[Note: Zhongshan sends the king's ship, mainly "sending". The whole process starts from the second day of the first lunar month of that year and ends the king's ship burning. The whole process can be divided into three stages, namely preparation, king-making ship and king-burning ship. The first stage is the election of the Shuimei Palace Council, the determination of the lotus-picking list, the registration of the children in the Centipede Pavilion, etc.; the second stage includes Anzhan, Gushen'an, horse raising, annlongyan, water inlet, upright mast, requesting sail, pointing golden body, opening eyes, etc.; the third stage is to set road talismans, do rituals, putting out the stack, add loads, Pudu , etc. The description of this article starts from the second stage to the end of the third stage, and the relevant content of the first stage is detailed in Volume 5. ]
1. Upright pole flag-raising
The 16th day of the eighth lunar month (September 26th Gregorian calendar), the king-making ship activity was officially launched. Early in the morning that day, the sixteen directors of the new council, led by President Zheng, dressed in casual clothes, erected two large red wooden flagpoles about 20 cm thick and 8.1 meters high on the courtyard in front of the Furen Palace in the center of the village. There are two wooden square buckets on the upper part of the flagpole, with words such as "Harmony and Peace" written on it. Four banners are inserted at each corner of the square bucket, which are " Do good and accumulate virtue ", "Protect the people", "Gathering for the grain", "Economic prosperity" and other contents.
[Note: The Watermei Palace Council consists of a president and sixteen vice presidents. The president is produced in four corners of Zhongshan Village, and the vice president is produced in four corners. Usually, the president is called the "main meeting" and the vice president is called the "vice meeting". The election method is at Furen Palace on the second day of the first lunar month. By throwing the hat cup continuously, the one with the most yin and yang sides wins. The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the auspicious time for the Lotus Collection Pavilion to be established. At that time, each lotus collection will gather together. One will determine the division of labor, the other will start teaching, and the other will distribute conical hats and clothes to dress up. ]
After the flagpole was erected, the directors raised two orange flags with red teeth on the flagpole, and the four red characters "Shi Tianzhang" were embroidered on the flag, solemn but beautiful. Then the directors lined up in two rows in front of Furen Palace, raising incense together, worshiping to heaven first, and then worshiping the prince. As firecrackers more than ten meters long were lit one after another, the atmosphere at the scene was like the sound of firecrackers, one after another, resounding through the clouds.
Figure 6-6 Furen Palace Upright Pole Flag Raising
[Note: In , Minnan , any erecting flagpole is a major event. If the ancestral temple is on the list, it will be a major festival in the temple to show the intention of starting construction and creation. The flagpole of Furen Palace means that the patrol palace is officially launched, and the prince’s patrol and hunting on behalf of the emperor will begin to open to the four realms, and there will be rewards for merit and revenge. ]
In this way, the substantive action of sending the king ship activity was announced to begin.
The pole-up flag-raising ceremony was completed, and the directors moved to the Shuimei Palace located at the southern end of Zhongshan Village and brought the shipbuilding wood outside the temple into the palace, preparing for the official launch of the king-making ship. At the same time, the prince tablets worshipped in the original palace were moved to the home of the president of the Council for worship, so as to free up the main hall of the Shuimei Palace as a workplace for building the king ship. During the shipbuilding period, Shuimei Palace will set up door curtains to prevent all kinds of idle people from entering and leaving the shipbuilding site at will.
[Note: In the temples of southern Fujian, the king-making ships are usually carried out in special shipbuilding stations or in simple sheds. However, the Shuimei Palace is the most special. The manufacturing process of the royal ships is completed in the palace. It is the unique door wall design and column distribution of the Shuimei Palace, which is the unique Shuimei Palace. ]
2. Anzhan
Anzhan was originally a shipbuilding term, that is, the keel of the ship installation, which is the first step in shipbuilding. All parts of the King's Boat are based on the keel, supplemented by the ribs, extending forward and backward toward the hull and spreading toward both sides of the keel.The significance of
Anzhan is just like the importance of a keel, and it is also particularly important in the ritual of the kingship. The eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (September 28th Gregorian calendar) has always been a rare auspicious day, and it is also one of the birthdays of the prince. The installation ceremony of the previous king-making ships is set for this day.
[Note: Fujian people have always regarded boats as horses, especially coastal areas. Since ancient times, tides have risen and fallen, and salt halide eroded. The way people rely on survival depends on fishing catches and merchants and trade. These methods rely on ships. Therefore, every shipbuilding cycle is cautious in the southern coast of Fujian. People generally give grand rituals to pray for smooth opening and perfection. The king-making ship is a microcosm and sublimation of ancient shipbuilding rituals, so that sending the king-making ship is quite similar to traditional shipbuilding rituals in science. ]
Because the opening ceremony started at 00:30 in the morning, many believers were ready to wait the night before. The night happened to be bright and the wind was refreshing, and more villagers came to Shuimei Palace to wait than in previous years. The south side of the palace outside the palace was already filled with fireworks of all kinds, with so many that it could not be counted. There were also the strings of firecrackers that were winding like long snakes, covering the entire road surface, so that pedestrians had to raise their toes and walk carefully.
