Festival early in the morning, men and women, young and old, bathing and dressing, door frames, windows, are pasted with a variety of paper cuttings, towns and cities in the main street erected a house of cards, the top of the standing symbol of happiness and good luck of the golden peacock. The Dai men, women and children dressed in festive costumes went up the mountain in groups to pick wildflowers to make flower houses. At noon, the women each pick a quart of water and throw it on the statue of Buddha to wash the dust for the Buddha. Then, young men and women carry wooden buckets and splash water all over the place. They want to take advantage of this splashing water to express their sincere blessings, it is said that this can be free from disease, and peace in all seasons, so the more water that is ramped by others, the more blessings he receives, and the happier the person who is splashed is. Such a wonderful water splashing festival there is an interesting legend oh.
A long time ago, a ruthless demon king took over the beautiful and rich Xishuangbanna, and snatched seven beautiful girls to be his wife. The girls were filled with hatred and planned how to kill the devil king. One night, the youngest girl Nongxiang with the best meat and wine, the devil king drunk, so that he revealed his fatal weakness. It turned out that the king was not afraid of the world, not afraid of the devil, is afraid of his hair strangling their necks, vigilant little girl carefully pulled off the king of a red hair, strangling his neck. Sure enough, the Demon King's head fell off and turned into a ball of fire, rolling to wherever the evil fire spread to. The bamboo buildings were burned down and the crops were scorched. In order to extinguish the evil fire, the little girl grabbed the head of the devil king, and the other six girls took turns to keep pouring water on it, and finally extinguished the evil fire in the sixth month of the Dai calendar. The townspeople began to live in peace and happiness. From then on, there was the custom of splashing water in every year. Now, the custom of splashing water has actually become a form of mutual blessing. In the view of the Dai people, water is a symbol of holiness, beauty and light. With water in the world, everything can grow, and water is the god of life.
The Water Festival, in addition to splashing water, there are songs and dances, the Dai people dressed in festive costumes, came to the village square, men, women and children with songs and dances, some jumping peacock dance; some jumping "five Laho"; there are improvised, while singing and jumping with a beautiful movement, distinctive rhythms, melodious tunes, moving songs! ...... Water Festival is really colorful ah!
Lantern Festival
Every year on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, just after the Spring Festival, ushered in is the traditional Chinese festival - Lantern Festival.
The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year, and the ancient people called the night "night", so they called the 15th day of the first month the Lantern Festival. The 15th day of the first month is the first full moon of the year, but also the beginning of the year, the night of the earth back to spring, people celebrate this, but also to celebrate the continuation of the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Festival of the New Year".
According to Chinese folk tradition, on this day the moon is high in the night, people have to point up ten thousand colored lanterns, to show the celebration. Go out and enjoy the moon, light up the lanterns and set off the fireworks, guess the lantern riddles, *** eat the Lantern Festival, family reunions, celebrating the festival together, and have a good time.
The Lantern Festival is also known as the Festival of Lights, Lantern Lantern custom from the Han Dynasty, to the Tang Dynasty, more prosperous activities to enjoy the lights, the palace, hanging lights everywhere on the street, but also to establish a tall lamp wheel, lamp building and lamp tree, the Tang Dynasty poet Lu Zhaolian was in the "fifteenth night to watch the lights" in this way to describe the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival, "the Han suspected that the stars fall, according to the building seems to be hanging moon.
The Song Dynasty attached more importance to the Lantern Festival, more lively lantern-appreciation activities, lantern-appreciation activities to be carried out for five days, the style of the lamp is also more abundant. Ming Dynasty to 10 days of continuous lantern viewing, which is China's longest lantern festival. Although the Qing Dynasty lantern-viewing activities only 3 days, but the lantern-viewing activities on a large scale, unprecedented, in addition to burning lamps, but also fireworks to help.
"Guess the lantern riddles", also called "playing lantern riddles", is an activity added after the Lantern Festival, appeared in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the capital city of Lin'an made riddles every Lantern Festival, and there were a lot of people guessing riddles. At the beginning of the riddles were written on strips of paper and pasted on colorful lanterns for people to guess. The riddles were popular among people from all walks of life because they were both intellectually stimulating and interesting.
Tujia Hanging Corner House
Hanging Corner House is a typical building form which is the most complicated and shows the wealth of the Tujia people in West Hubei. Miao and Tujia live in mountainous areas with large slopes. When building houses, they all like to build antique hanging corner buildings. This corner of the building, flying eaves and corners, three sides of the corridor, hanging out of the wooden railing. The balustrade is carved with a million pyramids, hi Zigzag, subzigzag, quadrangle and other symbols of good luck with the development of the economic machine and cultural progress, the hanging corner of the building has become the Tujia region of a common building.
