The Gannangxiang Lusheng Festival of the Miao Nationality in Kaili is also known as the Gannangxiang Lusheng Festival in Zhouxi. The main activities are held on the beach of Zhaijiao River in Tunshang Village, Zhouxi Town, 17 kilometers south of Kaili City, the capital of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. The venue of the event is called "Gannangxiang Lusheng Hall", which is about 200 meters away from the Zhouxi Town Government. Zhouxi Town currently has 19 villages, 87 natural villages, 4,560 households, and a population of more than 23,000 people. The Miao people account for more than 96% of the total population. It borders Sankeshu Town, Kaili City to the east, Wangfeng Town, Leishan County, and Nangao Town, Danzhai County to the south, and Xiasi Town, Majiang County to the west. The name of the location of Zhouxi Town is Lianggao in Miao language. The reason for this is that the Ougang River and the Lihe River converge at Lianggao 300 meters, and boats can be sailed, so it is named Zhouxi. The river flows through Yatang and flows into the Qingshui River. After the completion of Zhouxi Lihe Reservoir in 1981, not only did it irrigate the farmland in the central and northern parts of the territory, but it also turned many sloping lands and lean soils into fertile fields. The climate is relatively mild, which is extremely beneficial for the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of crops. The Lusheng Festival of the Kaili Gannangxiang Miao Nationality is held close to the Zhouxi Dam (the upper and lower dams), which is known as the fertile land of 10,000 mu. Because the dam is shaped like two gourds, it is called Hulu Dam or Lianggao Dam. Miao villages are lined up on both sides, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard. In the Miao language, many villages are called Lianggao. There are more than 30 villages, including Diugan, Diutun, Donggong, Yangnong, Yangyi, Zhangke, Fangxiang, Biekong, Fengzhai, Yangshu, Yangshang, Kangyong, Gachu, Gabiejian, Galang, Jianglai, Xiuxi, Gayue, Dangshu, Yangka, Shengmen, Dioyin, Liangna, Gasong, Yanggao, Biebang, Yangkaidou, Dongzhen, Gashu, Lihe, Yaobang, Aorui, Xigang, Xiyangdang, Wuxifanglue, etc. Wu is the most common surname here. In addition, there are Pan, Yang, Li, Chen, Luo, Long, Wang, Zhang, Yu, Zuo, Dai, Liu and other surnames. Zhouxi Miao is a nation that loves peace and freedom. It has made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese national history. Their history is a history of struggle that shakes the world and inspires the mountains and rivers. Not to mention the battles between Chi, Huang and Yan, and the bitter journey, since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Miao people here have responded to the struggles of their national heroes Bao Li and Hong Yin, and have written epic deeds. Then, in the same year of the Qing Dynasty and Xianfeng, under the leadership of the Miao hero Zhang Xiumei, they used Yangnongpo, Niujiaopo and Liangyangpo as their strongholds to fight against the Qing army. The struggle lasted for 18 years, and later generations called it "the 18-year rebellion". Although the struggle failed, the heroic feat dealt a heavy blow to the Qing government and wrote a heroic war song for the development history of the Miao people. According to the "Historical Records of the Miao Nationality", the ancient Miao people lived in the eastern plains. Chi You was the ancient ancestor of the Miao people. Because of the great defeat in the battle for deer, the Miao people were forced to migrate, cross the Yellow River and enter the Dongting Lake area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to multiply and establish the Three Miao Tribal Alliance. Xia Yu launched a war against the San Miao, and the Miao people were forced to migrate southwards. Later, they gathered in the Wuling area of Jingzhou, and were called Jingzhou Man and Wuling Man in history. During the Warring States Period, the Miao people were forced to migrate to the southwest due to wars. In addition, the rulers implemented a cruel suppression policy against the Miao people, which caused the Miao people living in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and other places to migrate again and enter Guizhou. Among the Miao people who entered Guizhou, there was a branch of the "Changyang Fangxi" (a transliteration of the Miao language, which is now Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province) that entered the wilderness and multiplied. While developing Rongjiang, the Miao King Temple was established (the ruins of the Miao King Temple are still in Rongjiang Middle School today). Later, due to the influx of foreign tribes, in order to compete for living space, the "Fang" and "Gao" tribes of the Miao nationality, except for a part of them staying in Rongjiang, discussed in the "Yangyi" place to smash the ancestral drum (tied wooden drum) they brought with them on the stone, and the drum broke into nine pieces. Then the people were divided into nine branches (historically called Jiugu Miao) and migrated to Danzhai, Kaili, Majiang, Leishan, Huangping, Shibing, Zhenyuan, Taijiang, Jianhe and other counties. Then the drum pieces were added back to make new drums for ancestor worship. The Gao clan settled in Zhouxi