Intangible culture with Related Tags
Clay Sculpture (Beijing Rabbit God)
The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in old Beijing is not only about eating mooncakes and appreciating the moon, but also about worshiping the Rabbit God. Worshiping the Rabbit God is a reflection of the good life of the old Beijingers, and they place their earnest hopes on the Rabbit God. The Rabbit God sitting on an elephant, "elephant" and "auspicious" are homophones, implying good luck; the Rabbit God sitting on a tiger, the tiger is the king of beasts, implying a prosperous career; the Rabbit God sitting on a gourd, "gourd" and "fortune" are homophones, implying both fortune and luck. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people invite the Rabbit God out and offer melons, fruits and mooncakes for worship. After the worship, the Rabbit God turns into a toy for children, and a new Rabbit God is invited into the house. This custom has been passed down for more than 400 years since the late Ming Dynasty.
Legend of the Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to heaven, prayed for a good harvest and prayed for rain here. The legend of the Temple of Heaven was born and developed because of the Temple of Heaven architecture and the emperor's ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. The integration of the cosmology of "harmony between man and nature" has given the Temple of Heaven complex a sacred and unique meaning, becoming an important driving factor for the occurrence and prosperity of related legends. The legend of the Temple of Heaven is widely circulated among Beijing citizens, especially in the areas around the Temple of Heaven, such as the Goldfish Pond, Fata Temple, Four Jades, and Tianqiao, which are particularly popular and are a unique branch of Beijing's local culture. The legend of the Temple of Heaven generally includes five parts: the legend of the establishment of the Temple of Heaven, the legend of the scenery, the legend of folk customs, the legend of the altar, and the legend of related figures. The legend of the Temple of Heaven is passed down in social groups in a unique way of oral folk literature. For hundreds of years, it has been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. In the 1980s, the Chongwen District Cultural Center (now the Second Cultural Center of Dongcheng District) and the Temple of Heaven Park Management Office collected and edited "Chongwen Folk Literature Selection" and "Temple of Heaven Scenery Legends". Since the national intangible cultural heritage survey in 2005, the Chongwen District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center (now the Dongcheng District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center) has organized forces to collect and record a number of new Temple of Heaven legends. The Temple of Heaven legends have profound historical, cultural and literary value. First, it embodies a series of Chinese cosmological views such as "the sky is yang, the earth is yin", "the sky is round and the earth is square", "the unity of heaven and man", and "the resonance between heaven and man". Second, whether it is related to the architecture and function of the Temple of Heaven, or the philosophical concept of the harmony of yin and yang, or the legends related to the emperor's appearance and customs, they are all interpretations and interpretations from the perspective of ordinary people. Third, the Temple of Heaven legends are spread in various ways, and they are extensive and extensible in the process of dissemination.
Yangko (Xiaohongmen Yangko)
Xiaohongmen "Di Yangge" is a traditional Yangge dance that is popular in Xiaohongmen area of Chaoyang District, Beijing. Its full name is "Taiping Tongle Yangge Shenghui". On a flag of the association that has been preserved to this day, there is the words "Taiping Tongle Yangge Shenghui in Hongsi Village outside Zuoanmen started in the second year of Qianlong". The Yangge Association has strict rules, customs and etiquette. Most of the members in the association are Manchus, all of whom are men. Xiaohongmen Di Yangge is mainly performed during festivals and various festive activities. The Yangge team consists of 21 people: 2 people each play the role of Tuotou, Xiaoerge, Wenshan, Wushan, Fisherman, and Woodcutter; 4 people each play gongs and drums; 1 person plays the big gong; 2 flag bearers; 2 people carry the tent (cage shaking). Di Yangge performance is mainly dance, supplemented by singing. In the past, the association often performed for large-scale celebrations and sacrificial activities. For example, during the "Sacrificial Granary" activity held in Hongsi Village on the 25th day of the first lunar month to pray for God to bless the crops, after the "Add Granary" ceremony (adding Granary means collecting more grain and not leaving the granary empty) was completed, the Diyangge was performed. At present, the association only continues the festival celebration activities, and the sacrificial activities are not continued. In the past, the Xiaohongmen Diyangge performance was a combination of singing and dancing. At present, there are very few people who can sing, and they no longer sing during performances. There are still a large number of Yangge lyrics in the Yangge Association, but there is no singing score, and it is on the verge of being lost. According to old artists, Xiaohongmen Diyangge once had 64 performance routines, and only 22 sets are preserved now.
