The custom of sericulture

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Sericulture custom

Applicant: Deqing County, Zhejiang Province

Project No.: 1002

Project No.: Ⅹ - 95

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Deqing County, Zhejiang Province

Protection unit: Deqing County Cultural Center

A brief introduction to the custom of sericulture

Applicant: Deqing County, Zhejiang Province

China is the first country in the world to engage in sericulture. In the middle Neolithic age, 5000 or 6000 years ago, our ancestors began to collect mulberry, raise silkworms and weave silk. Sericulture is an important part of Chinese traditional agricultural culture. In Yugong, the earliest Chinese Book Shangshu, there is a record that "mulberry soil is silkworm". In shanquanshu, the spring and Autumn Period Book Guanzi, there is also a saying that "people are connected with sericulture". The poem "Luofushan sericulture, South corner of mulberry city" in moshang mulberry, the Yuefu of Han Dynasty, which describes folk sericulture is even more popular Population. Sericulture is not only the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese nation, but also the source of the "Silk Road", the channel of cultural exchange between China and foreign countries. In the process of the development of sericulture, many fine customs of respecting and caring for silkworms have been formed all over the country and passed down from generation to generation. These activities, together with other sericulture customs, constitute the historical witness of the development and prosperity of ancient Chinese sericulture.

It originated in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province. The main performers of the ceremony were concentrated in Deqing area. From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, in order to pray for a good harvest of sericulture production, the sericulture farmers in Deqing invited professional or semi professional artists to hold the ceremony of sweeping the silkworm fields at home during the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and the Qingming Festival. When the ceremony is held, a masquerade woman usually sings and dances, accompanied by a small gong. The content of the libretto is mostly a wish for a good harvest of silkworm cocoons and a description of the whole process of silkworm production. In combination with this, performers often make a series of actions related to silkworm production, such as sweeping the floor, pasting windows, dusting silkworm ants, picking mulberry leaves, feeding silkworm, catching silkworm for plaque, going up the mountain, picking cocoons, etc.

"Silkworm flower" is the most auspicious thing in Deqing people's mind, so the performance of sweeping silkworm flower is very popular with local silkworm farmers. Sweeping the silkworm flower land is an important part of the custom of sericulture production. Every year during the cold food and Qingming Festival, before the production of "closing the door of the silkworm room", the silkworm farmers have to invite the artists to perform at home, so as to eliminate all disasters and pray for a good harvest of sericulture. Therefore, the performance of sweeping the silkworm flower land presents a certain ritual, which has become a symbolic reflection of sericulture production in Zhejiang Province, and has high folklore research value.