Figure 6-7Anzhan
Just after midnight, the directors of the Shuimei Palace had already lined up in front of the palace. Everyone was wearing lake blue long gowns, black top hats, and red silk ribbons embroidered with the golden characters of "Zhongshan Shuimei Palace Council". They were all in awesome and full of aura. Seventeen members of the board and the "Cailiant Head" dressed in yellow clothes lined up at the palace gate, and in front of them were two rows of spread straw mats.
00:30 As soon as the auspicious time comes, the firecrackers immediately sound. Surrounded by the loud smoke, the directors knelt devoutly on the straw mat and performed the three kowtows and nine bows in front of the Shuimei Palace. After the ceremony, the directors entered the palace in order. They saw the shipbuilder with a big red silk cloth around his waist holding an compass . With the concerted efforts of everyone, they adjusted the direction of the rooster head, and finally aimed at the northwest direction at 50 degrees with the angle between the palace gate. This was the placement of the rooster keel of the king ship (it is said that the direction of the rooster of each person is adjusted according to Feng Shui geography).
[Note: The process of building a king ship has a strong Taoist color, and its positioning needs to be measured by Feng Shui to achieve the expectation of unity between man and nature and good luck in everything. ]
Then, the shipbuilder continued to install four horizontal wooden boat ribs on the keel. At 00:50, the Azhan ceremony officially ended, and matching it was dozens of barrels of fireworks and outside the palace were set off one after another. In an instant, the night sky of Zhongshan Village was decorated with silver trees and golden flowers, as brilliant as the Milky Way, and even the white moon that night was eclipsed. The fireworks lasted about 30 minutes, and the villagers who were still unsatisfied gradually dispersed.
3. An Longyan
In people's eyes, everything in the world is spiritual, and Wang Chuan is no exception. The awakening of spirituality is generally declared with symbolic nodes, such as the shape of the point of the eye and the upper heart. An Longyan is a measure to give the king's life by installing eyes to the king's ship.
Figure 6-8 Anlongyan
[Note: According to traditional practice, in order to facilitate the distinction between the three major provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, the bow of the Zhejiang ship is white, Fu ship is blue, and the Guangdong ship is red, so there are the sayings of Chaoshan red-headed boat and southern Fujian Qingtou ship. ]
There is a raised wooden board on both sides of the head of the king ship, which looks like an eye. The Anlongyan ceremony is also arranged in the evening, and the date selection is mainly selected based on the progress of the king-making ship. The 2007 Longyan An ceremony will be held at 21:00 pm on the 26th day of the lunar month (November 5th). The ceremony was similar to "Anzhan". After the directors knelt down and entered the palace, the teams were arranged on both sides of the king's ship. Under the light of the red candle, the shipbuilder laid the large wooden eyes that had been painted in advance on the raised wooden boards on both sides of the hull with the ship. From the appearance, the vivid longan was as bright as if it was alive. The two black eyeballs were also inlaid with three red ribbons representing auspiciousness. Outside the main hall of Shuimei Palace that night, there were fireworks and firecrackers in as usual.
[Note: After installing Longyan, the shipbuilding process basically ended. Because shipbuilding was completed in the Water Beauty Palace, non-related personnel generally cannot enter, especially women are only allowed to worship outside the palace. There are many taboos at this stage, so shipbuilding seems very mysterious. ]
4. Upright mast, ask for sails, and incoming water
"Stand mast", "Incoming water" and "Incoming sail" are three important procedures for the later trial sail of the kingship ship: Upright mast, as the name implies, is to erect the mast on the kingship; incoming water, originally means that the wooden ship is sent into the water from the shore in advance to determine whether it is leaking or unstable. When the kingship is built, the sea water is retrieved by the water tank to the seaside and transported to the palace to soak the iron anchor; incoming sails, the sails hung on the kingship when they go out to patrol to worship.
