The Qingming Water Release Festival (also known as the "Opening Water Festival" in ancient times), which has lasted for more than 2,000 years, originated from the belief in the river god and the sacrifice to the river water more than 2,000 years ago. According to the inscription on the stone statue of Li Bing unearthed at the head of the Dujiangyan Canal in 1974, at least in the first year of Jianning in the Han Dynasty (168 AD), the people of Dujiangyan changed the sacrifice to the river god and the river water to the Spring and Autumn sacrifice activities to worship Li Bing, forming the Qingming Water Release Festival, a seasonal folk custom that radiates the entire Sichuan Basin. The ancient human remains in Mangcheng, Dujiangyan, are the living settlement sites of the ancient Shu people 4,500 years ago. Archaeological excavations have proved that the ancient humans in Dujiangyan City had entered a relatively developed agricultural society stage 4,500 years ago. There are traces of ditches and inner and outer city walls for flood prevention in the site. The era of Yu the Great controlling floods in ancient my country, that is, the 22nd to 23rd century BC, was the era when the ancient Mangcheng appeared in Dujiangyan City, proving that the Minjiang River more than 4,000 years ago had become a river closely related to human life and production. When Yu the Great controlled floods, he mainly controlled this section of the river flowing through the western Sichuan plain. According to the "Shangshu Yu Gong", "Minshan led the river, and the east was divided into Tuo River", and "Yu Di Ji Sheng" said: "Wenchuan is the place where the god Yu was born. Yu guided the river from Minshan to the construction." "Han Shu Geography" said in the entry for Pi County: "Yu Gong" has Jiangtuo in the west and Dajiang in the east." Many ancient books and documents record that Dayu "guided the river from Minshan Mountain and formed Tuo River in the east". He took advantage of the relatively high terrain of Juyuan Town (formerly known as Daojiang County) in the current Dujiangyan City and dug an artificial river to guide the floodwaters of the Minjiang River to the Luo River in Jintang County through the artificial river, and then flowed into the Minjiang River through the Jintang Gorge. Due to the limitations of ancient people’s knowledge, they often interpreted and treated natural phenomena in the form of myths and witchcraft. With the flooding of the Minjiang River and Dayu’s flood control, the legend of the Minjiang River being a monster and the legend of the river god helping Dayu to control the flood was born in ancient times. Before the Han Dynasty, offering sacrifices to the river and the river god every spring was a very important folk activity. In order to respect and conform to the culture of the ancient Shu people, Li Bing “set up three places of worship on the water, used three animals for sacrifice, and sank jade and jade into the river.” (Huayang Guozhi Shuzhi) Using jade to sink into the river to worship the gods and using the Tailao ritual to worship the Minjiang River were folk cultural activities that had been passed down for thousands of years in Dujiangyan City before the Qin and Han Dynasties. After the Qin Dynasty unified China, it upgraded the worship of the Minjiang River to a national act. According to the "Historical Records of Fengshan" and "Book of Han Dynasty: Records of Suburban Sacrifices", after the Qin Dynasty unified the world, in order to reflect the pattern of national unity and achieve a high degree of unity in spiritual culture, it ordered officials in charge of national sacrificial rituals to count and rank the famous and representative mountains and rivers across the country, and formulate a unified sacrificial level. Among the 46 counties in the country, there are 18 places in the country that can represent the country and enjoy the "Tai Lao" sacrifice, and Sichuan occupies two places: "Dushan, Wenshan of Shu; Jiangshui, Temple of Shu." "Jiang" in ancient times specifically refers to the Yangtze River, and "Jiangshui" here specifically refers to the Minjiang River. Therefore, in the Qin and Han Dynasties, in spring and autumn, the "Tai Lao" "Three Animals" ritual was used to sacrifice to the Minjiang River by the Minjiang River. The purpose of all these folk activities is to eliminate the flood disasters in the Minjiang River and pray for a good harvest. