Flower boats are also called land boats. Playing with flower boats is also called playing with fish boats, because the shape of flower boats resembles a carp. Playing with flower boats is a popular folk performance form in the local area, with a history of more than 400 years. According to records, from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the early years of the Republic of China, flower boat performances were very popular during temple fairs, village fairs, and folk festivals every year, and they have been played for a long time and have been passed down to this day. Flower boats are generally about 2 meters long, about 1.2 meters wide, and about 2 meters high. They are tied into a boat shape or a carp shape with bamboo strips, surrounded by green silk, and covered with colored paper inside and outside. There are various patterns painted on them, which looks very fancy. Of course, there are also simple ones, but they must look like a boat or a fish. There is a square hole (or round one) in the middle of the boat, and four solid colored sticks stand at the four corners of the hole to support the top of the flower boat. Some of the tops are painted with dragon patterns, some are painted with doves of peace, and there are also boats with lanterns hanging on them. There are windows on each side, and auspicious words such as "Happy Spring Festival" and "May everything go well" are written in gold on both sides of the windows. The whole flower boat looks bright red and green, very eye-catching and very beautiful. Especially when sailing, it is like rippling blue waves, giving people a sense of being there. The flower boat has folk customs and regional characteristics. Its performance form is mainly dance, supplemented by rap, and it is relatively simple to play. There are at least two people playing the flower boat, a boat lady, dressed in colorful clothes, flower jackets, flower pants, flower headscarves, flower shoes, and painted on her face, dressed very gorgeously. She stands in the cabin, hangs the flower boat on her belt with a rope (some people directly carry the flower boat with their hands), and holds the colored sticks in front of her with both hands. The other is the person who paddles the boat with a colorful pole. His appearance is usually very strange. Most of them wear a torn felt hat, a gray cloth, a high mustache, speak humorously, and move funny and absurdly. During the performance, he has no fixed position. He holds a colorful pole or paddles the boat at the bow, stern, left or right of the boat. Paddling on the left side of the boat is called the inner pole, paddling on the right side of the boat is called the outer pole, paddling at the bow is called the front pole, and paddling at the stern is called the back pole. While paddling, he must speak and sing at the same time. There are also two forms of singing: one is solo singing, and some of the lyrics of the solo singing are improvised and they sing whatever they see. Therefore, the performance skills and singing ability of the boatman are still very high, and he must be good at singing. Some of them are also fixed lyrics, such as "Little Cowherd", "Dragon Boat Cross Song", "Selling Groceries", etc. The other is a duet, that is, what the boatman sings, the boatwoman continues. In short, whether it is rap or performance, the two must cooperate tacitly. The boatwoman's boat must move with the rhythm of the boatman's oar and the music and gongs and drums, and it must be ups and downs, swaying left and right, sometimes swaying lightly, sometimes forging ahead in the rapids, sometimes riding the wind and waves, and sometimes going upstream. When the flower boat is stranded, the boatman will blow his beard and stare, and look left and right with a colorful pole in his hand to make a contemplative look. Then, he will roll up his sleeves and make a fist, use all his skills, shoulder and back, and cooperate cleverly with the boatwoman to make the flower boat turbulent in one go. That move, one style, one singing and one saying will portray the boatman's movements vividly and vividly. Flower boats can also be played by multiple people. There are two types of flower boats for multiple people to play. Baimenzi flower boats and Dachangzi flower boats. Baimenzi flower boats can be played by eight or nine people, while Dachangzi flower boats generally require about 20 people. That is, 4 people beat the gongs and drums, 1 boatwoman, 1 three-flowered face (clown), 4 people rowing the boat and singing, and 810 people playing the lotus flower (some places call it money cazi, which is made of bamboo poles, about 4 feet long, with many holes on the bamboo poles, and ancient copper coins in the holes. When it swings, the two ends take turns to hit the ground or different parts of the body, making a very pleasant sound, so it is called "money cazi"). Among the collective flower boat projects, the most eye-catching is the three-flowered face clown, who usually wears tattered clothes, wears a tattered straw hat, and holds a tattered fan in his hand, just like Jigong. He leans on a begging stick, shakes a tattered fan, dances, and waits for opportunities to make jokes and make fun of others. A good three-flowered face often makes people laugh and laugh from time to time. The performers of the lotus fall are all girls, ranging from 8 to 10. When the number of performers is even, they will first dance on the left, right or back of the flower boat, hitting their heads, necks, backs, legs, arms and other parts with the lotus fall. They will sing and dance in the rhythmic sound of the clacking sound. At the climax, they will surround the flower boat and sing and dance wildly in unison. After the singing, the flower boat will end. In ancient times, the flower boat performance was used by the people to pray for rain during the drought years. Later, it gradually evolved into a dance performance form that the masses loved. According to records, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, due to the flooding of the Yellow River, the Bailu Lake and Cangji Lake in the northwest of Siyang dried up and became land. Local fishermen began to play flower boats out of nostalgia for boating on the "two lakes", and added "shallow boat", "pry boat" and "top boat" and other movements to the performance. Later, this performance gradually expanded to surrounding areas. In the old days, the descendants of fishermen played flower boats to pay New Year's greetings to wealthy families during festivals, so it was called the door-to-door flower boat. They would go to the door of the family and sing a few auspicious songs and make up some happy words to congratulate the family. If they saw that the family had a building, they would sing "The gongs and drums are beating, the easterly building is so beautiful, the small courtyard is square, and the building is bright and bright." These auspicious words often make the host very happy and immediately set off firecrackers to celebrate. When the flower boat leaves, firecrackers are also set off to see it off. People who play flower boats never pay homage to empty houses. Every household will send some fruits, food, candies, cigarettes and other things. People with better conditions will also send some coins. Some are performed during "every meeting" (such as the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the eighth day of the fourth lunar month), and the style is often vulgar. After the founding of New China, flower boats have become more frequent and spectacular, creating an atmosphere for various festivals and major events. In addition, the content is close to society and praises the new trend of good people and good deeds, and criticizes the ugly and bad habits in society, which has positive significance. Flower boats with strong local customs have been deeply rooted in the people after hundreds of years of inheritance and development. Information source: Siyang County People's Government Office Information source: Siyang County People's Government Office