[Note: Before reform and opening up , Xiamen Bay was still full of sailboats. These sailboats are one of the famous blessed boats and are also one of the tools for local fishermen to catch fish and go to the South China Sea. The boats are of three masts and two masts depending on their size. Zheng He's treasure ships can even reach nine masts, which shows how large it is. Standing mast means that the king's ship has the conditions to go into the water in the wind and is regarded as a sign of land shipbuilding completion. Similarly, it is to ask for a sail, that is, hanging the canvas on the mast, which is considered to be the king's ship forming. However, because the king's ship is manufactured in the Shuimei Palace, the lack of space makes the two processes particularly prominent in the sense of ritual. As for water inlet, there are some changes. Before liberation, the sea water could rise to the front of the Shuimei Palace, so the water withdrawal work is very convenient. However, as the sea surrounds and fields are built, the ocean gradually becomes farther away, and the final place where the water is invited is fixed in Haicang Lake. This ceremony is more solemn and clear. ]
The fourth day of the tenth lunar month (November 13) Zhongshan Village held the largest sacrificial activity since the beginning of the kingship ship, which was very similar to the scene of the temple fair. The above three rituals were held continuously and completed in one go. At 08:30 am, a long team appeared on Zhongshan Village Road, with a very particular ceremonial guard. The front end of the team was two golden pennants "Shi Tianzhang" and followed by twelve triangle-shaped colorful pennants embroidered with flying dragons as the left and right screens, followed by four old musicians beating gongs, drums, and slap; thirty-two colorful lotus wearing conical high hats made of colorful flowers and black pants, they may hold oars or carrying red lanterns, led by Cailian head wearing yellow clothes, and followed in two rows; the sixteen directors of the Shuimei Palace led by President Zheng of Shuimei Palace were wearing long gowns and top hats, and were taken to the middle of the team in Hongsui; the last one was the twenty female members of the Zhongshan Village waist drum team, who danced while walking, with colorful flags fluttering and drums sounding, a peaceful and lively scene.
[Note: The King of Water Palace sends the King of the Kings at the ceremony have all the equipment and manual configurations for real ships to go to sea. Among them, the pioneer of the way and the security guard are lotus picking, similar to sailors. The oars in their handheld are the standard configurations for early ships. As for lanterns, gongs and drums, they are the role of opening and leading the way. When sending the Kings, they play a crucial role in maintaining order and leading the way. In addition, the clothing of lottery lottery and the members of the board of directors mainly include Tang suits and lab coats, which basically restores the clothing of the people in the Qing Dynasty, but still has a slightly Ming Dynasty style. ]
The parade team first went to President Zheng’s house and invited the Xiaowang boat (about 1.8 meters long, with three sails hanging on them, and the exquisitely crafted Wang boat sample) and carried them from the lotus to Furen Palace in the center of the village. After the directors lined up in the palace to worship, they continued to set off at 09:15. First, they passed through the vegetable market and walked along the village road to Shuimei Palace.
09:30, the ceremony officially began. The directors of the Shuimei Palace performed three bows and nine bows. The lotus pickers also held incense and worshiped the heaven first, and then worshiped the prince. On the other side, the old people put three large pottery bowls in the middle of the newly prepared Xiaocanban (the king's ship attached to the boat) cabin, and then put a longan branch and leaves in each pottery bowl as necessary equipment for seawater.
09:45, with the sound of firecrackers outside the palace, the "mast-standing" ceremony began. The three old men raised a "mast" on the king's ship in the palace. At this time, the mast was actually a thick bamboo pole with branches and leaves. Since the mast was more than six meters long and was limited by the space in the temple, it was impossible to erect a mast more than ten meters high on the ship, so the bamboo pole was replaced first.When we move the king's ship from the palace to the Dacheng outside the palace in the early morning of the sixth day of November, we will replace it with the real mast. This is a custom practice that has been passed down over the years.
9:50, the "water inlet" team drove towards the "seaside" in a pre-determined order. Eight lotus picking, four groups each carrying small boat boards and the Xiaowang boat in the middle of the team. In the old days, when the sea water was rising, you could reach the Shuimei Palace. In 1974, Daxing started to build fields in the sea. Today, the coastline has long retreated outside Haicang Avenue, a few kilometers away from the village. However, Haicang Lake, south of the administrative center of Haicang District, not far from Zhongshan Village, is the closest sea water because it is connected to the outer sea. After passing the hat-to-pop cup, the board of directors determined to "get in water" on the west bank of Haicang Lake. The team walked about a kilometer and stopped at the lakeside. First, they arranged neatly on the shore. The president placed the main furnace held in his hands along the way on the shore, leading sixteen directors and thirty-two people to pick lotus and raise incense to worship the heaven and the sea, and the "water collection" officially began. The temple fair directors lined up one by one from the shore to the waterside, and three large pottery bowls containing sea water were transported from the waterside to the edge of the shipboard by pairs of powerful arms. Then several old men carefully carried them into the three-cluster cabin of the shipboard, and then placed the washed longan branches and leaves on the water surface in the bowl. After setting off firecrackers, the lotus pickers raised the small boat board and the Xiaowang boat, beat the drums and drums all the way, and returned to the front of the Shuimei Palace along the way he came. The old people carried the pottery bowl into the palace, placed it on the ground around the king's boat, lowered three iron anchors from the king's boat, immersed the iron anchor tip into the sea water of the pottery bowl, and everyone retreated out of the palace one after another, and the "water inlet" ceremony was completed.
