Zhongyuan Festival

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

Applicant: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Project No.: 1197

Project No.: Ⅹ - 122

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Hong Kong

Type: new item

Applicant: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Protection unit: Hong Kong Chaohu Association

Introduction to Zhongyuan Festival

Applicant: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Zhongyuan is the title of Chinese Taoism. Taoism calls the first, seventh and tenth days of the lunar calendar "Shangyuan", "Zhongyuan" and "Xiayuan" respectively. Shangyuan is the blessing day of Tianguan, Zhongyuan is the forgiveness day of diguan, and Xiayuan is the relief day of Shuiguan. Buddhism calls the "Zhongyuan Festival" the "Yulan basin Festival", which is a Buddhist story "Mulian saves his mother". This festival is popular among Chinese people.

Yulan Festival, also known as "Yulan Festival", is called "Zhongyuan Festival", "Ghost Festival", "Magu Festival" or "July and a half" (that is, July 15 of the lunar calendar, July 14 in some places). It is a day for worshiping ancestors and ghosts. There are more than 1.2 million people of Chaozhou nationality in Hong Kong. Chaozhou people living in Hong Kong are deeply homesick and nostalgic for their ancestors. It has been more than 100 years since the holding of the Yulan Festival on the Lunar New Year's day. It is the most grand and large-scale folk activity in Hong Kong. It not only contains the traditional folk culture and religious customs, but also contains the history of overseas Chinese, immigrants and the development of Hong Kong. It goes beyond the single nature of traditional cultural activities and has the characteristics of local traditional cultural activities in Hong Kong. The main activities of the festival are to offer sacrifices to ancestors, including burning street clothes, Yulan Festival taboo, Yulan Festival Shengong opera, the king of the noble, peace rice, fortune auction and so on. The activity place is located in the park, square or stadium and other wide places. Hong Kong is divided into dozens of neighborhood venues with shigu stage, Jianjiao stage, stage, Dashi stage and altar. On the grand platform, the "grand master" is about four meters high and is Shi Gu's patron saint. A dragon flag was set up around the venue, embroidered with the words of "peace and stability of the country and the people", "smooth weather", "peace and prosperity", "good relationship", "grace with each other". Chaozhou Opera is the main stage in every neighborhood. There are also various forms of literary and artistic activities and exhibition of handicrafts, which have attracted numerous Chinese and foreign tourists. During the games, many companies donated money, grain, oil and art to make the Games a success. At the end of the event, the auction of "blessing" was held. The so-called blessing objects are all the objects offered to the gods, including gold and silver ornaments, jade and pottery, flowers and trees, bonsai, food and wine, etc. All the buyers are good men and women. People think that they are lucky to be blessed with things, no matter how big or small they are.