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, built in 256 BC by Li Bing, a great scientist in ancient China who was then the governor of Shu County, completely controlled the flood disasters in the Minjiang River and made the western Sichuan plain a "land of abundance" where "floods and droughts are controlled by people" and "there is no famine". Since the construction of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in 256 BC, people have increasingly felt that the Dujiangyan Irrigation System built by Li Bing has brought great benefits to the Chengdu Plain. In the Han Dynasty, people's cultural cognition had a qualitative change. From the fear of ghosts and gods and the fear of nature, they gradually turned to the cognition of science and turned to worshiping Li Bing. Judging from the Han Dynasty stone statue of Li Bing unearthed near Yuzui during the annual maintenance of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in 1974, before 168 AD, a temple dedicated to worshiping Li Bing had been built on the Minjiang River near the head of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. The Guanxian Local Chronicles states: "Every year after the rice seedlings are planted, the Shu people offer incense and candles to worship Li Bing, and there is an endless stream of them." The ancient Shu people experienced the great benefits that Li Bing brought to the production and life of the Sichuan Basin by cleverly utilizing the special terrain, water veins, and mountain terrain, taking advantage of the situation, diverting water without dams, and gravity irrigation in the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. In order to protect the sustainable use of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, they followed Li Bing's scientific principle of "deep dredging and low weir construction" and the rules of water control, and carried out large-scale annual repairs every year. The annual repair project must cut off the water of the Neijiang River. The annual repair is completed during the Qingming Festival of the following year, and the wooden rafts and bamboo cages used for blocking water are removed to release water into the Neijiang River, forming seasonal folk activities. One of the main contents of this seasonal custom is to commemorate Li Bing, the founder of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. According to the New Book of Tang and Taiping Huanyu Ji, during the Jianwu period of the Southern Qi Dynasty (494-498 AD), Liu Jilian, the governor of Yizhou, moved the "Wangdi Temple" at the head of the canal to Pi County and rebuilt it into today's "Wangcong Temple". On the temple foundation of the "Wangdi Temple" at the head of the canal, a "Chongde Temple" was built to worship Li Bing. This is the earliest name of the "Erwang Temple". Therefore, the "Erwang Temple" has a history of 150 years. Folk customs have also changed with the changes in society and time. Since the Han Dynasty, although it has gone through the changes of major dynasties in Chinese history such as the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the custom of worshipping Li Bing in the Erwang Temple has remained the same for nearly 2,000 years without much change. However, the folk activities of worshipping Li Bing, celebrating the completion of the annual annual repair project, and welcoming the Minjiang River water into the Dujiangyan irrigation area have changed greatly with the changes of the times, changes in ethnic composition and the improvement of production levels, as well as the continuous improvement of the Dujiangyan water conservancy project, and summarizing new water control and weir repair experience. That is to say, the rituals and contents of the current Qingming Water Release Festival have been gradually evolved over more than 1,000 years. When Dujiangyan was first built, it demonstrated great benefits. It not only completely cured the floods in the Sichuan Basin, but also made the river network and water system open and controllable, solved the irrigation problems of more than 10,000 hectares of rice fields, and solved the transportation problems, laying the foundation for Qin to unify the country. Finally, "the First Emperor took advantage of it to unify the world." Therefore, the people of Shu cherish and value Dujiangyan very much. They not only take the contents of the construction of Dujiangyan with high scientific value, such as "deep dredging, low weir", "cut corners when encountering bends, and draw out the center when encountering straight lines", "Three-character Classic of Water Control", etc., as the theoretical basis for water control and weir repair for more than 2,000 years, strictly carry out annual repairs in accordance with these scientific conclusions that have been tested in practice, and inscribe them on the walls and stone tablets of the Erwang Temple for future generations to remember. Since the Han Dynasty, people have used these scientific theories to guide the completion of the annual maintenance project and ensure the normal operation of the Dujiangyan water conservancy system. In other words, the Qingming Festival in March was used as a symbolic festival to celebrate the completion of the annual maintenance project, dismantle the wooden rafts and bamboo cage cofferdams, release the outer river water into the inner river, and start spring farming. On the one hand, it celebrates the completion of the annual maintenance and the coming of another bumper harvest in the western Sichuan plain. On the other hand, it takes this opportunity to express respect and praise for the heroes of the past by offering sacrifices to Li Bing in the Erwang Temple and paying homage to the heroes who built the Dujiangyan. In the