via Leishan County, multiplied and gained a firm foothold. Xue Gong was the leader at that time. He remade the drum pieces he brought with him to worship the ancestors once every three, six, nine and thirteen years, and the festival cycle was close and frequent. And every time the ancestors were worshipped, they used treats and gifts as a means of friendship or friendship between people. The host was very considerate: the big gift was half a pig for the guest, and the small gift was a leg of meat for the guest. If the big gift was not given, the dog would ignore it, and the host family would suffer in the next year. Therefore, the cattle and pigs killed were not counted, and all were used to entertain guests. The village people were under great pressure and found it difficult to entertain. Such great gifts and great trust, and the guests in turn, in this difficult environment where "there is no flat land and no silver", really brought great confusion to people's lives, and to a large extent, directly affected the reproduction of the next year. However, it can be frankly said that the concept of "think before doing, calculate before using" of the Zhouxi people more than 400 years ago should be a virtue. In the pursuit of survival, the Miao people relied on wisdom and strength to continuously improve and enrich themselves, and used the simple Miao flute to transform into a multi-tube reed pipe, and replaced the monotonous drum festival that only relied on eating, drinking and giving gifts with warm, elegant and varied reed pipe dance music, and established a reed pipe hall in Kangyong (now Huangjinzhai, Zhouxi Town), and held a reed pipe meeting with reed pipe dance music as the main theme every year. However, the reactionary rulers of all dynasties were very jealous and afraid of the Miao people's gatherings for entertainment. They used the excuse of "the Miao people gathering to rebel" to send officials and soldiers to snatch the reed pipes made by the Miao people and issued a ban: "No more reed pipe gatherings are allowed." The Miao people here live a lonely life without the sound of reed pipes and Miao flutes. There is a song that goes: "Ying Gong built a reed hall, the sound of reed pipes shook the sky, the officials were cruel and destroyed my reed hall, and it was difficult for men and women to get married. This has been the case for seven generations." The song refers to the fact that the dark old society brought the Miao people a tragic experience of "seven generations of men unable to get married and women unable to get married." Ying Gong's sons were smart and capable. They were dissatisfied with the situation that the reed pipes did not sound, the place was deserted, and young men and women lost the opportunity to socialize and find a partner. Therefore, they gathered to discuss the restoration of the reed pipe festival. After repeated screening, they finally chose to build a reed pipe hall on the river beach at the foot of the village of "Diuna" (now Tunshang Village) in Zhouxi, namely the Gannangxiang Reed Pipe Hall in Zhouxi. The beach is flat and wide, with a large space capacity, nearly 300 meters wide (excluding the river) and more than 500 meters long. When the Lusheng Hall was established, Ying Gong's sons killed 99 pigs, cooked 99 baskets of glutinous rice, and invited people of all ethnic groups within and outside a hundred miles to participate. Each participant was given a large piece of meat and a ball of glutinous rice. For distant visitors, those with relatives would visit their relatives' homes, and the rest of the distant guests would be entertained by Ying Gong's sons. Zhouxi Gannangxiang Lusheng Hall was established in this way. When the Kaili Gannangxiang Miao Lusheng Festival was held, Ying Gong's eldest son Wu Mieling danced first and formulated some rules. There was a song: "Old Man Mie Gong/Braids are 19 cards long/Twisted around the neck nine times/Sheng dances 19 steps/Dancing Lusheng instead of drumming/Beat the drum upstream/Beat the gong downstream/Not in the Sheng Hall". The descendants of Ying Gong knew clearly that the drums were used to worship the ancestors, and the cattle and pigs were slaughtered too much, which was too expensive. They did not advocate the simultaneous holding of the Lusheng Festival and the drum festival, so they advocated the use of Lusheng dance instead of drums. From then on, the drum dance festival was no longer held in the Lusheng Hall of Gannangxiang in Zhouxi. At first, the descendants of Ying Gong took turns to be responsible for the opening of the hall. When Jiang Ying (the son of Ying Gong) opened the hall, the wind was not good, the rain was not smooth, and the crops did not harvest. So they asked the eldest brother Wu Mieling to open the hall. After the eldest brother opened the hall, the wind was good, the crops were abundant, and the livestock were prosperous. So everyone decided that the opening of the hall every year would be presided over by Wu Mieling and his descendants. The scale of the Lusheng Festival of the Miao people in Gannangxiang, Kaili is grand, especially the various Lusheng tunes and the various Miao dances that dance to the Lusheng tunes are colorful, and the performance forms are rich and colorful. There is a song: The Lusheng in Zhouxi is ringing, and the sound of the Sheng warms the heart. If you don't go to Zhouxi to see it, it will be wronged for a hundred years. The Lusheng Festival of the Gannangxiang Miao Nationality in Kaili enjoys a high appeal and cohesion. It brings people infinite joy and happiness, calls for people to unite, work hard, be kind and friendly, and is a symbol of the prosperity of the Miao people in Zhouxi. The rituals of the Lusheng Festival in Zhouxi over the generations include: Rooster sacrifice to the stele. