folk customs in Changzhou

▲ local customs

Changzhou is a land with a flourishing historical style, talented people and numerous historical sites. Yancheng site in the south of the city is the most complete ancient city in China before the Spring and Autumn Period, and its unique shape of three cities and three rivers is known as "the miracle of the world". In the east of the city, there is Tianning Temple, which is known as "the first jungle in the southeast", Hongmeige, where Zhang Boduan, the ancestor of the Southern Sect of Taoism in the Northern Song Dynasty, gathered disciples to practice, and Su Dongpo visited the boating site in Changzhou many times, which has a history of 1,511 years. The wide area of Hongmei Park is also rare among the parks in the city of China. Classical private gardens are scattered in the city, such as near garden, unfinished garden, contract garden and Italian garden.

"Celebrities in the world have tribes, but there are no tribes in the southeast.". This is the admiration of Gong Zizhen, a poet in Qing Dynasty, for Changzhou's talented people. Mr. Miao Jinhong, a contemporary scholar, has made a statistical analysis of the geographical distribution of outstanding experts and scholars in more than 411 cities in China since the pre-Qin period for several years, and reached the conclusion that Changzhou ranks fourth after Suzhou, Hangzhou and Beijing.

Changzhou has a rich collection of humanities, which began in Ji Zha, where Yanling was built 2,511 years ago. It is known as a vassal country for its good diplomacy, exquisite etiquette and music, and heavy commitment. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Changzhou was the hometown of Qi Liang, and the Xiao family, represented by Xiao Tong, the editor-in-chief of Selected Works of Zhaoming, made great achievements in literature, history and music, which had a far-reaching influence.

from the sui and Tang dynasties to the end of the Qing dynasty, there were 9 top scholars, 8 second scholars, 11 flower explorers and 1546 scholars in Changzhou. In the third year of Daguan in the Northern Song Dynasty (1119), Gong Shi was jointly tested in the world. Among the 311 Jinshi in one subject, there were 53 Changzhou people. Lu You, a great poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, praised Changzhou for its "Confucianism, which is the highest in the southeast". The number of Chinese people shocked the ruling and opposition parties. There was a writer and anti-Japanese hero Tang Jingchuan in the Ming Dynasty. There were many cultural and academic schools in the Qing Dynasty, such as Changzhou Painting School, Jinwen Confucian Classics School, Yanghu Literary School, Changzhou Ci School, Menghe Medical School, and Changzhou Pian Tiwen, which were brilliant and influenced the whole country.

since modern times, western learning has spread to the east, and Changzhou talents have shown a new style of the times on the basis of inheriting history. In traditional fields such as literature and art, press and publication, and historical research, great masters have appeared in batches. There are Sheng Xuanhuai, a representative of Westernization School, Liu Guojun, a patriotic industrialist, and Liu Haili, a calligrapher and painter. In the field of academic science, there were many academicians of Academia Sinica, such as Zhao Yuanren, Wu Zhihui and Wu Dingliang, who enjoyed the highest honorary title in academia during the Republic of China. After liberation, there were 27 academicians of China Academy of Sciences represented by Hua Luogeng and Wu Jieping, and a large number of scientific and technological heroes who won honors for the descendants of the Chinese people overseas; As for a group of revolutionaries and social activists represented by Qu Qiubai, Zhang Tailei and Hui Daiying, the "Three Outstanding Changzhou Men", and Li Gongpu and Shi Liang, the "Seven Patriotic Gentlemen", they are even more elites of the times and will always shine brilliantly in the historical galaxy of Changzhou outstanding people.

▲ Changzhou Festival

Lantern Festival

The first half of the first lunar month is called Lantern Festival, also known as Lantern Festival and Shangyuan Festival.

for breakfast, families should eat more rice dumplings. Small grains without stuffing are called "sugar balls", while large ones with stuffing such as hundred fruits, jujube paste and oil and water are called "Yuanxiao".

after the family dinner in the evening, go out to enjoy the moon and watch the lights.

At night, the fire trees and silver flowers, the city gates are wide open, and the streets and alleys are full of colorful lights. Everywhere, gongs and drums, cymbals and cymbals play Lantern Festival. Ladies travel in groups to "hang the street", which is exactly "inviting the moon guest to invite the moon guest, and watching the lantern people look at the lantern people", which is very lively.

At that time, there was a children's song describing the grand occasion of Changzhou Lantern Festival: "Gan Tang Bridge, opposite drum bridge, drum tower facing the temple gate, boring boring! Lights are coming! Lights are coming! Grid lamp? A group of harmony lights, two dragons playing with beads, three yuan harmony lights, four-sided wishful lights, five-child champion lights, hexagonal wind ling lights, seven-child eight-husband lights, eight immortals crossing the sea lights, nine lotus lights, ten-sided hibiscus lights, boring boring boring, lights come! "There was an old dragon lantern at the back, and twenty-four little lynx jumped out, scaring the young lady.

