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Three Kingdoms Culture

The Three Kingdoms Controversy When mentioning the Three Kingdoms, people think of Jingzhou; Jingzhou reminds people of the Three Kingdoms. During the Three Kingdoms era, Jingzhou was the focus of contention among the three countries, and the battle for Jingzhou was the key to determining the fate of the country's division and reunification. From the beginning of the formation of the Three Kingdoms to the reunification of the country, the competition among the Three Kingdoms over the ownership of Jingzhou has never stopped. The situation of the dispute in Jingzhou is to a large extent related to the growth and decline of the power of the three parties and the process of the history of the Three Kingdoms. Some popular Three Kingdoms stories, such as Liu Bei's borrowing of Jingzhou, Guan Yu's defense of Jingzhou, Lü Meng's attack on Jingzhou, etc., all took place in Jingzhou; some important events during the Three Kingdoms period involved the formation, development and change of the three-point situation, such as the Battle of Chibi, the Yi The Battle of Lingzhou and Guan Yu's northern attack on Xiangfan and his loss of Jingzhou also took Jingzhou as the center stage. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", a literary masterpiece of the history of the Three Kingdoms, vividly depicts the struggle for Jingzhou in the Three Kingdoms in a large amount of space. There are 120 chapters in the book, two-thirds of which directly or indirectly write about Jingzhou. The Three Kingdoms and Jingzhou are so closely connected. The special relationship between the Three Kingdoms and Jingzhou was formed by specific social and historical conditions, and was also inseparable from Jingzhou’s important position at that time. The fierce competition among Wei, Shu, and Wu over the ownership of Jingzhou was the basic factor that constituted this special relationship. The area under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou in the Han Dynasty included the entire territory of present-day Hubei and Hunan provinces, the Nanyang Basin in Henan, and the marginal areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou, which was roughly equivalent to the territory of ancient Jingzhou. He led seven counties: Nanjun, Jiangxia, Nanyang, Wuling, Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang. During the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Zhangling County was divided from Nanyang County and increased to eight counties. Historically, Jingzhou was known as having "one hundred cities and eight counties". Jingzhou in the Han Dynasty spanned the north and south of the Yangtze River and had a vast territory. It has the natural defense line of the Yangtze River in front of it, the Jingxiang Gate and the Han River in the back, the danger of the Yidao Three Gorges in the west, and the Wu and Yue rivers in the east. The terrain is dangerous and can be attacked and defended. In addition, the level of economic and social development is relatively high. It is a strategic location with abundant military supplies and reliable combat supplies. It is particularly valued by politicians and military strategists of the three countries.

Zhuge Liang’s love for Jingzhou

· Roots of growth

Zhuge Liang was originally from Yangdu, Langxie County, Xuzhou. Both of his parents died when he was young. When he was 14 years old, his uncle Zhuge Xuan went to Yuzhang to serve as the governor. He was soon demoted and went to Jingzhou to join Liu Biao. Zhuge Liang, his younger brother Zhuge Jun and their two sisters also went to Jingzhou together. In 197 AD, Zhuge Xuan died. The 17-year-old Zhuge Liang moved to Longzhong in Deng County, Nanyang County. From then on, he lived a life of farming and studying until he was 27 years old and Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times to ask him to come out. In these ten years, he made extensive friends, exchanged knowledge, and expanded his influence, laying the foundation for Sima Hui and Xu Shu to recommend him to Liu Bei successively; through marriage, he further established himself among the scholars in Jingzhou. Lower roots. It is Jingzhou, a fertile soil with a long history of culture and numerous talents, that gave birth to this bright star of wisdom in the history of our country and created this outstanding statesman and military strategist in the Three Kingdoms era. Jingzhou should be said to be Zhuge Liang's second hometown and the root of his growth. His regard and praise for Jingzhou may not only have a politician's vision, but also a sense of local sentiment. This is the difference between him and other celebrities from the Three Kingdoms and Jingzhou.

