Located in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, which is located in the west of the sea north of the Huainan River, it is an ancient city in the middle of Jiangsu Province with thousands of years of cultural relics. History and reality, ancient and fashionable, foreign culture and local culture are compatible and intertwined here, forming a very distinctive and colorful culture of the river and the sea. This place is rich in natural treasures, outstanding people, profound humanistic history, and a long history of folk arts and culture. Rooted in this part of the soil and water of the Nantong characteristics of culture, branches and leaves, flowers and fruits, is the motherland culture of a hundred flowers in the blooming of the oddball, the national cultural treasure trove in the sparkling treasure.
Landscapes and humanitiesNantong's landscapes and humanities unique characteristics of the river and the sea, Wolf Mountain as the first of the five peaks connected to the "wolf five mountains", standing on the north bank of the Yangtze River, in the vastness of the Yangtze River water and the wide commendation of the north of the Suzhou Plain between the peaks stand out. Wolf Mountain is not high, because the Yangtze River and upright; Wolf Mountain is not big, because the plains and high. The ancient pagodas and temples on the mountain are surrounded by incense all the year round, and celebrities and monuments can be found everywhere, condensing the deep historical and cultural heritage. Haohe River is one of the best-preserved ancient moats in China. Since ancient times, the literati stayed in the famous mountains and rivers, but also poetry and painting, Nantong landscape also nourished the literati throughout the generations, the Northern Song Dynasty, the pioneer of science Hu Yuan, the Ming Dynasty, a talented man Bao Paijiang, Yangzhou, one of the eight monsters of the Li Fangying, the Qing Dynasty dramatist Li Yu and so on, have left an indestructible cultural imprints in Nantong. Especially in modern times, Zhang Jian, a scholar at the end of the Qing Dynasty, devoted himself to building "China's first modern city" and founded many Chinese museums in Nantong, including China's first museum - "Nantong Museum". The first of its kind in China, Nantong is also home to a large number of outstanding cultural celebrities, such as performance artist Zhao Dan, who has made Nantong famous throughout the world with his outstanding achievements in the art of movie performance.
Folk CraftsNantong folk crafts of many varieties, a thousand forms; skilled craftsmen, generation after generation; everyone masters, reputation spread far and wide; masterpieces, the transmission of the far. Such as simple and fresh, meaning auspicious blue printed cloth, the ancient style still exists, whistling like a zheng Nantong board harrier, innovation in the Su embroidery embroidery, from the Han and Tang Dynasty to join the fashion of tie-dye, to the mellow and delicate, the ghost of the mahogany carvings. In addition, there are woodblock prints, silk cutouts, modeling kites, gourd carvings, and the list goes on.
Folk PaintingNantong folk painting, part of the folk crafts and folk inextricably linked, or for the main body, such as woodblock prints, or for its decorative, such as kite paintings; part of the custom or used, such as the stove wall paintings; or ornamental, such as lamp paintings. Rudong peasant painting, Qidong prints is one of the prominent representatives.
Music and dance cultureNantong music and dance culture, its source is very far. Dance of Haian "Haian Flower Drums", "Canglong Dance" is beautifully rhythmic, Rugao's "Pouring Basket", "Weeding Lanterns" is soft and light, Rudong's "Jumping Horseman", "Hu zero flower drums" is bold and unrestrained, Tongzhou's "Lotus Plate Dance", "Lift the judgment" is elegant and lively, and the city's "Jumping God of Fortune", "Lu Family Drums and Drums" is enthusiastic and clear. There are Haimen Mountain Songs, Xindian Mountain Songs, Yiquan Mountain Songs, Qidong Fishing Songs and Horns of Wheat. Due to the complexity and diversity of the Nantong dialect, Nantong folk songs have different tones in ten miles, different tunes in five miles, and are colorful and distinctive. In the 1980s, it was performed in Beijing, and then stayed in Eurasia, so that the world can recognize the elegance of the music and dance of the river and the sea.
Boys' Opera
Nantong Boys' Opera is a typical folk art form. The so-called "boy" that is, the folk professional sorcerer, originated in the Chu-Yue's "dance to the gods" of the wizard and the local dialect, culture, customs, folklore, assimilation and gradual formation of a distinctive Nantong local color of the ancient wizard of another branch - Nantong boy. Like Nantong, which is located in the coastal area, economically and culturally developed city, the Nantong boyzee still preserves the primitive and simple style, which is unbelievable. As a superstitious profession, it should be criticized and discarded. However, as a cultural carrier, Nantong boyzee has indeed mastered some of the skills of Nantong's folk arts and culture. The boy's do "persuade" (persuade the world) play, although pure and simple too simple, rough almost primitive, but it is really a typical folk theater, is the Nantong local opera drama "Tongju" predecessor. And has hundreds of thousands of viewers, long performances, everlasting, is the majority of farmers in Nantong enjoy a folk art form. In recent years, Nantong Boys has not only been listed as a special topic of research, but also increasingly attracted the attention and interest of scholars at home and abroad.