[Note: According to "Quanzhou Materia Medica", longan leaves can treat malaria , and in folk longan branches and leaves have the effect of purifying water quality. When "water inlet", small sampan is used to transport materials. In addition to adapting to the needs of the ceremony, it is actually the same as the traditional way of ocean-going trade in the mouth of Jiulongjiang River. Most of the tidal flats are spread along the coastal areas of Jiulongjiang River, and only the ports connect the offshore villages and the main sea channel. In the past, most of the lucky ships that sold the East and West in the east and the oceans were huge and had a deep draft. They wanted to stop directly on the shore. Except for the coastlines on Haicang and Houjing, which meet the conditions, most areas including Yuegang, Qingpu and Zhongshan could not fulfill their wishes. Therefore, people used the small sampan relay to move imported materials from the lucky ship into the small boat, and then sent them through the ports to the bamboo house in the front and back warehouses along the coast or the integrated Hong Kong and Macao. On the contrary, the goods intended to be shipped to the Fu ship were also delivered to the Fu ship through this transfer method. So much so that at all stages of sending the king ship, we can see the figure of the small sampan, which has a great effect, which fully reflects that sending the king ship is not only a ritual arrangement, but also a reflection of real life. ]
11:10, the team set out again, this time the purpose is to "please sail". As before, the team still walked through the village in a mighty manner, came to the palace temple and took out the sails sewn a few days ago, and carried them to the first anchor position in the king's boat tour to worship. After the ceremony, they were still carried back to the palace.
At this point, the "water inlet", "mast" and "said" ceremony were all over. The photographer followed the team from beginning to end, running around, and photographed a large amount of video materials, providing detailed data for the application of the "Sending the King's Boat" custom of Zhongshan for the year to the application for the national intangible cultural heritage.
5. The King's Boat Out
The King's Boat Out till refers to moving the King's Boat out from the main hall of the Shuimei Palace that was originally "Anzhan" to the courtyard outside the Shuimei Palace.
[Note: Output means that the king ship has been built and transferred from the manufacturing workshop to the starting point for sending the king. In the old shipbuilding ceremony, this stage attracted the most attention, meaning that everything is ready. ]
The fifth day of the lunar month (December 14), as the sky turned dark, many devout villagers and curious tourists gathered on the temple courtyard of Shuimei Palace. While waiting, the sound of firecrackers on the ground was deafening, and the fireworks in the sky were dazzling. The lotus picking in blue clothes and colorful hats held oars in their hands to maintain order on the scene. The temple fair directors who had changed their clothes and the staff wearing red armbands were waiting for the auspicious time in front of the palace gate.
23:30, the door panels on both sides of the main entrance of the palace temple began to be removed, and the palace gate was suddenly widened to more than four meters. The originally airtight palace temple was instantly visible, and Wang Chuan's "Real Face of Mount Lu" was officially released.
00:00 Just after, the colorful lotus head in yellow clothes erected a five-meter-high "Shi Tian Shou" flag on the temple. The directors entered the Shuimei Palace and inspected and sorted the king's boat again. Then they left the palace gate and lined up to wait. The villagers who were in high spirits rushed into the palace, waiting around the king's boat, waiting for the slogan to get up.
00:20, auspicious time has arrived. With the commander's order, the villagers waiting around the hull slowly lifted the wooden king ship weighing thousands of kilograms with their hands. Following the commander's shouting instructions, they carefully moved their steps and stepped out of the threshold, allowing the king ship to move forward slowly and sail out of the hall. Finally, they steadily placed the king ship on the square mount in the center of the annunciation, and then adjusted the bow to the south.
[Note: Shuimei Palace is located on the south side of Zhongshan Village, and the south is the sea, so the king's ship is facing the sea as the principle. ]
The ship was in place, and the applause suddenly echoed one after another, and the spontaneous "Shifeng" resounded through the clouds. The fireworks that kept rising into the sky lit up the square as daytime. Photographers, tourists and fighters took photos on the scene.
Six old men in blue clothes, red silk belts and wool hats (boatmen who are advancing with the boat in the king's boat) boarded the king's boat and began to prepare before sailing: they successively raised the front mast, rear mast and main mast, and hung large sails on three sides. Three iron anchors fell in front of and behind the boat, and the anchor tip was immersed in the sea water pottery bowl, symbolizing that the ship stopped the anchor. Under the arrangement of the in charge, the other villagers tied more than ten long fir thick bowls around the hull to a square boat frame, forming a huge rack for everyone to carry.