· The shining place

Zhuge Liang worked hard to cultivate his acres and had great ambitions. Compared with Guan Zhong and Le Yi, he was confident that he had the talent to stabilize the country and look forward to one day displaying his ambitions. In the winter of 207 AD, Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times and finally met Zhuge Liang. As soon as they met, Zhuge Liang analyzed the world situation for Liu Bei and put forward the famous Longzhong strategy. He has a thorough understanding of the situation, analyzes and discusses things from a high position, is penetrating and thoughtful, and is very focused on planning. As soon as Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, he showed his extraordinary talents in the battle of Jingzhou among the Three Kingdoms. In the autumn of 208 AD, Cao Cao launched a massive attack on Jingzhou, and Liu Bei withdrew southward, eventually arriving at Xiakou, where he was at a very critical juncture. At this time, Zhuge Liang asked Liu Bei to send him to Soochow to persuade Sun Quan to join Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao. If Zhuge Liang had not persuaded Sun Quan at that time, there would probably not have been the Battle of Chibi. Without the Battle of Chibi, there would have been no formation of the Three Kingdoms. After the Battle of Chibi, Zhuge Liang fully assisted Liu Bei in establishing his own base in Jingzhou. He first assisted Liu Bei in capturing the four Jiangnan counties in Jingzhou, and then planned with Liu Bei to use Jingzhou to deal with Zhou Yu. These all showed his extraordinary wisdom.

It can be said that Liu Bei's ability to turn a corner at a critical moment and gain a foothold in Jingzhou was inseparable from Zhuge Liang's contribution.

· Reasons for success or failure

In Zhuge Liang's overall strategy, Jingzhou plays a very important role. In 211 AD, Liu Bei, Pang Tong and others marched westward to Yizhou, leaving Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun to guard Jingzhou. The Liu Bei Group attaches such importance to Jingzhou, which shows that Jingzhou is a place of life and death for the Liu Bei Group, and Zhuge Liang's painstaking efforts are also hidden in it. In 214 AD, when Liu Bei's attack on Yizhou was at a critical moment, he urgently ordered Zhuge Liang and others to enter Sichuan, leaving only Guan Yu to guard Jingzhou. For Zhuge Liang, leaving Jingzhou was really a last resort. Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou, but due to various reasons, Liu Bei's group finally lost Jingzhou, causing Zhuge Liang's strategy of sending troops to the Central Plains from Jing and Yi to die halfway. Although Zhuge Liang devoted great efforts to governing the country and attacked Wei five times, he never achieved the goal of marching north to the Central Plains and reviving the Han Dynasty. Losing Jingzhou, his career failed, and Zhuge Liang's love for Jingzhou finally ended. This was his biggest regret in life, but it did not cover up the dazzling splendor of his life.

Guan Yu Culture

The righteousness between Liu, Guan and Zhang, as a traditional Chinese ethical concept, is mainly reflected in Guan Yu and has become the core content of Guan Yu culture. The Guan Yu cultural phenomenon derived from the Three Kingdoms culture is a major cultural feature of the Three Kingdoms culture and Chinese traditional culture, and is also a major feature of the Three Kingdoms culture contained in Jingzhou. Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou for ten years, which was the highlight of his career and the reason why he lost his life.

The historical achievements of guarding Jingzhou show Guan Yu’s heroic character. During Guan Yu’s guarding of Jingzhou, there were frequent disputes among the three political groups of Cao, Liu, and Sun, and the three-point situation was formally formed. The struggle was extremely fierce and complicated. The Battle of Chibi in 208 AD only established the three-part situation. The real formation of the three-part situation in the world came after Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou. Liu Bei's borrowing of Jingzhou marked the basic formation of the three-pointed situation; the loss of Jingzhou marked the finalization of the three-pointed pattern. Therefore, the period during which Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou was a very critical period at the beginning of the formation of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, Cao, Liu and Sun were divided into three parts of Jingzhou, bordering each other. There were constant frictions and the defensive situation was very severe. It was precisely because Guan Yu defended Jingzhou for a long period of time under the very severe fighting conditions at that time and consolidated the crucial base area of ??Liu Bei Group that it was possible for Liu Bei Group to seize Yizhou from the west and capture Hanzhong, becoming a three-point At the beginning of the situation, the power rose rapidly and became very powerful for a while. Without Guan Yu guarding Jingzhou, there would be no success in Liu Bei's group's westward development, and there would be no subsequent establishment of the Shu Han regime. Guan Yu's defense of Jingzhou always relied on force and self-improvement, and adopted a tough confrontation with Wei and Wu, which fully demonstrated his heroic nature as a famous general of the Three Kingdoms, and his achievements should be affirmed. It is precisely because Guan Yu himself was a hero in history, and it was further demonstrated during his defense of Jingzhou that he was admired by future generations.