Qiang Year
Qiang New Year is a traditional festival of the Qiang people in Sichuan Province, China, and is celebrated on the first day of the tenth lunar month every year. During the festival, the Qiang people worship the gods and pray for prosperity. Under the careful guidance of the Shibi (priest), the villagers dress in festive costumes, hold a solemn mountain worship ceremony, and kill sheep to worship the gods. Then, the villagers will dance the leather drum and Salang dance under the leadership of the Shibi. During the event, the Shibi chants the traditional epic of the Qiang people, and the people sing, drink and have fun. On New Year's Eve, the head of each family will preside over the worship ceremony and present sacrifices and offerings. In recent years, due to the increasing migration of people, the declining interest of young people in the traditional culture of the Qiang people, and the impact of foreign culture, fewer and fewer people celebrate the Qiang New Year; the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake destroyed many Qiang villages and severely damaged the Qiang people's gathering areas, and the Qiang Lunar New Year was therefore in a precarious state.
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, which is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It has a history of more than 2,500 years. The festival customs of expelling poison and warding off evil spirits have led to a variety of folk activities such as sacrifices, entertainment, and health care in various places, mainly including sacrifices to Qu Yuan, commemorating Wu Zixu, planting mugwort, hanging calamus, drinking realgar wine, eating rice dumplings, dragon boat racing, and eliminating the five poisons. Various activities vary slightly due to regional differences, especially in Zigui County and Huangshi City in Hubei Province. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival that contains a unique national spirit and rich cultural connotations, and has a significant impact on Chinese folk life.
Chinese Korean Farmer Dance
The agricultural music and dance of the Korean ethnic group in China is a folk performing art that combines performance, singing and dancing, reflecting the traditional agricultural production life of worshipping and praying for blessings and celebrating the harvest. The dance is characterized by ecology, simplicity, ruggedness and harmony. Before the dance, the dancers step on the earth to worship the gods, expressing the primitive belief of respecting and relying on nature. The dancers sing and dance to the beat of suona, dongxiao, gongs and drums, expressing the good wishes of pursuing auspiciousness and happiness. The scene is warm and unrestrained, with distinct ethnic characteristics. Agricultural music and dance have been integrated into the blood of the Korean ethnic group in China, becoming an artistic treasure in social and cultural life, reflecting the diversity of world culture and human creativity.