[Note: The elderly who boarded the ship did not wear dresses in decoration, but worked in the old days. The reason why they were all old people is that the boarding commander must have experience in driving the ship. Because Zhongshan Village no longer has the ocean after the sea encirclement in the 1970s, the candidates for boat riding are gradually withering, and to this day, there are only elderly people left. This hard requirement was due to the change in the form of sending the king. Before the Republic of China, Zhongshan used the "traveling of the king" method. The villagers first rode the king's boat and drove the sea to the sea route, and then took a small boat back to the port. Later, with the policy changes, the sending of the king's boat was changed to the "traveling of the world" method, but the requirements for boarding the boat were still retained to this day. ]
The directors placed three altars in the open space in front of the bow of the ship, surrounded by the curtains of "Shi Tianzhang" and filled with offerings. What is eye-catching are the two large livestock that have been slaughtered and removed from hair: a big fat pig and a big ram . The women reverently burned incense and bowed to the king's boat, begging the prince for blessings, blessings for good weather and peace in harmony.
to around 2 a.m., as the sound of firecrackers gradually became sparse, the onlookers could not resist the invasion of sleepy insects and gradually dissipated. Only the guards of Cailian were left at the scene, and the village temporarily returned to peace.
6. King Boat Tour
King Boat Tour is the climax of the King Boat Tour Cultural Festival. It is a traditional temple fair expression of folk beliefs in southern Fujian, which means patrolling the country.
The number of people who have been in the past "Sending the King Boat" to Zhongshan Village to participate in the activities has reached tens of thousands. This year it is larger and the march route is longer, involving transportation, fire protection, public security, municipal affairs, etc. Therefore, the Shuimei Palace Council, the village committee and the village senior citizens' association worked together to make a lot of preliminary preparations. The traffic police, public security departments, street offices, and district governments all sent many capable cadres to assist Zhongshan Village in carrying out the cultural festival activities on the same day.
05:00, the stage in the village center was filled with boys, girls and their parents aged five to eight. Everyone was busy putting on makeup for the children, applying oil paint on their tender faces, and putting on costumes on their petite bodies. Emperors, generals, talented men and beautiful women were dressed vividly. They will sit on the Centipede Pavilion and march with the "Incense Formation" team until noon.
[Note: Centipede Pavilion, named after the figure, is one of the makeup parades of the folk god-welcoming competition. It is widely circulated in Fujian and Taiwan. Centipede Pavilion and Zhongshan sending the king boat complement each other to achieve the goal of sharing the same joy for the whole nation. Children are like this, while the elderly participate in it by carrying sedan chairs. In the past, the centipede pavilion was generally provided by Dongyu Village , while the children in Zhongshan Village were replaced by the form of a big pavilion. Later, for various reasons, all forms were organized by Zhongshan Village.]
Just as the dawn was dawn, many women and old men came to the courtyard of Shuimei Palace. They carried incense baskets and placed offerings on the altars, burned incense and worshiped the prince, and more than a dozen lotus pickings maintained order near the king's boat.
08:30, the temple fair directors all came to Shuimei Palace, and everyone was making preparations for various work orderly under the command of the president. Groups such as Tong'an " car drum " and Xiang'an "breast dance" who participated in the Cultural Festival together also came to the scene one after another, and everyone gathered around the actors who often appeared in the media to ask questions. "Car Drum Lane" and "Breast Dance" were both rated as provincial intangible cultural heritage projects in August this year.
Today's Wangchuan Tour is divided into two parts, including the Centipede Pavilion, the Old Man's Sedan Team and other teams, and the Wangchuan Tour Tour Incense Formation. The team has a large number of people and the parade route is long. It set off earlier than the Wangchuan Incense Formation. According to the plan, the two teams will meet at the Ocean Plaza (the subway entrance at the intersection of Canghong Road and Zhonglin Road) at around 10 o'clock.
[Note: The scope of the travel area is generally based on the jurisdiction of Zhongshan Village. From this we can see that the prince is actually the village-protecting god of Zhongshan Village. ]
08:50, the front of the line (the front team) started from Shuimei Palace one after another. At the front of the line were four elderly women holding heads with brooms tied with longan leaves symbolically sweeping the dust on the road, and then they opened the road for both sides. The four villagers (young ladies) carried huge stainless steel plaques with three big golden characters "Zhongshan Village" written on it, which was particularly dazzling in the sun. On the other side, the large plaque "Fujian Province Intangible Cultural Heritage - Zhongshan Sending the King Boat" followed closely; more than a dozen vibrant young men held colorful flags and fluttered in the wind, and the three old men each led a tall horse wearing big red cloth to add a lot of festive colors to the parade; then there was the Centipede Pavilion team with a strong lineup.
