Traditional festivals in Dali

Dali Sanyue Street

Dali Sanyue Street is a national traditional event with a history of thousands of years. It is not only the oldest and prosperous trade market in western Yunnan, but also a grand festival for the annual exchange of folk literature, art and sports among people of all ethnic groups in Dali Prefecture.

Sanyue Street is held outside the west gate of the ancient city of Dali starting on the 15th of the third month of the lunar calendar every year and lasts for seven to ten days. The city is built into a city with thousands of merchants gathering to trade in bulk local specialty products, Chinese herbal medicines, mules, horses, livestock and daily necessities from all over the country. During the festival, traditional folk sports competitions such as horse racing, dragon boat racing, crossbow shooting, and swing playing are held, as well as singing of big benqu, ancient Dongjing music, and folk song and dance performances. This is the case every year and is very lively.

March Street, one street catches thousands of years, and one street catches thousands of years. This is not only based on folklore, but also has conclusive historical records.

In terms of folk customs and myths and legends, Sanyue Street originated from the Guanyin Lecture Temple Fair. It is said that the land of Canger in Dali was originally occupied by a demon named Luosha. He makes a living by eating human eyes. Master Guanyin came to Dali and cleverly used magic to subdue Raksha. In order to prevent Raksha from making a comeback, tens of thousands of people gather every year on March 15 in front of the Cangshan Shrine (that is, the street that remains unchanged to this day) to preach scriptures. In order not to let the people delay their livelihood and allow them to do some business at the same time, the Guanyin Grand Master formed an annual grand market, and he often called Sanyue Street Guanyin City.

From the perspective of historical records, historical materials are available for the evolution of Sanyue Street in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Nanzhao State period in the Tang Dynasty, the most important historical event was that the sixth generation of Nanzhao King Yimouxun met with Cui Zuoshi, an envoy of the Tang Dynasty, at the Diancangshan Shrine in the tenth year of Zhenyuan of Dezong of the Tang Dynasty (794 AD). They set up iron scrolls in four copies, vowing to live in harmony with the Tang Dynasty forever. Yimouxun told all people to gather in the square in front of the shrine every March 15th to commemorate this oath as heavy as Cangshan Mountain. From then on, March Street was established. In this sense, March Street is also a witness to the reunification of the motherland and national unity.

During the Dali State of the Song Dynasty, Sanyue Street became the largest horse and medicinal materials trading market in southern China. Duan Zhengxing, the 17th king of Dali State (also known as Duan Zhengchun's grandson and Duan Yu's son), was in the 17th year of Shaoxing of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty (AD 1147). During his thirty-one years in his reign, he actively reconciled with the Central Plains Dynasty and vigorously developed the economy. At that time, Dali State was famous in the Central Plains for producing high-quality horses. The Southern Song Dynasty established a special horse buying department in Yongzhou, Guangxi to import Dali horses. So Duan Zhengxing turned March Street into a horse trading market, with more than 1500 good horses traded every year. Historical records record that thousands of merchants gathered in Ma City. Vendors from Huguang and Sichuan exchanged silk, paper and pens, rouge pollen, ginseng and other department stores from Dali for horses, swords, medicinal materials, as well as ivory, rhinoceros horns, antlers and other precious specialties from Tibetan and Western Countries. The meeting lasted for more than 20 days. Gao Liangcheng, the prime minister of Dali State, also set up a horse ring in the horse market, that is, horse racing. From then on, March Street has a tradition of horse racing. At night, songs, banquets and dances are played in front of the Wuhua Tower, and every household is decorated with lanterns and colors. The royal empresses and concubines also travel in the busy city to have fun with the people. During this period, March Street has developed into the largest border trade market in southern China.

The "Travels of Xu Xiake" of the Ming Dynasty clearly describes the lively scene of Sanyue Street where "nothing comes from the thirteen provinces, and all the savage things in central Yunnan come from" and "men and women are mixed together without arguing". Li Yuanyang, a Bai scholar in the Ming Dynasty, also wrote in the "Yunnan Tongzhi":"On March 15th, we traded goods from various provinces under Cangshan Mountain. Since the reign of Tang Yonghui to the present, dynasties have changed, and this city has remained unchanged."