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when the moon comes out, the prestigious old singer of the Wu family kills a big rooster, sprinkles the stele with chicken blood, and sticks chicken feathers on the stele. At the same time, they sing and recite the words of sacrifice to the stele, burn incense and paper, set off wine and meat, and set off firecrackers. Young men and women also come to drink the sacrifice wine and sing the song of sacrifice: Lusheng opens the way, drives away evil spirits and ghosts, blesses peace, auspiciousness and prosperity, a good harvest in the coming year, and hope for marriage, which is passed down from generation to generation. On the day of the memorial, hundreds of descendants of Wu Mie Linggong lit a bonfire, formed a big circle, played Lusheng music, danced Lusheng dance, and circled the Shengtang to worship their ancestors. The descendants of Wu Mie Linggong announced the start of the Lusheng Festival of the Gannangxiang Miao people in Kaili. At this time, they toasted each other with wine, played finger-guessing games, sang and danced, and the atmosphere was very lively until midnight. The host and the guest danced together. The Lusheng Festival of the Gannangxiang Miao people in Kaili lasted for seven days from the 15th day of the first lunar month to the 21st day of the first lunar month every year. The Zhouxi area is a large village with more than 100 households. Every family has a beautiful girl and a smart boy. Therefore, in the village as a unit, four to eight Lusheng boys and four to fifty girls who danced Lusheng dance authentically, in order of height, formed a circle in two rows inside and outside (dialect habit: "one circle is one hall"). There is a song: When the Lusheng sounded, the girl's feet were itchy, and she only danced the Lusheng and forgot the way home. On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the girls of peach blossom color were so excited that they couldn't sleep. When the cocks crowed for the first time, they lit pine torches, dressed up, and wore gold and silver all over their bodies, which was dazzling. The young men who were not willing to be outdone put golden chicken feathers in their heads, wore double-breasted clothes, tied cloth belts, wore straw shoes, and held golden reed pipes, which was very handsome. People jumped and ran to the reed pipe hall with a smile on their faces. The girls of each village took their positions and formed a circle. If there were many girls in a large village, they would form two circles and danced to the melodious reed pipe music. At the beginning of this day, there were more than 30 halls; on the 17th day of the first lunar month, people from the villages near Zhouxi came and danced in more than 40 halls; from the 18th to the 19th and 20th day of the first lunar month, guests from hundreds of miles away gathered one after another, and the number of reed pipe halls reached hundreds. Assuming that there were 20 people in each hall, there were nearly 2,000 people dancing the reed pipe. Including the audience, the number of people in the whole scene was as many as 50,000 or 60,000. The spectacular scene of the sea of people and the tide of songs is in full view. On the evening of the 20th day of the first lunar month (the sixth day of the Lusheng Festival), a prestigious villager from the Wu Mieling family inserted a straw sign (called Zhudeng in Miao language) in the hall, indicating that the Lusheng dance and the previous activities were over. Singing to choose a spouse, the 21st day of the first lunar month, which is the seventh day of the Zhouxi Lusheng Festival, is the day that Wu Mieling deliberately arranged for young men and women to sing to choose a spouse. It is also the most exciting, nervous, meaningful and rare day for young men and women. In the form of love song duets, they express their love. On this special day of free love, with the most agile thinking, choose the most appropriate love song, use the fastest speed to touch the other party's heart, let the other party be intoxicated and intoxicated, and choose the most beloved person. This is the world-famous Zhouxi young men and women's mate selection day for more than 400 years. During the Lusheng Festival, in addition to playing Lusheng music and dancing Miao dances, which are rich in Miao cultural characteristics, bullfighting, singing competitions, horse racing, bird fighting, mountain climbing, tug-of-war, basketball and other activities are also held. Bullfighting is very popular among the Miao people, especially the elderly and middle-aged people. More than one-third of the people watching bullfighting during the Lusheng Festival. There is a bullfighting arena 400 meters south of the Lusheng Hall. There are more than a hundred bulls