After the Taiping Army conquered Changzhou, during the Lantern Festival, "holy soldiers" played "Taiping Army gongs and drums" to celebrate the Spring Festival. On the theatres on both sides of Qingyun Square, the men and women "holy soldiers" of Taiping Army dressed up to sing beach springs, and the soldiers and civilians had fun together, often staying up all night. On this day, there are often five or seven people together in the streets and lanes, carrying gongs and drums and knocking while walking, commonly known as "Lantern Festival in Langjie". At night, women go to the suburbs or outside the village together to take three bridges, and the round-trip route cannot be repeated, which is called "taking three bridges"; Some people pick a handful of leafy vegetables on the way and wipe their collars, which is called "relieving boredom"; Country girls also tied bald brooms, bamboo branches, etc. into a reed torch ten feet high with hemp stalks, and burned it in the field, which is called "according to the wealth of the field" to predict the drought and rain.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th day of August in the lunar calendar, commonly known as "August and a half". A few days before the festival, people often give moon cakes, ham, water chestnut, lotus root and so on as "send-off gifts" to relatives and friends. Eat "sugar taro" in the morning, have family reunion in the evening, and enjoy the moon by drinking. Women often set up incense tables in the patio for lotus root and incense burning to celebrate Ramadan Palace. Literati and scholars meet to admire the moon and compose poems in the boat pavilion.

▲ Changzhou Religion

Buddhism (Changzhou Buddhist Association was established in October, 1981)

Main venue: Tianning Temple

Address: No.636 Yanling East Road, Changzhou

Tel: (1519)8115647

Postal code: 213113

. Established Changzhou Catholic Patriotic Association)

Main venues:

1, Dongmen Catholic Church

Address: No.286 Yanling East Road

2, Dongqing Catholic Church

Address: Chenjiatou Village, Dongqing Town, Wujin City

3, Qishuyan Catholic Church

Address: No.257, Qishuyan Middle Street. Establishment of Changzhou Christian Association)

Main venue:

1, Changzhou Christian Church

Address: No.9 Xianxue Street

2, Qishuyan Christian Mission

Address: Jichang Street

Islam (Changzhou Islamic Association was established in October, 1981)

Main venue: Shuangguifang Mosque. At that time, there was a plague in the local area, and there was no good medicine to cure it. In order to exorcise evil spirits and send away the plague god, the people set up paper men and horses, dressed as various gods, murmured and jumped out of various obstacles to pray for the disaster.

Liyang vault lantern has a history of about four or five hundred years. During the Spring Festival, the lantern teams in big villages and market towns set out and walked around neighboring villages, bringing a festive atmosphere to the annual festival. Liyang lantern show is reported from the story of Zhao Jun's departure from the fortress. The main characters involved are Bao Ma, Feng Yang Po, Wang Chong pawn, male horse, female horse, and so on. The Tao has brand lights, lantern, fork, fire star, broadsword and so on. There are two ways in Qinghai: "facing the door" and "jumping in the group field". "Going to the gate" means that the lantern team, led by the horses, worships from house to house to attract the audience to watch the "jumping group field" in the park. In the square, the troupe performed a performance, which was started by a star dancer, followed by a horse fork throwing performance and a broadsword dancing performance. Then, the horse array went out, jumping on a single horse and then jumping on a double horse. When Grandma Fengyang came on stage, Prince Chong gagged and made people laugh: "Stop the gongs and drums, rest the horse, worship Wang Lao Niang's house in the Ming Dynasty, and tell him a few jokes ..."

Finally. In the clanging sound with strong rhythm, the lantern team all appeared under the leadership of the flag, and the head and tail were connected in a circle. Then, under the command of the flag, more than ten sets of arrays, such as scissors array, plum blossom array, Longmen array and lotus array, shuttled and staged. More than 51 actors changed their positions in the running, connected freely and cooperated tacitly, and sometimes Youlong danced, and sometimes the horses jumped and danced, and the gongs and drums were loud.

Lantern, as a kind of folk entertainment, prays for good weather and good harvests, expresses people's good wishes, and brings joy to the dull rural areas.