The tragic outcome of losing Jingzhou and being captured and beheaded was an important factor in Guan Yu being revered and deified after his death. Without the loss of Jingzhou, there would be no Guan Yu with great glory; without the loss of Jingzhou, there would be no Guan Yu culture. As the incarnation of "loyalty" in our country's traditional culture, Guan Yu not only sat alongside Confucius, the literary sage, in feudal society for a long time, but also still has a certain influence today. In overseas Chinese societies, Guan Yu's culture is regarded as a symbol of promoting Chinese culture and has become a bridge and link connecting the Chinese complex of descendants of Yan and Huang at home and abroad. Under the social conditions of the increasingly developed commodity economy, Guan Yu Zunshen caters to some people's mentality of seeking wealth and peace, and has become the god of wealth and protection that people pray for. As far as the loyalty connotation contained in Guan Yu's culture is concerned, apart from its negative feudal factors, it still has practical social value today. As the birthplace of Guan Yu culture, Jingzhou is the true hometown of Guan Yu culture. Other places cannot and cannot be replaced.

The artistic interpretation of the Battle for Jingzhou enriches the spirit of Guan Yu’s loyalty. The battle for Jingzhou between Wei, Shu and Wu during the Three Kingdoms era was originally a magnificent historical picture. The literary masterpiece "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" artistically processed and created this, making it the most exciting chapter in the book. Many of the chapters focus on shaping the image of Guan Yu, making Guan Yu's spirit of loyalty and bravery more full and complete. Guan Yu's posthumous rise to the rank of Emperor Guan and Martial Saint had profound social and cultural reasons. At the same time, it was also inseparable from the special relationship between Guan Yu and Jingzhou.

To look at Guan Yu's cultural phenomenon and to look at Guan Yu's admiration and respect without the special relationship between Guan Yu and Jingzhou is to lose a basic premise. Judging from the formation of Guan Yu culture, Jingzhou is the place where Guan Yu's belief began, and the earliest Guan Yu temple was also built in Jingzhou.

Jingzhou Folk Culture

Folk customs, that is, folk customs. It is a long-standing historical and cultural accumulation and a regional cultural tradition that has been passed down through generations. Folklore, as an inherited social and cultural phenomenon, emerged with the emergence of human society and developed with the development of human society. On the land of Jingchu, as early as the pre-Qin period, our ancestors had created a Chu culture that was comparable to ancient Greek culture. The fashion and customs, local customs, worship and worship, life etiquette, residential construction, and even various fields including slang and ballads, entertainment, mythology, music and art, food and daily life, utensils and shapes, etc. have been formed here. A set of multi-faceted, multi-level and multi-faceted folk culture.

Jingzhou’s New Year’s Eve customs were formed and gradually developed with the emergence of human society. However, due to differences in living area, production methods and lifestyles, people in a certain area often follow customs are different.

· Spring festivals and customs

The main spring festivals and customs in Jingzhou include: New Year greetings, Lantern Festival, Dragon Raising Its Head? Social Day, Cold Food, Qingming, Beginning of Spring, Flower Festival? Outing etc. Folks in Jingzhou attach great importance to celebrating the New Year and have many customs. Folk proverbs say: "Celebrating the New Year is the most important thing", "Celebrating the New Year if you have thirty, but celebrating the New Year if you don't have thirty", "Beggars also have three days of New Year". From New Year's Eve to the first day of the Lunar New Year, men, women and children from all over the country dress up, smile and participate in colorful New Year celebration activities. Various customs and customs with the theme of welcoming the Spring Festival and receiving blessings have emerged. As the saying goes: "There are different customs in a hundred miles, and different customs in a thousand miles." Compared with other parts of the country, Jingzhou's folk New Year customs have both "big similarities" and "small differences". The small differences have different forms of Chu. cultural connotation. For example, "opening etiquette" includes opening the door with cannons, traveling, New Year greetings, New Year wine, posting Spring Festival couplets, posting New Year pictures, etc. For example, activities such as "Playing with Spring Scenery" include playing with dragon lanterns, lion dances, and lotus picking boats. People in Jingzhou have a long history of putting up lanterns and watching lanterns during the Lantern Festival. Lantern activities began as early as the Han Dynasty. From the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties to the Han Dynasty, various exquisitely crafted and unique lanterns appeared, among which the "fish-shaped lanterns" engraved with gold foil were the most eye-catching.

