Sho Dun Festival

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Sheraton Festival

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

Item No.: 479

Project No.: Ⅹ - 31

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Tibet Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

Protection unit: Department of culture of Tibet Autonomous Region

About the Sheraton Festival:

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

"Sheraton" means yogurt feast. In Tibetan, "Snow" means sour milk, and "Dun" means "eat" and "Banquet". According to Tibetan interpretation, Sheraton Festival is the festival of eating sour milk. Because there are grand and enthusiastic Tibetan opera performances and large-scale Buddhist ceremony during the festival, some people also call it "Tibetan Opera Festival" and "Buddha exhibition Festival". The traditional sheaton Festival starts with the exhibition of Buddhas, with Tibetan opera performances, people's garden tours as its main contents, as well as wonderful yak racing and equestrian performances.

Before the 17th century, the Sheraton festival was a primitive religious festival. According to folk legend, due to the warm weather in summer, insects stung and everything revived, during which monks would inevitably trample on and kill life when they went out, which violated the "do not kill" commandment. Therefore, the discipline of Gelug Sect stipulates that monks can only chant sutras in temples from April to June of Tibetan calendar, and the ban can not be lifted until the end of June. When the ban was lifted, monks went out of the temple and went down the mountain. In order to reward the monks, common people prepared yoghurt, held picnics for them, and performed Tibetan opera at the celebration. This is the origin of the Sheraton Festival.

After the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism came to power in 1642, the Gandan pozhang palace of Drepung temple, where the fifth Dalai Lama was stationed in tin, once became the political, religious and cultural center of Tibet. Every year on June 30 of the Tibetan calendar, thousands of people pour into Drepung temple to offer yoghurt to the fifth Dalai Lama and the monks of Drepung temple and ask for the blessing of moping. According to records, 12 Tibetan opera troupes participated in the performance activities of the festival, including zhaxixueba, jioba, Jianggar, Xiangba, juemulong, Tazhong, lunzhugang, langzewa, bindunba, ruonaga, Xirong zhongzi and Gongbu zhuoba. Therefore, this national traditional festival with a history of more than 300 years can be said to be a Tibetan Opera Festival in a sense.

Tibetan Opera infiltrated into the early stage of sheaton Festival, and its scope was still limited in temples. First, it took Drepung temple as the activity center, so it was called "Drepung sheaton Festival". After the fifth Dalai Lama moved from Drepung temple to Potala Palace, he always held a Tibetan opera performance in Drepung temple on June 30 every year, and performed for Dalai in Potala Palace the next day. After the completion of loprinka in the early 18th century, the activities of the Sheraton Festival moved from Potala Palace to loprinka, and began to allow the public to enter the park to watch Tibetan opera. After that, the activities of the festival became more complete, forming a fixed traditional festival ceremony.

Over the past 200 years, Lhasa has witnessed the coexistence of Drepung Sherton, Potala Sherton and loprinka Sherton, with loprinka as the center.

Xuedun Festival is an important Tibetan Festival, which is the specific manifestation of Tibetan cultural inheritance. Having a good festival is of positive significance for Tibetan to maintain the uniqueness of national culture, enhance national unity and maintain the diversity of world culture.