2. Stamping clams
People who live in the city for a long time often have a strong desire to return to nature, join the "stamping clams tour" in Rudong will undoubtedly be your ideal choice, Rudong is only 54 kilometers away from the city of Nantong, adjacent to the Yellow Sea, the mudflats are wide and the scenery is beautiful. Rudong is only 54 kilometers away from Nantong City, close to the Yellow Sea, with wide shoals, abundant resources and beautiful scenery. From the Rudong County Dig Harbor, driving 17 kilometers northeast, you can reach the Yellow Sea mudflats, a glance, flat sand miles, far away from the wriggling black dots, it is those who are busy stepping on clams, picking up mud snails, digging bamboo razor clams of the people, at this time, you can take the bullock carts or hand-held tractor, to the soft and open stepping on the base of the clams to try their hands. The clams are stepped on in a methodical way by rolling up the legs of the pants and stepping continuously for a certain period of time at a certain place, so that the river mud will be further loosened, and the soles of the feet will feel a smooth hardness, and if you continue to step on the clams, the colorful clams will be revealed. When the hard pedal, twisting waist, if you put a fast-paced music, not like jumping in the "sea disco" it.
3. Whistling KitesChina's "Southern Harrier and Northern Kite" two schools of kites have long been famous in the world, and Nantong is the main place of origin of the southern school of kites, and in the many varieties of Nantong kites, the whistling kites (also known as whistling kite board harriers) are the most distinctive. The ancient people used bamboo wire as strings on the paper harrier, and the wind blew the sound, such as the sound of the kite, so it was named kite. In the world of kites, the Nantong Whistling Harrier with both sound and shape is a rare and veritable artistic treasure. She unites the ingenuity of kite enthusiasts of all generations on the river and sea plains, and accumulates their efforts and practical knowledge gained from the natural wind power between heaven and earth for more than a thousand years. The whistling board harrier can be integrated with many kinds of crafts such as carving, tying, writing, painting, embroidery, etc. The craftsmanship is exquisite, which is not only an art treasure with great ornamental and collection value, but also stable and beautiful in flying, and moreover, there are all kinds of whistles of various tones in harmony and rhythmic vibration of the air, which is like an air beauty of good sound and color, and it accompanies the flyer in the world with its infinite charm, enjoying the wonderful fun that people and nature complement each other.
Nantong's distinctive culture is a valuable historical and cultural heritage, which is the spiritual wealth left by the predecessors to the present generation. It bears witness to history and is the spiritual soul of the land of Jianghai.
Nantong's folk customs, and neighboring areas have similarities, but also a lot of unique places. This is because Nantong into the land later, Nantong's ancestors for the "flow of people" and foreign immigrants, in the long-term more closed environment, the respective customs and habits of the mutual integration of the results.
The earliest surviving historical record of Nantong's customs is the Southern Song Dynasty's Yidi Jisheng. In the "Tongzhou" section, there is a section on "Customs", which records that Nantong's "people live on fish and salt, and do not engage in thievery," and that "there are many empty courtrooms and prisons, which are like the ancient ones. The empty space, there is a simple ancient wind".
Ming "Jiajing Tongzhou Zhi
" began to have "crown, marriage, funeral, sacrifice" and "four times the customs" and other accounts. In the late Ming Dynasty, due to the development of commodity economy, urban prosperity, urban customs changed significantly. According to the "Wanli Tongzhou Zhi" and "state by the capital" two books of the "customs" chapter records, Tongzhou has always been a simple folk, very few travelers, no brothels; people dressed plainly, not gambling, less litigation; women do not participate in banquets. But to Jiajing, Wanli years, the people gradually become more luxurious, young people love to go abroad to buy beautiful clothes, women's clothing styles change, clothing began to break the boundaries of rank. Banquet prevalent, teahouses, hotels, more and more; playboys indulge in alcohol, gambling, gathering and loitering. Marriage customs have also changed, the bride price, dowry, and even the female parents to put forward the request for divorce. Prostitutes, hooligans gradually more, the temple also increased a lot.
After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the biggest change in folklore was that men were forced to change their hairstyles and dress was popularized by the flag. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the customs of Shanghai began to radiate to Nantong, bringing changes in customs. After the establishment of New China, the old style of dress was eliminated, gambling, drug addiction, prostitution and gang activities gradually disappeared. All kinds of feudal superstitious activities were banned. Traditional festivals were given new content and formed some new customs.