·Summer Festival Customs

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the three major traditional folk festivals in my country. People in Jingzhou often call it "Duanyang". Although there are many names for the Dragon Boat Festival with different meanings, the main connotation of the Dragon Boat Festival is that Chu people saved and commemorated Qu Yuan by boat, which is well known to the world. It can be said that the Chu people in the pre-Qin period and the cultural and folk atmosphere of the Chu country played a vital role in the formation of the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival in the Jingchu area. For thousands of years, rituals and customs formed to worship Qu Yuan, among the people in Jingzhou, they mainly include dragon boat racing, eating rice dumplings, hanging mugwort, drinking realgar wine, and tying sachets.

· Autumn Festivals and Customs

Traditional festivals such as Chinese Valentine’s Day, July Half, August Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival also have unique customs among Jingzhou folk. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, a rather peculiar custom was once popular among the people in Jingzhou, that is, "when it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, compete to touch the autumn." Touching autumn means stealing fruits from other people's fields on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. It is not considered stolen, and the owner of the lost fruits is not considered stolen. It is believed that the Moon Mother descends to earth on this day, and if a married woman who has not given birth is not discovered by others, she will have a child early. There is a proverb in Jingzhou: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival, send your children to touch the autumn." Women who touch autumn usually travel in groups, place the fruits they touch on the inside of the bed, and sleep with them. If they cook the fruits the next day and eat them, it is said that they can conceive a son. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the custom of touching autumn disappeared. A unique folk custom in Jingzhou is eating nine-yellow cakes on the Double Ninth Festival. It is said that during the Eastern Han Dynasty, during the Double Ninth Festival, dignitaries, old and young, would go on a trip to Longshan in Jingzhou. It was a time when the sky was clear and the wind and frost were clean. Hot meals and hot dishes were not easy to bring and easily got cold. In order to make it easier for tourists to climb mountains and eat, Jingzhou folk cakes were The master then made Jiuhuang Cake. Its name is Jiuhuang Cake, which means climbing high to appreciate the golden chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival in September. This kind of cake has a surface as bright as chrysanthemum and is crispy. The filling is made of winter melon strips, osmanthus, rock sugar, and white sugar. It tastes sweet and delicious and is highly praised by tourists. It has become a seasonal food. To this day, people in Jingzhou still prefer to eat Jiuhuang Cake on the Double Ninth Festival.

· Winter Festivals and Customs

In this season, most Jingzhou folk have traditional festivals and customs such as Winter Solstice, Laba Festival, Xiaonian, and New Year's Eve. Take the Winter Solstice as an example. Different from the northern rural areas, people in Jingchu land often start washing glutinous rice on this day, grinding and draining it to make "sun (pronounced) pulp", and then use it with sugar, or meat. It is made into stuffing and rolled into balls. First, it is used to worship ancestors and stoves, and then the family is reunited to share it together. It can also be given as a gift to relatives and friends. Another example is the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is commonly known as "Little New Year", also known as "Little New Year" and "Little New Year's Eve". It is a festival that Jingzhou people value very much. Folk proverb goes: "On the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month, every family has a small reunion." On this day, "Eat bad and eat good, one person has a lot; eat or not, have a reunion." The family must have a reunion dinner together.

Jingzhou’s Wedding and Funeral Etiquette

· Wedding Customs The etiquette procedures of Jingzhou’s folk wedding customs include: proposing marriage, asking for horoscopes, engagement, giving betrothal gifts, setting a date, preparation for marriage, and getting married. Take marriage preparation as an example. Marriage is a wedding ceremony that cannot be completed in one day, and there are still some preparation procedures. According to the folk marriage customs in Jingzhou, the groom's family usually sets the wedding date three or four months in advance, or even the first year, so that the bride's family can prepare the dowry during this period. As the saying goes: "The rough way to marry a daughter-in-law is the careful way to marry a girl." When a daughter gets married, the parents must be thoughtful and meticulous when purchasing the dowry, and try their best to do it richly and decently. The man's family, like the girl's family, must also hurry up to prepare for the wedding, such as Build a house and buy new furniture, including beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs, etc. As the wedding day approaches, the groom's family and the bride's family will send invitations to inform relatives and friends about the marriage of their children. In the old days, invitations were usually made with double stickers, which were made by folding a piece of red paper into two equal parts and then folding them in half into a rectangular shape. The above text generally uses classical Chinese sentences, which looks simple and elegant. Invitations not only show respect for the guests, but also indicate that the inviter is cautious about the matter, so invitations must be sent even if the guests are close at hand.