Hanging angle building has rich cultural connotations, in addition to the Tujia residential architecture focus on the dragon, built according to the trend and the gods **** place of the phenomenon of the gods, there is a very prominent space cosmopolitan concept. The Tujia people's hanging horns are not only unilaterally in the embrace of the universe and nature, the universe is also in the embrace of the universe and nature at the same time. This spatial concept of accommodating the universe is very obvious in the ritual song of the Tujia people: "Take a step on the beam, look at the treasure beam, a round of Taiji in the center, and a yuan line is presented as a good fortune. On the second step, joyful, 'Qiankun' two words on both sides, the sun and moon into a pair of eternal enjoyment ........" Here the "Qiankun", "sun and moon" represents the universe. In a sense, the Tujia Hanging Horn Tower in its subjective and the universe become closer, more intimate, so that the houses, people and the universe as one, inseparable.
Hanging corner of the building in a variety of forms, its types are as follows:
Single-hanging type, which is the most common form, some people call it "a head hanging" or "key head". It is characterized by only one side of the main house of the compartment out of the overhang, the following wooden pillars support each other. Double-hanging type, also known as "double hanging" or "key-head", it is the development of single-hanging type, that is, in the main house on both sides of the room are hanging out of the compartment. Single-hanging and double-hanging type and not to the formation of different regions, mainly depending on economic conditions and family needs, single-hanging and double-hanging type often **** in one place.
Tetrahedral water type, this form of hanging corner of the building and in the double hanging on the basis of the development, it is characterized by the main house on both sides of the room part of the upper part of the hanging corner of the building into one, the formation of a quadrangle. The two compartments of the downstairs that is the gate, this quadrangle into the gate must also go up a few stone steps, in order to enter the main house.
Two-house hanging, this form is based on the development of single- and double-hanging, that is, in general, the hanging corner of the building and then add a layer. Single and double hanging are applicable. Flat hanging type, this form of hanging corner of the building is also in the single hanging on the basis of the development of a single hanging, double hanging are available. Its main feature is that, built in the flat dam, according to the terrain does not need to hang the corner, but the compartment will be lifted up, supported by wooden pillars. The ground on which the wooden pillars are supported is even with the ground of the main house, making the compartment higher than the main house.
The most basic feature is that the main house is built on the ground, and the compartments are connected to the main house except for one side which is on the ground, and the rest of the three sides are overhanging and supported by the pillars. Generally, they are three-story buildings, and except for the roof tiles, they are built with cedar wood above and below. The pillars of the house were made of large cedar wood with cut eyes, and between the pillars, cedar wood of different sizes was put through them diagonally to connect them together, which made them very strong even without using a single nail. The house is surrounded by a hanging tower, and the eaves of the building are turned upwards like wings to fly. The four walls of the house with cedar boards grooved and densely encrusted, sophisticated inside and outside are coated with tung oil and clean and bright. The ground floor is not suitable for living, is used to feed livestock, stacking chores, raising poultry, placing agricultural tools and heavy objects. The second floor is a place to eat and live, with a bedroom inside, outsiders generally do not enter. Outside the bedroom is the hall, where there is a fire pit around which the family eats, which is spacious and convenient. It is spacious and convenient. Since there is a window, it is bright and well-lit, and the ventilation is good, so the family mostly does handicrafts and rests here, and it is also a place to receive guests. On the other side of the hall, there is a wide corridor connected to it, with a half-half-half-high railing and a row of benches, where the family often rests and where the mother dresses her daughter during the festivals. The third floor is airy and dry, and very spacious. In addition to being used as a living room, it is also used as a small room for storing food and goods.
Overall, the hanging corner of the building should still belong to the dry rail type building, but with the general reference to the dry rail is different. Dry rail should be all overhanging, so the hanging angle building for semi-dry-rail type building. Hanging columns are octagonal, quadrangular, the bottom break often carved hydrangea, gold claw and other forms. Hanging angle building generally two-story, upstairs and downstairs floor boards, upstairs windows, ventilation to the sun. Window lattice carved with double phoenix sunrise, magpie voice plum, lion ball and peony, camellia, chrysanthemums and other flowers, simple and elegant, both beautiful and practical, very much the characteristics of ethnic housing. The outsiders who have been to the village of Miao said: "the beauty of Miao Xiang", "the beauty of the village", the beauty of the beauty in the hanging corner of the building. However, in the Tuojiang River on the side of the hanging corner, but there is another form and interest. Clear water from the Tuojiang River flows through the city, green as a belt, like a quiet lady. Hanging horns hanging along the river on both sides, the root of the wooden columns to support a small and exquisite house, holding up a sweet warmth of the family.
This kind of hanging angle building, according to the mountain water, along the river continuous. From that window flashed a smiling face, and can not help but be reminiscent of Shen's old pen in the twilight of the hanging corner of the style. At night that the river windows in the light like stars flashing on the water, that a hanging corner tower reflected in the clear water, like an underwater dragon palace, very clear. During the day that crowded along the river raccoon women, the river water to get up bursts of ripples, swinging away, but like a splash of a splash of heartfelt smile, the river on both sides of the cover in the more refreshing, turquoise. Hanging horns in the ancient pavilions, pavilions, under the new-style buildings, more colorful. There are turtledoves in the river foraging, Ding Ding bird flying low and high, and more colorful hanging horns.