Heritage with Related Tags
Altar of the Land and Grain
The Sheji Altar is located in the southwest of the Forbidden City, close to the central axis and symmetrical with the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The building complex is a rectangular building complex that is slightly longer from north to south, and is surrounded by two inner and outer walls to form a ring-shaped courtyard. The inner altar is a ritual and sacrificial space, surrounded by a square inner wall in the center, with a door on each of the four sides of the inner altar wall and the inner wall, and the altar in the center. The God Storehouse and God Kitchen are located in the southwest corner of the inner altar, and the slaughter pavilion building complex is located outside the west wall. 612 ancient trees are planted in the outer altar, creating a quiet atmosphere of the royal altar. In addition, the outer altar area also creates a garden landscape with a strong Chinese traditional interest. There are two rockery in the west, and a free-form pond in the southwest. There are waterside pavilions, Tanghuawu and other buildings around the pond. The Sheji Altar is the most complete ceremonial building complex for the royal sacrifice to Taishe and Taiji in ancient China. The outer altar, inner altar, and inner triple altar walls create a sacred sacrificial atmosphere with rich levels of change. The inner altar is the core of the sacrificial space. From south to north, along the central axis of the inner altar, there are Nantanmen, Nanxingmen, Shejitan altar, Beilingxingmen, Baidian, Jimen, Beitanmen and other buildings. After entering the inner altar, you can see the inner wall. The center of the inner wall is the Shejitan altar. The north of the inner wall is the Baidian. Jimen is located directly north of the Baidian and is slightly lower than the Baidian. Beitanmen was the entrance to the ritual sacrificial route during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so it is taller than the South Gate. Shejitan was a place for worshiping She (land) and (grains) during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The significance of worshiping Sheji and Ji is not limited to the worship of land and grains themselves, but it shows the importance of the country's territory, and has the extended meaning of praying for the country's solid foundation, prosperity, and integrity of the territory. The worship of Sheji emphasizes the influence of land and grains on the country and society, thus closely linking the national and social order with the relationship between people and land. Shetan became a park in modern times. It is the earliest royal temple in Beijing to be transformed into an urban park, and it is still open to the public as a park. The Altar of Land and Grain was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). Initially, there was only an altar in the inner altar. In the Ming Dynasty, the slaughter pavilion, the god's storehouse and god's kitchen, the worship hall and the gate were successively built. The resulting structure has been preserved to this day. Only the main buildings were repaired in the Qing Dynasty. On October 10, 1914, the Altar of Land and Grain was opened to the public as the Central Park. It was the first royal temple in Beijing to be transformed into an urban park, and witnessed the process of the publicization of the central axis of Beijing. In 1928, the Central Park was renamed Zhongshan Park and is still open to the public today.
Temple of the Emperors of All Dynasties
The Temple of the Emperors of All Dynasties in Beijing was first built in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1530). It was a royal temple for the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, emperors of all dynasties, and civil and military officials. In 1996, the State Council announced it as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Temple of the Emperors of All Dynasties has always taken the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors as the center of worship, reflecting the lofty ancestral status of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; the number of figures enshrined in the temple has continued to increase. By the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the tablets of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and 188 founding emperors and successive emperors were enshrined in the Jingde Chongsheng Hall, and the tablets of 79 civil and military officials of all dynasties were enshrined in the east and west side halls. The Temple of Guandi was built in the Qing Dynasty to worship Guan Yu alone. The Temple of the Emperors of All Dynasties covers an area of 21,500 square meters and a construction area of 6,000 square meters. The overall layout is magnificent, showing the dignity and style of the royal temple, and is a fine piece of Chinese ancient architecture.
Temple of Heaven Park
The Temple of Heaven is located in Chongwen District, Beijing, on the east side of Yongdingmen Nei Street. It was originally a place for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the Emperor of Heaven. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and was finally completed during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty after continuous renovation and expansion. The Temple of Heaven covers an area of 2.73 million square meters. The main buildings include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Circular Mound, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Palace of Fasting, the Divine Music Office, and the Sacrifice Place. It was opened as a park in 1918. The Temple of Heaven is divided into two parts, the inner and outer altars. The inner altar consists of the Circular Mound and the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests. The northern part of the inner altar is the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, and the southern part is the Circular Mound Altar. A 360-meter-long Danbi Bridge connects the two altars. The main buildings of the two altars are concentrated at both ends of the Danbi Bridge. The southern end of the Danbi Bridge has the Circular Mound and the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the northern end has the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Imperial Vault of Heaven. The Danbi Bridge, also known as the Sea-grabbing Avenue, is a huge brick-paved high platform commercial road and the main axis of the Temple of Heaven. On the east side of the Danbi Bridge, there are ancillary buildings adapted to the sacrificial function of the Temple of Heaven: the slaughter pavilion, the kitchen for the gods, the storehouse for the gods, etc. On the west side of the Danbi Bridge, there is the Zhai Palace, which is the place where the emperor fasts before the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. The outer altar is a forest area with a lot of trees planted. In the southwest of the outer altar, there is the Shenyue Office, which was the place for practicing sacrificial rituals and music and training sacrificial music and dance students in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Since the Beijing Tiandi Temple was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), the history of the Temple of Heaven as a dedicated altar for the emperor to worship the Emperor of Heaven has continued for more than 490 years. The Xinhai Revolution that broke out in 1911 ended China's feudal monarchy of more than 2,000 years, and also ended the sacrificial history that lasted for 5,000 years throughout Chinese history. From then on, the Temple of Heaven, which was used exclusively for emperors to worship, was "open to everyone". In 1918, the government of the Republic of China opened the Temple of Heaven as a park and implemented ticket sales. In 1951, the Beijing Municipal Government established the Temple of Heaven Management Office, and in 1957, the Temple of Heaven was listed as one of the first batch of ancient buildings and cultural relics protection sites in Beijing. In 1961, it was listed as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection sites by the State Council.