[Note: The elderly women who are leading the way generally choose people with innocent families and healthy and happy families. They can clear the way and remove unpleasant things or obstacles such as unhappy things, plagues, demons and monsters. The tall horse wearing big red cloth was originally prepared for the officials who presided over the royal ceremony. Although the official no longer led or participated in the royal ceremony, the requirements for the ceremony were preserved. ]
Under the command of Mr. Chen Fuyuan, former president of Shuimei Palace and deputy commander-in-chief of this year's Cultural Festival, 124 strong men in red sweatshirts carried a beautiful 30-chamber pavilion like a long dragon. The 100-meter-long "Centipede Pavilion" meandered forward, and the dragon heads and tails at both ends of the head and tail danced up and down with the rhythm. The 60 children sitting on the pavilion played randomly acquired dramatic roles with curious eyes, with serious expressions. Parents who love their children held incense and followed closely on both sides of the pavilion, asking about their well-being, which was so warm. The tourists along the road were amazed, it was very lively. The last part of the
formation is a 35 band phalanx invited from Jinjiang , Shishishi , Longhai , Tong'an and other places. Among them, there are 19 Xile brigades, the rest are waist drum team, Xidou team, lion and dragon dance team, as well as drama characters, Gezai opera , stilt walking , etc. A villager named Chen Wutong, named Chen Wutong, has been doing well in recent years due to the prince's special favor. His family thanked the Centipede Pavilion and the eleven bands for this Cultural Festival, which shows his gratitude.
[Note: The team at the front is generally sponsored by believers voluntarily, called "Thank you" or "Repay Vow", or a reflection of the reality of "Worship and protection". The number of teams also symbolizes whether the gods are effective and the number of faiths. However, since the 1990s, the competition has become increasingly popular. Although the number of quadratic teams has been rising steadily, the quality is not optimistic, and it feels like filling in the numbers. Since 2019, villagers have begun to return to the essence of liveliness, that is, creating an atmosphere and quality first. Slowly, the number has dropped, increasing the performance and appreciation effect of the quadratic team. ]
The team of the front line continued for several miles, along Canglin Third Road, Haifu Road , Canghong Road, passing Dahaiyang, Xianglu Garden (now Seattle Community), and arrived at Xinggang Road. People continued to join the team of the front line along the way, and the onlookers were even more crowded.
[Note: The Haicang Living Area was established based on Zhongshan, Shitang and Dongyu. The above area near Zhongshan was originally Zhongshan fields or mud moors, so it was also included when circling the environment. ]
And the preparations before Mizumi Palace are still in full swing, and six "boatmen" served by old fishermen are busy loading various navigation supplies and a large amount of paper money on the ship.
9:40 As soon as the auspicious time arrived, the sound of salute suddenly rang out, and the Wang Chuan parade began to move. In front of them, there were still a few elderly women holding incense in one hand and broom in the other to sweep the dust to show the way. Several old men followed closely behind, and the two groups of bra danced and drums and drums were slapped and performed along the way. The team of Zhongshan women's waist drum team was neat and powerful, and they moved forward.
Five Tong'an japanese japanese wearing colorful Taoist robes and small buns on their heads were whining loudly. Sixteen temple fair directors walked in front of the king's boat, and thirty-two Cailians patrolled the sides of the king's boat with oars in their hands. Cailians, with strong heads, waved their hands to the "Shi Tianzhang" flagpan to clear the way for the king's boat. The prince's people and strong men rushed forward one after another, striving to contribute to the king's boat. They carried fir trees on their shoulders, and let the king's boat slowly raise them and move forward slowly. The king's boat team was either walking or stopping according to the guidance of the flagpan, in an orderly manner.
[Note: The "King Festival" that sends the king's boat is generally adopted in southern Fujian. ]
This "king ship" carefully built took three months to twelve meters long and the main sail is about seven meters high. The hull is made of high-quality wood and is made by an old shipbuilder in Tong'an at a ratio of 1:1, and there are all facilities for sailing out of the sea. The old fisherman said that the wooden boat could sail normally when put into the sea. According to the previous custom of sending the king boat, the boat was put into the sea and let it drift at will. The prince went on the sky road all the way on the boat, but it was later gradually changed to "burning the king boat".
Today's Wang Chuan is dressed very beautifully, with a huge paper-tied tiger head decorated with a huge "Wang" on his forehead, a big mouth with open teeth and bright green eyes that make people feel the majesty of the prince. The sails on three sides were hung high, with more than a dozen colorful small flags inserted on both sides of the ship, and the hull was painted with portraits of the twelve zodiac signs.