gathered from nearby counties (cities), which is known as the Hundred Bulls Competition. The bullfighting here is different from the bullfighting in Spain. It is not a fight between people and bulls, but a fight between bulls, so it is also called "bullfighting". After the bulls enter the arena, they first sign up, and then they are divided into three categories: wide angle, narrow angle, and tender angle, and then draw lots to compete. Whenever the bulls are put into the arena, the fight is fierce and brave, and it is hard to separate them. When the fight reaches the specified time, the young man who is responsible for pulling the bulls' feet will tie up one of the hind legs of the two fighting bulls and pull them back to separate the bulls. Some cows enter the arena and after a brief fight, they are defeated and leave. Bullfighting is the most favored. As long as the fight wins, the value doubles, not only the owner becomes famous, but also the village is honored. When the cows fight, the sound of the horns is earth-shaking and thrilling. During the festival, singing competition (antithesis) is also an important part of it, and various Miao songs are performed or sung. Through antithesis, the Miao people fully express their enthusiasm, heroism, and sincere feelings of yearning for a happy life, and vividly express the good wishes of the Miao people, especially the young Miao men and women, to pursue a new life. Horse racing was popular in the past and in the 1930s and 1940s. Later, due to the uneven mountains and few forests and grasslands, the number of people raising and riding horses decreased relatively, and horse racing gradually faded. The main instrument of the Kaili Gannangxiang Miao Xiang Lusheng Festival is the Lusheng. There is a Miao saying: "When the reed pipe sounds, the feet of Miao girls itch." The Lusheng was developed after the ancestor worship drum was abandoned. Because too many cattle were killed during the "Gushe Festival", which affected production and life, people made the Lusheng based on the original shape of the Miao Xiao to replace the rough drum. The Miao Xiao is called "Liang" in the Miao language, and playing the flute is called "Chuliang". Liang is a very ancient Miao musical instrument. All you need is a section of golden bamboo (about a foot long), with a square hole carved on the upper section. Peel off a layer of the golden bamboo skin, clamp a thin bamboo piece at the square mouth, and inlay a two-inch long bamboo stick on each side of the thin piece, and then stick it tightly with a flower belt (now using glue) to prevent air leakage. Six holes are dug on the upper section of the golden bamboo. Whenever the air passes from the bamboo stick air hole to the thin piece, a whirring sound is heard. Then press the six holes with your hands respectively, and it becomes the syllables of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Every afternoon, especially after nightfall, it is refreshing to play it! After the appearance of bronze, people used bronze to make Huang pieces to replace thin bamboo pieces, and changed the Miao Xiao into the current Lusheng. To date, the Miao people have no other musical instruments except wooden drums, reed pipes, and lianghe wooden leaves. The reed pipe dance of the Miao people in Zhouxi (Gannangxiang) has a history of more than 400 years since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The Gannangxiang Miao Reed Pipe Festival has a profound influence on Qiandongnan Prefecture and even the neighboring prefectures, counties and cities. It occupies an important position in southeastern Guizhou and is the relic of the ancient Miao reed pipe dance. From large-scale slaughter of cattle and pigs, it has changed to entertaining gods and people, and has become a normal entertainment activity, which has further promoted the inherent reed pipe culture of the Miao people. During this period, in addition to the colorful reed pipe music and the Miao dances that danced to the reed pipe music, the artistic taste of the folk costumes, silver ornaments, embroidery, brocade and brocade of the Miao people in Zhouxi was fully displayed, and the production of costumes, silver ornaments, embroidery, brocade and reed pipe handicrafts of the Miao people in Zhouxi also developed greatly. However, after the 1960s, for well-known reasons, the reed pipe festival was not allowed to be held and the reed pipe was not allowed to be played. Despite this, every year during the festival, the Miao people still dress up, gather in the Lusheng Hall with silver bells jingling, and communicate with each other until the sun sets in the west. After the Cultural Revolution, the Kaili Gannangxiang Miao Lusheng Festival was gradually restored. Nowadays, due to the continuous evolution of the times and the impact of foreign cultures, fewer young people learn to play the Lusheng. Some go out to work, and many young people are fascinated by modern instruments and modern dance. Therefore, the lively scene today is incomparable to the original. As for the Lusheng making families, except for the Pan and Wu families who meet the very few needs, the Yang family Lusheng making family has no inheritance now, and the Zhouxi Miao (Gannangxiang) Lusheng Festival has shown a crisis of inheritance and development.