Tang Dynasty, the Qingming Water Release Festival was celebrated in the form of bullfighting. The "Customs and Customs" said: "Guankou Spring and Autumn Bullfighting". During the spring ploughing season, in addition to the official organization of worshipping Li Bing at the Erwang Temple, the folk organizations also held bullfighting competitions on the Minjiang River at the head of the Dujiangyan Canal on the day of the Qingming Water Release Festival. From this, many folk stories such as "Li Bing Fighting the Rhinoceros" were born, gradually enriching the cultural content of the Qingming Water Release Festival. In the Song Dynasty, the bullfighting drama of the Qingming Water Release Festival developed into sheep-stealing sacrifices. The Guanxian Local Records states: "During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Shu people used sheep to worship King Li, and there were butchers along the river in front of the temple." "Duxingji" states: "The Chongde Temple in Yongkang Army (the name of Dujiangyan City in the Song Dynasty) worshipped Li Bing and his son with great ceremony, using 40,000 sheep every year. Whenever they bought sheep for sacrifice, they dared not keep any lambs that happened to be born." The poet Lu You, who was the Tongpan of Shuzhou at that time, wrote in "Written in Response to Fan Sheren on the Road to Qingcheng in Yongkang": "You see, the God eats 40,000 sheep every year, and the bones are piled up everywhere." The Song Dynasty used sheep slaughtering to worship Li Bing and celebrate the opening of the weir and the release of water, which was inseparable from the highly developed agriculture, animal husbandry and commerce in the western Sichuan plain at that time. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the scale of folk sacrifices was relatively small, and more energy was focused on annual repair projects. According to the "History of Yuan Dynasty", during the Spring and Autumn Festival every year, one silk, one sheep, one pig, one pedestal, one scoop, one basket, one bowl, one casserole, four bowls, one zun, three jue, one stove, and one stirrup were used. This basically followed the "Shaolao" sacrificial ritual specifications of the Han and Tang Dynasties. In addition, a specific sacrificial procedure was formulated. Because this is a sacrifice on behalf of the country, the provincial government usually arranges major officials to wear official uniforms for the sacrifice. The prayer for the sacrifice is also uniformly formulated by the court and chanted by the chief priest. The prayer in the Yuan Dynasty was: "The gods are obtained, and the work is done to promote benefits and eliminate disadvantages. The river is crossed, and the boats are sailing. Irrigation of three counties, fertile fields for thousands of miles. The fat land of Mianluo is still praised today. The salt wells are dredged and Sichuan uses them for its abundance. The stone man is established, and the harm of Sichuan is eliminated. The merits of the country are rewarded. In the Qing Dynasty, with the pacification of the war in Sichuan in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and the recovery of agricultural production, the official sacrifice to Li Bing and the folk activities of celebrating the Qingming Festival were gradually finalized. In the fifth year of Yongzheng (1728), the Qing court conferred Li Bing the titles of "Fuze Xingji Tongyou King" and Li Erlang In order to be the "King of Inheritance, Benevolence and Prominence", he issued an edict stipulating sacrifices in spring and autumn. The spring sacrifice was the Qingming Festival. In the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, that is, in the middle of the 18th century, unified regulations on the specifications and sacrificial texts. The sacrificial specifications are: use a small sacrifice and offer sacrifices of nine grades. The chief priest wears an official uniform and performs a ceremony of two kneelings and six kowtows. The sacrificial text is: Only God is virtuous, promoting benefits and eliminating disasters. The river was crossed by a canal, and the boats sailed peacefully. It irrigated the three counties and made the fields fertile for thousands of miles. The fertile land of Mianluo is still praised today. The salt wells were dredged and Shu used it for its abundance. The stone men were set up to eliminate the harm to Shu. He was rewarded for his merits and was awarded by the country. It is spring irrigation, so it is appropriate to be solemn and respectful. After the officials finished offering sacrifices to Li Bing at the Erwang Temple, they led the sacrificial personnel to walk to the Dujiangyan Canal Head, one of the three major projects. The Yuzui water diversion project is located here. A colorful tent has already been set up here. Crowds of people from the Dujiangyan irrigation area in the western Sichuan plain were waiting on both sides of the Minjiang River for the ceremony to begin. When the chief priest announced the "water was turned on", salutes were fired, gongs and drums were beaten, and firecrackers