· Funeral Customs Jingzhou is the hometown of Jingchu. In ancient times, "Chu people believed in ghosts and witches and attached great importance to obscene sacrifices." Their witchcraft customs also penetrated into the funeral etiquette, and were followed and developed by later generations, gradually forming An eclectic funeral custom of witchcraft religion makes the funeral even more solemn and mysterious. Folks in Jingzhou carry out pre-burial funeral services, which mainly include sitting around to see the deceased, wiping the body and dressing up, paying tribute to relatives and friends, accompanying the deceased with drums, setting up an altar for fasting, and enclosing in memory. The funeral activities do not end with the burial of the deceased. After the deceased is buried, some sacrificial activities must be held regularly. The focus of Jingzhou folk sacrificial activities is mourning, sweeping, and family sacrifices.

Jingzhou’s food customs Jingzhou’s food culture has a long history and distinct regional characteristics. Jingzhou's food customs are compatible with some of the different characteristics of northern and southern food, and the southern food customs are the mainstream, reflecting my country's unique food civilization. Jingzhou is located in the Jianghan Plain between rivers and lakes, with criss-crossing rivers and a network of lakes. It has a mild climate, rich products, and a rich variety of food. It has always been known as the "Land of Fish and Rice" and has a tradition of "rice, soup, fish." Rice and freshwater fish are the most important raw materials in people's daily diet in plain river and lake areas. Their diet structure is "rice-based, with aquatic poultry as a subsidiary, and vegetables as a supplement." The staple food in Jingzhou is mainly rice, supplemented by wheat and miscellaneous grains (barley, buckwheat, sorghum, corn, millet, peas, rice beans, mung beans, red beans, red sweet potatoes, etc.). Non-staple food includes dishes, pastries, etc. Among them, dried pickles are a must-have dish for people in Jingzhou area. Drinking has been a custom in Jingzhou since ancient times. In addition to brewing in the shops, home brewing is also very common. Rice wine is considered a "soft drink" and is not included in the category of "alcohol". Shashi's wine culture is the best in Jingzhou, and the famous wine "Shaochun" was famous in the Tang Dynasty. Luyou's poem about Yinsha City in the Song Dynasty includes "The daughter leaning on the building smiles to welcome the guests, and the clear song is not finished yet". People in Shashi have a habit of "borrowing wine to entertain guests", and there are not many heavy drinkers. Although drinking can range from one, two, or three meals a day, there are not many people who get drunk. Shashi also has a long history of tea culture. In the old days, there was a saying of drinking dogwood tea. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the people of Shashi were very popular in treating guests with tea. Jingzhou folk’s seasonal diet is also very particular. Spring rolls are eaten in spring, glutinous rice balls are eaten during Lantern Festival, rice dumplings are eaten during Dragon Boat Festival, steamed vegetables are eaten during July and a half, and moon cakes are eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival.

Living customs in Jingzhou Since ancient times, people in Jingzhou have regarded building a house as the most important activity in life. In rural areas, as long as someone builds a house, his relatives, friends and neighbors will bring their own food to help for free and provide full assistance. On the day when a house is erected or completed, villagers will go to congratulate and add to the atmosphere of celebration.

In the old days, when people built houses, they first chose the foundation. In addition to making life easier, they also paid more attention to the feng shui, fearing that it would lead to the decline of the family and the loss of heirs. Secondly, there are many rivers and lakes in Jingzhou, so people tend to consider the location close to mountains and rivers when building houses. Thirdly, people in both urban and rural areas of Jingzhou prefer to build their houses facing north and south. Finally, pay attention to the geographical environment and aesthetics. At the same time, Jingzhou folk still have some taboos regarding garden planting. For example, there is a saying: "Don't plant mulberries in front, don't plant willows behind, and don't plant 'ghost clapping hands' in front of the door." This is because Sang Xie is "mourning" and is afraid of bad luck. There are different opinions on not planting willows in the future. One theory is that the willow is "twisted", fearing bad luck in the family; the other is that the willow will not produce seeds, fearing that there will be no heirs. "Ghost clapping" refers to poplar trees. The wind blowing the trees sounds like "ghost clapping", which may attract ghosts. Judging from the residential history recorded in the chronicles of various counties and cities, the buildings embody the wisdom and sweat of people from generation to generation. It can not only reflect the technology and art displayed in a certain social and historical period, a certain style and architecture, but also, as a cultural form, reflect people's traditional characteristics such as belief concepts, psychological structure, aesthetic taste and living habits.