The most spectacular thing is the crowd carrying the king's boat: there are eight long fir trees with bowls in front, back and left and right of the hull, which are tied into racks for everyone to carry. When the king's boat toured, there were at least fifteen men carrying each fir tree on their shoulders, and many people crawled under the boat to hold the hull with their hands. The king's boat was rushing to carry it on the land with hundreds of people. Under the command of the commander-in-chief of the King's Boat, the King's Boat team sometimes slowly moved forward, as if sailing in the vast sea of calm waves, calm and unstable; sometimes running rapidly, just like a boat breaking through the waves and rushing straight into three thousand feet; sometimes stopping in place, and the ship's body tumbling up and down under the arch of the heroes, meaning that it can eventually turn bad luck into good luck when it is experienced by the strong winds and waves. Although the men were crowded under the hull, they could still cooperate with each other. According to the customs of the village, all men should carry the king's boat today, so that the prince would bring blessings to him. So much so that as the king's boat was marching, many men (including some foreigners) followed the team carrying the king's boat. As long as someone was tired of carrying it, someone would immediately make up for it. Although the people who carried the king's boat out of the team were sweating profusely and panting, their faces were filled with satisfaction.
[Note: The way of patrolling the kingships in different places is different. It is common to increase wheels and use human traction. However, few people use human traction. The basic requirement is that the number of believers must be sufficient. Because Shuimei Palace was the Zhongshan Village Temple in the old days, and the population of this village has always been among the top three capitals. It has sufficient manpower and belief foundation, and there is a history to follow. Shuimei Palace sends the kingships with human traction. ]
Since the top of the main sail is more than eight meters above the ground, many cables above the road have become obstacles to moving forward. In addition to two villagers holding long bamboo poles in their hands, the four boatmen on the boat were also constantly retracting the sails and masts and lifting the sails, and their movements were proficient and free.The other two boatmen kept scattering paper money full of more than twenty large sacks of sacks on the boat to the crowd, symbolizing that the prince kept scattering good fortune and grace to the world, while the believers who were incense would scramble to "snatch" paper money to show that they would receive good blessings. However, the paper money would be ineffective when it landed. Therefore, the king's boat was always scattered on the ground, but no one cared about it.
[Note: Before and after the king's ship patrols the territory, a special person will be assigned to "spread salt rice", mix salt and rice, and sprinkle them in the five directions, that is, purify the five directions, so as to remove demons and ghosts that cannot be seen by the naked eye, and achieve the effect of warding off evil, collecting fear, and purifying the body. ]
During the four-kilometer patrol and surrounding the village, the Wang Chuan has five stops (i.e., anchor positions), the intersection of Canglin Second Road, Canghong Road, the intersection of Maqing Road, Zhongshan Village, Xinggang Road, and the intersection of Haicang Administrative Center Procuratorate. Whenever the king's ship reaches a dock, the high flagpan of the lotus-picking head leans against the bow, and the command ship slowly parks in the middle of the road, while the sailors lower the iron anchor and immerse it in the sea water of the pottery bowl. The old people set up an incense burner on the open space in front of the boat, and the directors lined up to hold incense and bow to him. Five Taoist priests shaking copper bells and blowing horns, and they were busy "shopping" around the altar. Several performance phalanxes such as "breast-slapping dance", "car drums", and "waist drum team" performed wonderful programs among the onlookers along with the music. Their serious and dedicated performances and humorous expressions won applause.
[Note: In principle, the performance square formation is carried out with the incense formation team. However, the entertainment team composed of the villagers in Zhongshan Village, based on the advantages of the master, paraded with Wang Chuan and performed locally when Wang Chuan was performing. The waist drum team has always been a traditional project in Zhongshan Village. It was composed of students more than ten years ago and later changed to a middle-aged woman. In recent years, Xiamen folk customs, which are also listed in the intangible cultural heritage, have been able to participate in the event. ]
During the Wangchuan Tour and the Armour, the Haicang Public Security Bureau dispatched a large number of police forces to maintain public order and guide traffic along the way. They were called "the prince's protector" by the villagers. The reporters from Haicang TV and Xiamen TV worked tirelessly, following the teams back and forth, capturing exciting shots. After a morning of parade and five stops for ceremony, the teams of various routes finally ended the parade at noon and gathered on the village road to the left of Furen Palace. Wang Chuan also turned his head here, put down his anchor and parked steadily on the roadside in front of the Cai Family Temple, accepting worship from the villagers. The procedure for "Wang Chuan Tour" came to an end.
12:00, at the end of the event, the children climbed out of the cubicle pavilion one by one, stretched out, took makeup, took photos, or removed the flowers and sculptures of the cubicle pavilion, turning them into gifts, thinking they were a good product to give to friends. Between Furen Palace and the stage, the performance formations were also launched, staged one after another of folk shows, and the onlookers were able to feast their eyes.
7. Wang Chuan is in place
After a short rest at noon, Zhongshan’s “Sending King Chuan” Cultural Festival set off another small climax in the afternoon.
The villagers gathered at the berth of the king's boat in the center of the village at around 3 pm. They took the advantage of carrying the king's boat first, and waited for the auspicious time of 4:00 to arrive, and then we worked together to carry the king's boat to the open space at the southern end of the village to take its place.