were set off, with thunderous cheers on both sides of the river. The weir workers who had been prepared immediately swung their axes to cut the bamboo ropes connecting the wooden rafts, and struggled to dismantle the wooden rafts. The water from the outer river immediately surged down and flowed into the inner river. People held bamboo poles, beating the water head while praying: let the water flow smoothly and follow the track, do not destroy the dikes and weirs, and do not destroy the crops. People picked up small stones from the river bank and threw them into the water, which was called "beating the water head", which was the custom of the Qingming Water Release Festival. After the chief priest announced the water was turned on, he immediately led the officials on horseback to ride The sedan chair rushed back to Chengdu before the water head arrived in Chengdu. People believed that if the water head arrived in Chengdu before the officials, there would be insufficient water in the next year. At the same time as the water release festival, a material exchange fair was held to buy and sell agricultural tools, crop seeds and daily necessities. The market started on the day of the Qingming Water Release Festival and was generally held for 35 days. During the Qingming Festival, colorful tents were set up along the banks of Dujiangyan, and lights and decorations were hung. The Erwang Temple slaughtered pigs and sheep, played flutes and drums, and performed Sichuan opera on the stage for several days, attracting people from dozens of counties around Dujiangyan City to participate. There was a poem "Guanyang Bamboo Branch Poems" in the Qing Dynasty that described the grand occasion of the water release festival: "The water of Dujiangyan is fertile in the West River, and people come to open it and rush to both sides; I am happy to see the frequent dismantling of wooden rafts, and the thunderous cheers talk about farming. The annual Qingming Water Release Festival has become the most important seasonal folk activity in the Sichuan Basin. From the day of the Qingming Water Release Festival, the western Sichuan plain has entered the busy farming season. The Qingming Water Release Festival before the Qing Dynasty was also called the "Opening Water Festival". The bourgeois revolution led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the feudal rule that had lasted for thousands of years and established the Republic of China, which was fundamentally different from the traditional feudal rule in nature. How to continue China's traditional culture has become a new problem facing the Chinese people. Obviously, except for the folk custom of dismantling the wooden rafts and releasing water, it is no longer possible to follow the history and officials perform the two kneeling and six kowtows ceremony. In the 28th year of the Republic of China (1940), some reforms were made to the rituals of the Qingming Water Release Festival. The rituals of the reformed water release ceremony are as follows: 1. Lin Sen, Chairman of the Sichuan Provincial National Government, personally presided over the ceremony, and all participants in the water release activities bowed three times to the statue of Li Bing. 2. All participants in the sacrifice collectively recited the "Welcome to the God" 3. Flowers were presented to the chief priest, who held flowers in his hands and sang the "Memorial Song" with the participants. 4. After the song, the chief priest presented flowers, silk, and wine to the statue of Li Bing. 5. Salutes were fired, music was played, and the dismantling of wooden rafts and the release of water were held. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first Qingming Water Release Festival was held in 1950, but the ceremony of worshipping Li Bing was cancelled. Li Jingquan, then deputy director of the Provisional Military and Political Committee of Northwest Sichuan, directly cut the ribbon, played salutes, played music, dismantled the wooden rafts, and people cheered and chased the river water flowing into Baopingkou along the Neijiang River. Later, due to various reasons, the Qingming Water Release Festival celebration activities were temporarily stopped. In 1990, due to the development of my country's reform and opening up and the emphasis on national culture, the Dujiangyan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government decided to restore the Qingming Water Release Festival. This is of great significance for promoting national traditional culture and maintaining the fine tradition of the nation's admiration for sages and heroes. During the Qingming Festival that year, the Qingming Water Release Festival ceremony was held in the form of 1950. In order to enhance the cultural and historical connotations, since 1991, when the Qingming Water Release Festival was held, a ceremony was added to reproduce the Qingming Water Release Festival in the Han Dynasty to worship Li Bing with the "Shao Lao" ceremony, making the sacrificial scene more historically heavy. This is the Qingming Water-releasing Festival that we see now.