In the Qing Dynasty, Sanyue Street developed on an increasingly large scale. At that time, Li Xiexi, a student studying in Japan in Dali, once wrote a poem describing the grand occasion of March Street: "In the past, it was prosperous for several years, with millions of money flowing like water. Sichuan, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou were exquisite goods, and the trading market was the best in Asia." It shows that March Street has considerable international influence.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, the scale and influence of March Street have increased year by year. Since 1991, it has been designated as a legal festival for the people of all ethnic groups in Dali Prefecture. Cultural, sports, economic and trade have "performed on the same stage", with a completely new look. Every year, merchants and tourists from various provinces, cities, autonomous regions across the country, more than 30 countries including the UK, the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions gather as many as one million people. The Dali Sanyue Street National Festival has become an important bridge for the world to understand Dali and allow Dali to move towards the world.

Bai Torch Festival

In Yunnan, many ethnic groups celebrate the Torch Festival, but each has different methods. The Bai Torch Festival is held on June 25 of the annual summer calendar. It is called "Fuwang Dance" in Bai, which means "June Carnival". Whether it is cities, cities, villages, mountainous areas, dams and areas, everyone is celebrating. In the eyes of the Bai people, it is the most solemn festival after the Spring Festival. In addition to the collective activities of erecting large torches in the village, every household has to prepare delicious food and various holiday supplies, and married girls have to return to their parents 'homes to reunite. Before the festival, symbols of the Torch Festival are sold all over the street-small lifters made of bamboo strips and colored paper, small torches, paper fire fragrance bags, and impatiens roots specially used by women to dye their nails red. The festive atmosphere is very strong.

On the day of the festival, people stopped all production and labor. Men, women and children, dressed in festive costumes, gathered at the place where the torches were erected, or in the village square, or in front of the main temple, the ancient stage, and under the big green trees. Amid the lively sound of suona drums, people were busy making torches, the grandfathers played ancient music from Dongjing, and the grandmothers recited scriptures in unison. Women in charge would take their children to prepare salt, rice, wine, and tea to the fields to burn incense and pray, wishing a bumper harvest.

Each village or area must erect a large torch, cut down a torch tree fifty to sixty feet high, tie it with firewood or bamboo, fill it with colorful small pennants and red fragrance, and then hang pear strings, apples, crabapple, etc., call it "torch fruit". The top will also be decorated with a large-scale symbol of the Torch Festival-the "Shengdou" of "consecutive promotion to three levels", with words such as "The country is peaceful and the people are safe" and "Good weather" written on it. Colored flags fluttered at the top of the "Shengdou", supporting a white crane fluttering its wings about to fly. Before setting up the torch, the old people first sacrificed with "three animals and nine rituals" and performed the ceremony of "three kneeling and nine kowtowing". After the torches were erected, when dusk fell, the venerable old man, escorted by the suona drum band, brought fire from the main temple and lit the torches. When the raging flames rose, men, women and children sang and danced around the torch tree. The children competed for the burned torch fruits, which meant welcoming the good fortune. The teenagers danced small torches in their hands and constantly sprinkled rosin., flew out the flames, chased each other and sprayed them to express their blessings, and then held high the torches to patrol the fields. Outside the village, there is a lot of people and a bright fire. An ancient poem once praised: "Thousands of lotus flowers bloom in the sea, and stars fall on the earth in a day."

Regarding the reason for the Torch Festival, the Bai people believe that it is mainly to commemorate Mrs. Bo Jie. It is said that more than 1,300 years ago, in order to annex other Wuzhao (small kingdoms) in the Erhai area, King Piluo Pavilion of Nanzhao planned to burn the Songming Tower in the name of offering sacrifices to ancestors and burn the owner of the Wuzhao Zhao to death. Among them, Deng Yuzhao's wife, Bai Jie, was far-sighted and far-sighted. She had predicted the accident in advance, but was loyal and unyielding afterwards. In order to dig up her husband's bones, blood was dug out from all her fingers. Therefore, during the Torch Festival, young women of the Bai nationality all had to dye their nails red to commemorate them. In some areas, on the Torch Festival, young people will hold horse racing activities, and boat races will also be held in Haidong, all to commemorate Mrs. Bo Jie's tenacious fighting spirit. From a folklore perspective, Torch Festival is believed to be a farming festival. The Bai people have been a rice-growing nation since ancient times, and the Torch Festival is a celebration when rice is heading. Use the torch to burn out pests and pray for a good harvest. Li Yuanyang, a Bai scholar in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the "Yunnan Tongzhi":"On June 25, a beam of Songming was used as a torch to illuminate the fields and seedlings, and occupied the countryside with the color of fire." In addition, the Bai Torch Festival also contains some fertility concepts. For example, the torch tree must be provided by the young father who gave birth to a boy, the pit where the torch was erected must be dug by the father who gave birth to a girl, and the big torch is covered with fruits, which is a symbol of having many children and many blessings. All this shows that the Bai Torch Festival is an ancient festival that originated from the Bai ancestors 'concepts of production and reproduction.

