Qixi Festival

Chinese national intangible cultural heritage: Qixi Festival

Applicant: Ministry of culture

Project No.: 452

Project No.: Ⅹ - 4

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Zhongzhi unit

Type: new item

Applicant: Ministry of culture

Protection unit: Ministry of culture and Tourism

Introduction to Qixi Festival:

Applicant: Ministry of culture

The night of the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh lunar month is commonly known as Qixi Festival, also known as "Qiqiao Festival" or "daughter's Day". It is one of the most romantic traditional Chinese festivals, and it is also the most important day for girls in the old days. Qixi Festival is one of the important festivals inherited from Chinese farming society. In addition to the Han nationality, Manchu, Korean, Zhuang, Dong, Miao, she and other ethnic minorities also celebrate this festival. However, some ethnic minorities have their own names for this festival, such as the Manchu people call it the festival of sacrificing the stars, the Oroqen people call it the festival of sacrificing the moon, and so on.

Qixi Festival originated from the myth of Cowherd and weaver girl. As early as the Warring States period, there were records of Altair and Vega. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was said that the emperor Tiandi married Niulang and Zhinu, but the Jade Emperor ordered the queen mother of the west to delimit the river with a silver hairpin, stipulating that Niulang could only meet Zhinu by magpie bridge on July 7 every year. According to the legend, Qixi Festival was formed and has been preserved.

Qixi festival mainly includes: 1. Worship the Cowherd and the weaver girl and listen to the "heavenly language" under the melon shed; 2. Throw skillful needles and predict luck; 3. Seven sisters form an alliance; 4. Receive dew and plant; 5. Sacrifice to the seventh lady, Kuixing, Wenchang, Guan Gong, tiansun and so on. The related utensils and products of Qixi Festival include Niulang Zhinu New Year picture, qimadame picture, Qixi painting, Qiqiao building, Qiqiao needle, Qiqiao fruit, qiqiaoban, etc.

Qixi Festival is a festival for women. In the process of development and change, the content of love between men and women is also integrated into it, reflecting people's pursuit of good emotional desire. In addition, all kinds of intelligence games are played during the festival, which enriches the content of the festival.

Qixi Festival is of great value to the study of Chinese history and culture. Among them, cowherd and weaver girl is an important subject of Chinese folk literature. It combines with folk life to form a distinctive folk activity, which is an important content of literature, folklore, entertainment and other disciplines.

At present, the Qixi Festival is not popular in cities, but in rural areas, some legends are still popular, but Qiqiao activities have been weakened, so the cultural connotation of Qixi Festival is gradually weakening, which needs to be explored and protected.