destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution". In June 1987, two iron bulls were rebuilt and placed on both sides of the Zhenhai Tower to suppress the tide. People worship the tide. On the birthday of the God of Tide, people along the river have the custom of worshiping the tide. After the people arrived at the seawall, they bowed to the river. Before the tide came, they lit incense and candles to wait for the tide. When the tide came, they threw the incense and candles into the tide. In addition to offering sacrifices to the tide god during traditional festivals, local people who engaged in livelihoods related to the tide also offered sacrifices to the tide god before starting work to pray for peace. For example, before starting to pile, build the seawall, and grab the head of the tide fish, they would hold a "please the tide" ceremony to pray for the blessing of the tide god for a safe life and a good catch. Fishermen would hold a "please the favorable wind" ceremony before going out to sea to fish to pray for the blessing of the tide god. (2) The custom of riding the tide. According to records, there was a custom of riding the tide in the Qiantang River on the 18th day of the eighth lunar month during the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, it evolved into the custom of riding the tide. The poem says: "The tide rider stands at the head of the waves, holding the red flag without getting it wet." The traditional competitive custom of "riding the tide rider" has evolved into "grabbing the head of the tide fish" in modern times. During each low tide, people who are familiar with the laws of the tide go down to the river to grab the head of the tide fish. The person who grabs the fish at the head of the tide has a fish basket tied around his waist and a sea net with a handle on his shoulder. He only wears shorts or a full body. When the tide comes, he runs in front of the tide, looking back while running. If there is a fish thrown out of the tide, he will immediately use the net to catch it. After catching it, he will continue running without stopping. To grab the fish at the head of the tide, you must be "three quick", that is, quick eyes, quick hands, and quick feet. "Quick eyes" means to see clearly, "quick hands" means to scoop the net quickly, and "quick feet" means to run fast. Only people with these "three quicks" can grab the fish, otherwise their lives will be in danger. Therefore, there is a folk saying that "outside the tide is heaven, inside the tide is the King of Hell", which reflects the danger of "grabbing the fish at the head of the tide". (3) The custom of watching the tide and dancing. In the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1897), Wang Xinfu, a salt official, took the lead in establishing the Naiyuan Opera Society, which was composed of amateur opera fans who liked Kunqu opera. They would perform operas together around the birthday of the God of Tide, which was called "watching the tide and performing operas". It was very popular among the local people. Therefore, not only was the organization initiated every year, but a large number of people participated in the performance every year, forming a custom with wide influence, which was popular during the Republic of China. (4) Folk literature on the Qianjiang Tide. The Qiantang River often flooded, seriously affecting the production and life of local people. In the years when people depended on the weather for their livelihood, the people of Haining were full of awe for the Qiantang River tide. Therefore, various folk stories, legends, ballads and proverbs about the Qiantang River tide came into being and have been passed down to this day, including "The Legend of Wu Zixu", "King Qian Shooting the Tide", "Controlling the Dragon King", "Iron Ox Calming the Sea", "Guanyin Borrowing Land", "Tashan Ring", "Why the Qiantang River has Tides Twice a Day", "The Origin of Haining Tides", "Why the Haining Tides Are So Loud", "Father and Son Mountain", "Building the Qiantang River", "Haining Temple Palace", "The Sea God Returns Home", "Arrows Pressing Down the River Waves", "Cutting Water and Cursing Xu", etc. In addition, there are a large number of traditional folk knowledge, folk music, proverbs and sayings related to watching the Qiantang River tide that are passed down by word of mouth among the people, such as "The tide is at noon on the first and fifteenth day of the first lunar month", "The tide is on the eighth and twenty-third day of the first lunar month, and the sky is bright and white", "The tide comes on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and the night porridge is cooked". (5) Traditional handicrafts. The traditional handicrafts most closely related to watching the Qiantang River tide are seawall construction techniques. In the face of natural disasters, the ancestors of Haining have always had the tradition of building seawalls to resist the invasion of sea tides. In the process of building seawalls in successive dynasties, skilled craftsmen have continuously improved the construction skills with their wisdom and wisdom, from the design of the seawall, the protection facilities, the deep defense system, to the technical means in the specific construction process. This integrates the wisdom and experience of many anonymous people in history and covers the essence of rich traditional handicrafts. In addition, local people also master traditional techniques such as "catching eel fry", "fishing on the beach", and "salting salt from seawater". (6) Commercial customs and others. The gathering of people watching the tides on Qianjiang River has created many trade opportunities. Therefore, watching the tides on Qianjiang River has driven the prosperity of commerce in Yanguan area. During the 18th day of the eighth lunar month every year, the river docks of Yanguan are full of merchant ships. In addition to merchants watching the tides, these merchant ships also carry merchants from all over the country. During the Tide Watching Festival, vendors from northern Jiangsu, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changshu, Hangzhou, Shanghai and other places and neighboring towns gathered in Yanguan, offering all kinds of goods and services. The most eye-catching ones are the traditional specialties of Yanguan, such as Ma Wanxing cakes, Zhu Wanchang fruit cakes and other local snacks, and traditional handicrafts such as "Haining Three Knives" by "Zhou Shunxing". The Qianjiang Tide Watching Custom has effectively promoted the prosperity of local commerce. Now, the annual Tide Watching Festival has become a cultural tradition of the people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. The scope of this leisure tourism activity is constantly expanding and intensifying. During the Tide Watching Festival every year, the number of people who go to Haining to watch the tide is around 600,000, and the number of foreign tourists is also increasing. The Qianjiang Tide Watching Custom has a wide range and rich content, covering various aspects such as folk customs, traditional culture, festival customs, production and trade, literature and art, and traditional skills. It is a comprehensive display of the local natural, historical, social and economic features, and a prominent reflection of the folk customs, customs and cultural psychology of a specific region. Qianjiang Tide Watching (Hangzhou and Haining) has been included in the third batch of Zhejiang Province's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Information source: Jiaxing Library Information source: Jiaxing Library