Beijing Yuetan Park
The Moon Altar was a place for worshipping the moon in ancient China, also known as the "Evening Moon Altar". As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor had already worshipped the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The only remaining Moon Altar is located in the west of Beijing. It was first built in the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1530) and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. It was one of the nine altars and eight temples in Beijing and was abandoned in the early years of the Republic of China. The "Moon Altar" generally refers to this place. The Moon Altar in Beijing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties was located to the west of Nanlishi Road and to the south of Yuetan North Street in Xicheng District, Beijing. It formed the Yuetan Park with the antique gardens to its south. The main buildings in the altar mentioned in the Ming and Qing documents, except for the altar platform and the inner altar wall, which were demolished, the rest of the ancient buildings such as the bell tower, Tianmen, Jufu Hall, and Shenku still exist. After liberation, the government strengthened the protection and construction of the Moon Altar and opened it as a park in 1955 for people to rest and entertain. After years of construction, the area of Yuetan Park has been greatly expanded. The entire park is divided into two parts, north and south. The north garden is characterized by ancient buildings with red bricks and green tiles and regular roads. This is the Moon Altar in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The South Garden is a newly opened tourist area, with rocks, pools, and winding garden roads, forming a natural landscape garden pattern. Its design and construction are based on the theme of "moon", and the name of the garden is also taken as "Yaoyue Garden". There is a group of small courtyards in the middle of Yaoyue Garden, named "Tianxiang Courtyard" with the meaning of "osmanthus falls in the moon, and the fragrance of heaven floats outside the clouds". On the wide lawn on the south side of Tianxiang Courtyard, there are several jade rabbits and Tianxiang Courtyard. On May 25, 2006, Yuetan, as an ancient building from Ming to Qing Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Chinese Zhang Family Ancestral Hall
The surname Zhang is now the third largest surname in China. It originated from the surname Ji of Emperor Huangdi, the first ancestor of human civilization, and is an important part of the descendants of Yan and Huang. The surname Zhang originated from Hui Gong, the grandson of Shaohao Qingyang, the son of Huangdi. Because he invented the bow and arrow, Hui Gong was given the surname Zhang in Qingyang (now Qinghe, Hebei). It is understood that the Confucius worship ceremony in ancient my country was divided into "autumn worship" and "spring worship". Following this ancient ritual system, the World Zhang Clan Association decided to designate May and October of each year as the ancestor worship month of the Chinese Zhang Clan, and hold relevant theme activities every year at the Qinghe Huaxia Zhang Clan Ancestral Court. During the Ancestor Worship Festival, Yuan Yida, director of the Huaxia Surname Research Center, presented the "Chinese Filial Piety Culture Education Base" plaque to the Huaxia Zhang Clan Ancestral Court on behalf of the Chinese Fuxi Research Association and the Huaxia Surname Origin Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.