"Lindl. in Jiangtang". Jiangtang Village, located in Yinqiao, is famous for its vault lantern, because there is a story in it.

it is said that Kang Wang Zhao Gou, the ninth son of Wei Sect in the northern song dynasty, fought against the jinbing of Jin Wushu in Liyang. In a melee, Zhao Gou was caught by the nomads from the army, and Jin Wushu was overjoyed. He was put in a wooden cage, ready to send Kang Wang to the northland to ask Lao Lang Wang for credit. Who knows that night was dark and opaque, and Zhao Gou escaped from the wooden cage while the guards were dozing off. At this time, a horse ran to his side, his head turned upwards, his hoof was digging, and his tail was dancing. He quickly got on his horse, and continuous shooting said three times, "Horse! Run quickly! No matter how dark the road is, as long as you save me from danger, I will definitely build a temple for you! " Strange to say, the horse ran for dozens of miles in one breath, rushed out of the enemy's tight encirclement and came to Jiangtang Village at the foot of Shiwu Mountain. Kang Wang was saved, he returned to the army, rallied, led the army to defeat the nomads from the army and recovered the lost ground.

Later, Zhao Gou, the King of Kang, became the emperor of Nanzong in Lin 'an. He didn't forget the salvation of Shenma, so he built a temple in Jiangtang Village and fulfilled his promise.

The temple was repaired, but the horse that rescued the driver was nowhere to be found. In order to offer sacrifices to gods and horses, we had to invite several skilled craftsmen to weave 12 bamboo horses with bamboo, and put coats of red, yellow, black and white on the horses to form the 12-color bamboo horse team. This bamboo horse has a vivid view. The horse's head can move, the horse's body can dance, and the ponytail can swing, making people stand on the bamboo and jump with their hands in the middle. It is just like a real horse, and the villagers are happy to see it. Since then, for hundreds of years, Jiangtang Village has regarded bamboo horses as sacred horses.

The bamboo horses in Jiangtang used to "go out for a meeting" on the 18th day of the first lunar month, and go to the neighboring 48 villages to "eliminate disasters and pray". Every time bamboo and horses arrive in a village, bells jingle, gongs and drums roll, people in Ma Yue are happy, and horse dancing lights are on. A festive celebration has lit up the fire of hope in the hearts of villagers who have worked hard for a year.

Before the end of the Jockey Club in Jiangtang Temple, there will be another activity, that is, 12 bamboo horses will climb Shiwu Mountain. There is also a saying, for example, the dark horse climbed the mountain first, and there was a disaster that year; Baima climbed the mountain first and flooded during the year; Other horses climb the mountain first, which indicates a bumper harvest in the coming year, a peaceful country and a safe people.

The vault lantern in Liyang is an organic combination of lamp and dance. Imagine, in the dark fields of the countryside for hundreds of years, the fire array stars watched the charcoal fire whirling rapidly in the air, and dozens of bamboo horses with candles in their bellies, under the urging of gongs and drums, jumped and galloped while shuttling, which was full of local flavor of horses and lights, and the dance between people and horses was exciting and unforgettable!

▲ Dancing God

"Dancing God" originated from the Temple Fair in the mid-Ming Dynasty. It was a folk sacrificial dance for praying and praying at temple fairs. The whole set of movements was simple, accompanied by percussion and drums, with knives, swords and arrows in their hands according to the plot requirements, and the superb martial arts of the gods were expressed through the flip of their wrists and the rotation of their bodies.

▲ Nirvana Festival

The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is the traditional Nirvana Festival in Liyang.

The black rice in Liyang is said to be in memory of Mulian, one of the top ten disciples of Sakyamuni, who saved his mother. Mu Lian's mother was imprisoned because of her injustice. Even every meal cooked and sent was taken away by the vicious guard. In great anxiety, Mulian came up with a trick, picking the leaves of black rice on the mountain, mashing it to get juice, dyeing the rice in the juice, and then cooking it into black rice and sending it to prison. When the guard saw the black rice, he covered his nose. The mother of Mulian relied on the fragrant and nutritious black rice sent by her dutiful son until she was released from prison. The lunch festival in Liyang is to educate future generations and honor their mothers with the deeds of saving their mothers by Mu Lian.

▲ Taiping gongs and drums

Taiping gongs and drums in Liyang are quite famous on the Nanjing-Shanghai line.

A performance team composed of more than 31 folk artists from Daibu Town, dressed in Taiping Army uniforms, marched with musical instruments in their hands. He had a banner in front of him, followed by a sword and a gun, bring up the rear, with a magnificent momentum. During the performance, first, small gongs and drums sounded, reflecting the scene of Taiping soldiers prancing with guns and setting off in full gear; Then, the sound of "calling the army" rolled and thundered, setting off the atmosphere of ordering soldiers and swearing in the battlefield; Then there were bursts of gongs, showing the style of thousands of troops and killing the battlefield. When it was in full swing, the "call for the army" sounded long, showing the scene of golden drums ringing and swords hitting each other. Finally, when the gongs and drums are revived, you can feel the triumphant return and the jubilation of all the people. This set of Taiping gongs and drums vividly, vividly and enthusiastically reproduced the fighting style of Taiping Army in those days, and was well received by the people. Because this set of gongs and drums is magnificent and touching, it is praised as "majestic gongs and drums" by everyone.