Entertainment Customs in Jingzhou Jingzhou has been a famous hometown of singing and dancing since ancient times. The opening chapter of "The Book of Songs", my country's first collection of folk songs, is the ancient Jingchu folk song "Guan Ju": "Guan Guan Ju dove, in the river continent. A graceful lady, a gentleman likes to fight." This popular song, It has been regarded as a representative of folk love songs for thousands of years and a must-read classic for students. For thousands of years, in this magical land known as the Land of Fish and Rice, the people of Li have created countless folk songs in their work and life, leaving us with a treasure trove of treasures. A treasure trove of folk song art. The types of Jingzhou folk songs can be roughly divided into: labor songs, life songs and wedding and funeral ritual songs. In the overall pattern of Jingzhou folk culture, folk songs are often an important part that directly reflect the direct voices of the lower class people. Labor creates art, and art originates from labor. The flesh-and-blood connection between art and labor is most obvious in labor songs. Therefore, people in Jingzhou have said since ancient times that "there is no song without planting rice", "no song without singing", "there are songs when the water sounds", which means that "planting rice" must be sung when planting rice, and "planting yangge" must be sung when building embankments and tamping. "Song of Beating Me" and "Song of Cars and Floods" must be sung during drought relief. Jingzhou's labor songs, if divided according to different working situations, can be roughly divided into two categories: field songs and chants. Jingzhou folk songs have various sentence patterns, usually upper and lower sentences or four sentences, but also one-sentence, three-sentence, five-sentence and multi-sentence styles. "Five Sentences" is a special sentence pattern that is very distinctive in Jingzhou folk songs. It is especially popular in Jiangling, Songzi, Gong'an, and Shishou. "Catching five sentences" is a variation of the four-sentence style, which means adding one or more lines of lyrics between the third and fourth sentences of the four-sentence folk song. The added lyrics are commonly known as "rushing sentences". Each sentence of the rushing sentence must rhyme, and the rhyme must be the same as the ending sentence. The function of rushing sentences is to enhance the emotional color and highlight the theme, which can make the song more vivid and touching. "Qianju" is often sung at a fast speed, and some even simply read out one sentence after another, and the final sentence is sung with a fluttering accent. A place of water and soil supports a people, and a dialect produces a kind of folk song. Jingzhou folk songs naturally have to be sung in Jingzhou dialect to have a pure flavor.

Folk dance Jingzhou folk dance has a long history and a long history, which can be fully confirmed from a large number of classical documents and newly discovered archaeological relics. Jingzhou is the birthplace of the world-famous Chu culture. As an important part of Chu culture, Chu dance was not only unique in the pre-Qin period, spreading its style and boasting to other countries in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, but also had a profound impact on the development of dance art in later generations. Chu people have the custom of believing in ghosts and worshiping ghosts. "The sacrifices must involve witches and witches singing and dancing to entertain the gods." Because the Chu people worship witches, witchcraft is prevalent in Chu. Wu, in oracle bone inscriptions, is related to "dance". "Shuowen Jiezi" explains: "Witch, shaman Zhu is also a woman who can do invisible things and dance to subdue the gods, like a person dancing with two sleeves." In witchcraft rituals, singing and dancing are the most important content. The basic form of Chu dance can be seen from the large number of Chu cultural relics unearthed since the founding of New China. After the fall of the Chu State, Chu dance remained the main theme of the Western Han Dynasty dance world. Most court dances in the Han Dynasty belonged to the Chu dance system. To this day, some of the Jingzhou folk dances that are widely circulated in the Lianghu Plain, especially in Jingzhou, can still clearly show the traces of Chu dance style. Nowadays, Jingzhou folk dances can be divided into three categories: self-entertainment and praying for good fortune. There are "Five Shrimps Making Catfish", "Da Lianxiang", "Old Back Young Man" and so on. Escape from famine and become a beggar, and perform arts to survive.

Such as "Three Sticks Drum" and so on. Keeping vigil with the dead, welcoming gods and offering sacrifices in temples. There are "Mourning Drum Dances", "Bench Incense" and so on.