The traditional customs of Nantong involve all aspects of economic and social life.Production customs
Nantong, near the river and the sea, is the land of fish and rice, in the agricultural society, many customs show the importance of agriculture and fishery production. Such as the lunar New Year's Eve, farmers to use sesame straw "sealing the field", the first day of the first month to "planting", the first fifteenth month to "simmering hundred insects", after the autumn grain on the field, cook the first meal of new rice, to be by the housewife with a bowl of toast. Housewives served a bowl of toast to the dog, in order to remember the dog stole the grain seeds have merit. After picking cotton, there is the custom of picking up the Jade Rabbit, symbolizing the field of cotton like the Jade Rabbit as white as snow, praying for a good harvest. Fishermen nail the new boat to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, "close the mouth of the dragon", by the craftsman will be a "children and grandchildren money" embedded in the middle seam of the boat backward, and said "together" to discuss the mouth, but also hang red cloth, red reward! The red cloth is also hung and the red paper bag is rewarded, hoping for "smooth wind and smooth water" and good luck. After the spring, the fishermen go out to sea, to set up wine offerings, kill the chicken hanging red.
Dietary Practices
In terms of food consumption, Nantong people's staple food is rice, noodles and their products, meat is mainly pork, beef, mutton and aquatic products. Nantong people like to eat beef, cross streets south of the East Beef Lane and West Beef Lane, that is, because of the concentration of beef stores and named. Nantong rich in aquatic resources, the people have always sung in the "December Fish Fresh", with the seasonal changes, a variety of fish listed on the market in turn, become a delicious Tailor dishes on the table. Nantong clams, known as "the world's first fresh". Nantong people's eating habits from a side to reflect the convergence of the North and South food culture.
Tea Culture
Nantong people worship tea culture, friends and relatives to the door, to tea; men marrying women to marry, tea as a gift; building houses, tea foundation; for the gods thank you for the earth, sprinkled with tea as a sacrifice. In the old days, there were teahouses in Nantong City, such as Dongda Street, Wanzitou, Xiaojiajiao, Pengjia Lane, Qifengqiao, Palmprint Lane, South Street and other streets, bridges and piers. Nantong people drink tea, and have the habit of adding other matching things in tea. Summer plus put cool summer things Peilan, patchouli, mint, lotus leaves, light bamboo leaves; autumn put kumquat, olive, white chrysanthemum; winter to sun-dried orange peel into the tea. In addition, when making tea, it is important to look at the identity of the guests, plus matching things. If the guests for the elderly, add a few tortoiseshell flowers, a strong aroma, the second is the blessing of the elderly generations of wealth; if the guests are newlyweds, the cup is put two jujubes, the meaning of the early birth of a child. Bubble tea will not be full of tea cups, folk "full of wine shallow tea" said, so as to avoid scalding the host, the guest's hand, but also conducive to the tea "excellent". Nantong in the old days, there is a "tea" custom, when the summer heat, the residents of the business door set up a green tea pot, put patchouli, Pailan, coarse tea, full of tea on a tank, any passer-by to drink, as an act of kindness.
Residential Characteristics
Nantong's residential generally do not oriented in the direction of the south, most of the southeast. It is believed that only temples and government offices can be oriented due south. This is because Nantong near the river and the sea, spring and summer more southeast winds, fall and winter more northwest winds, southeast-facing houses can achieve the effect of warm in winter and cool in summer.
The more typical pattern of urban dwellings is that there is a big door in front of the hall, with a big door and two doors inside, and a brick pavement in the door, which is a small patio. Small patio on both sides of the door. Rich people's photo wall is facing the door, the general family door opposite no photo wall. Some people also build fire wall around the house, fire lane, and will be high walls, and the neighboring family isolation. People outside the gate can not see the buildings in the house, must turn three doors (the door, two doors, door) before entering the house. There are "one into three halls" and "one into five halls" in the residence. The beams of the house are divided into "five-frame beams", "seven-frame beams" and "nine-frame beams". The "three halls" are the open hall, the hall, and the main house; the "five halls" are added to the north-facing house opposite the open hall and the back house behind the main house. Open Hall building is the widest, three halls do not live, is the place to entertain guests. The halls are narrow, with many compartments between the rows, and the houses on both sides are sometimes inhabited, but not formal rooms. The main house is separated by three rooms, the east side of the upper room, the west side of the lower room, some also built pavilion room, suite. In the center of the main house hangs the divine axis, which is the most sacred place of the family. Wedding and funeral celebrations, the three halls through the open, looks very grand. After the liberation, with the transformation of the old city, these old-style houses have disappeared a lot, but there are a few streets such as Temple Street and other streets preserved more intact, they are just like the courtyard in Beijing, Shanghai Shikumen, increasingly show their own humanistic and historical value.