Jianchuan Shibao Mountain Song Festival

Jianchuan Shibao Mountain is located in the Laojun Mountain System about 25 kilometers southwest of Jianchuan County. It is surrounded by mountains and lush forests. It is not only the location of Nanzhao Dali Grottoes, known as the "Treasure of the Nantian", but also the venue for the annual Bai People's Song Festival.

The Shibao Mountain Song Festival is a grand traditional ethnic festival in the Bai area. It is held from the 27th day of the seventh month to the 1st day of the lunar calendar. It is famous for the endless flow of tens of thousands of people going up the mountain and singing songs to each other at will. Successive from generation to generation, it is known as the "Bai Song City". The popular Jianchuan Bai tune at the concert was included in internationally renowned folk songs.

During the concert, Bai people from Jianchuan, Eryuan, Dali, Lijiang, Lanping and other counties gathered here from all directions. While visiting ancient temples in the mountains and forests, they lit up their voices and sang songs to each other freely. On the mountain paths more than ten miles away from Fangyuan, tourists are weaving, with the sound of three strings of complaints and complaints, and the melodious tones are heard one after another. They call for each other and float in the mountains and forests day and night.

Playing strings and singing music was originally an ingenious way for Bai youth to use songs as a medium to seek intimate partners. The concert naturally became their most open social occasion. Through singing to understand each other, compete for talents, and pour out the heart song, every lyrics are so simple, pure and thought-provoking. Whenever a wonderful duet appears, onlookers immediately gather around, and people all gain the best and most beautiful artistic enjoyment from it. There are also many young men and women who have formed a century-old friendship through singing duet. Naturally, young people are not the only ones who go up the mountain to sing to each other. No matter whether men, women or old, they must sing to their heart's content as long as they come up the mountain. The elderly think that singing the Bai tune at the concert can lead to happiness and good fortune, or they have made a promise to the gods at home. In order to ensure peace and prosperity, they must go to Shibao Mountain to sing hundreds of tunes, so singing the tune has become their fulfillment of their wishes. Most middle-aged people use music to express their feelings and express their minds and talents. The popular tunes at the concert are mainly Jianchuan Diao, which is popular in the central dialect area of Dali Prefecture, accompanied by dragon head sanxian or blowing leaves. The lyrics are all in the traditional format of the Bai poetry "3715". The meter is rigorous and cannot be used in rhyme or tune. On the basis of being familiar with traditional folk songs, excellent singers often make witty remarks and move their hearts in the face of the scene at the time. Once he meets his opponent, he answers easily and sings day and night without deciding the winner. Therefore, the Shibao Mountain Song Festival is not only a grand gathering for the Bai people to express their feelings and praise life, but also a bridge for exchanges of folk songs and art and inheritance of folk art.

The Shibao Mountain Song Festival is mainly held in the Baoxiang Temple District, known as the "Yunnan Xuankong Temple". Here, the strange rocks are jagged, the mountain springs are thick, and the winding stone steps lead to the treasures built on dangerous cliffs. At the foot of the mountain, there is a singing platform and a small square. During the concert period, it became a market dedicated to the concert. There were many vendors and a wide variety of small commodities, especially snacks and local specialties, which provided great convenience for people's leisure and entertainment, and also set off a strong festive atmosphere. At night, the street became a venue for a bonfire party. Young men and women played the unique "fragrant dragon" of Shibao Mountain and danced the Overlord Whip Dance. Tourists from all regions also competed to perform, singing and laughing, and merged into a happy sea.

There are many magical and beautiful legends about the origin of the concert. It is said that the stone shaped like a stone bell in Shibao Mountain was originally a golden bell. Whenever the golden bell rings, the wind and rain are smooth at the Shaxi Dam at the foot of the mountain. Later, there was a nine-headed dragon who spat out flames from its mouth, turning the golden bell into a stone bell, and creating evil practices at any time, often bringing drought and insect disasters to Bazi. In Shaxi, a couple named Ashibo and Aguiniu were enlightened by their master's spirit. They learned that singing could break the evil laws of the dragon, so they invited ten sisters and ten sisters to go up the mountain to sing each other every day, and finally defeated the dragon. A Shibo and A Guiniu were also killed in the battle with the dragon. In order to commemorate this couple, people went up to the mountains to sing each other every year, becoming a concert passed down from generation to generation.