The directors of the temple fair and the lotus pickers holding the oars were also arranged at the scene. After they lined up to worship, the presidents led the team of the king-carrying ships to beat drums and drums along the way, and drove south from the middle of the village road. A large vegetable field at the southern end of the village has been leveled in advance. The team turned into the open space along the road beside the district cultural center. Here, the king's boat turned in a direction, and the bow of the boat was facing the south, and it landed steadily on the ground. Hundreds of men emerged from under the hull, sweating but joyful.
[Note: Wang Chuan Huaji's location should be a nearshore area. With the reform and opening up, urbanization around Zhongshan has intensified. The location of Wang Chuan Huaji has changed repeatedly and changed in previous years. It was not finally determined, and the start time has gradually gotten earlier. As the nearby development is settled, the location and time may be fixed in the future.]
After the king's ship was placed, more than a dozen temple fair directors rolled up their sleeves, tied up their jackets, and moved the bundles of firewood pieces placed on the site under the hull. After stuffing them, a large number of paper money, rice bags, salt bags, chopstick-sized firewood, apples, oranges and other fruits were piled around, making the king's ship feel like it was parked on a hill.
These items were prepared by villagers from all walks of life for the king's boat trip: rice bags that are only the size of purse symbolize a load of rice, and two bundles of small wooden sticks as thick as chopsticks represent a load of firewood. These sufficient amounts of food and grass can make the prince have no worries when he is on a tour of the emperor. The boat was filled with pots, pans, spoons, paper sedan chairs, paper people, and even live chickens and sheep. Everything was ready, just waiting for the east wind to set sail.
[Note: The believers will carry purses and small wooden sticks to Furen Palace during worship for several months before the prince patrols. Their number is so huge that it accumulates like a mountain, and eventually turn into ashes with the king's ship when they are transformed into ashes. ]
8. Wang Chuan Hua Ji
"Wang Chuan Hua Ji" is the most important event content in the King Chuan Culture Festival. The villagers do not say "burn" the King Chuan, but say "Wang Chuan Hua Ji", which is obviously a way to seek good fortune.
Legend has it that the prince travels to the world on a king's boat every three years, representing the heavens promoting good and punishing evil. After completing his mission, he will ride a white horse to lead the soldiers back to Zhongshanshui Mei Palace. Tonight is the time to send the prince to the official trip. People from all walks of life attach great importance to it. The number of people participating in the event has reached the highest peak in history. The onlookers on the scene are even three layers inside and three layers outside, which is really crowded.
[Note: Because the prince usually needs to leave with the prince's ship, the prince does not have a golden body in the prince's temple, but only tablets for the emperor's patrol. When the prince's ship turns good, he will burn or drift away with a paper-plastic golden body. ]
I saw fireworks blooming over the village, one after another, illuminating the nearby high-rise buildings and reflecting the smiling faces of the villagers. In the Huaji circle, there are also many media such as Xiamen TV and Haicang TV, which are aiming at Wang Chuan to take exciting shots, while the people's guards are loyal to their duties and guarding the surroundings with vigilance.
The temple fair directors sent the prince's golden body to the boat at half past eight, and left their substitute dolls with the prince. Then everyone quickly went home and replaced their long gowns. To avoid unlucky things happening, they each hold an egg in their mouths as customs on the way home to avoid talking to others inadvertently.
[Note: Keep eggs in your mouth, avoid talking to others to prevent "leakage of secrets", and also avoid unclean objects coming out of your mouth. ]
The King of Boats’ Merits’ activity was hosted by the respected elderly people in the village. Time passed slowly with people’s expectations. The Taoist priests continued to hold ceremony. Several old men sprinkled diesel on the piles around the King of Boats, lit cigarettes and waited next to them, and firecrackers and fireworks stopped one after another.
21:40, the fire was transmitted from an old man's lighter to the pile of firewood on time, and then several other old men lit it everywhere. In an instant, the fire was wrapped in a storm, and the entire king ship was immediately engulfed by the fire, and the bow, stern, cabin, clan flag, sails, and masts were all burned. The fire was extremely dazzling and the heat waves came to my face, but none of the onlookers took a step back. Everyone was curious, respected, or shocked. Some were cheering, some were shouting, and some were sighing, and everyone was full of enthusiasm.
In the crowd, I saw Master Wang, the old shipbuilder of Tong'an who spent a hundred days to create an exquisite king ship, had red eyes, his expression was wooden, his hands lit a cigarette trembled slightly, and he asked, "Is it a pity to burn it?" The feeling of distress is sympathetic.
As the fire became stronger and stronger, the hull was gradually burned through, the wood was burned into red charcoal and collapsed continuously. The 20-centimeter-thick main mast in the middle of the ship was also wrapped by the flame tongue, the roots were burning thinner and thinner, but they stood for a long time and refused to fall down easily. Thousands of onlookers were staring at the mast, and the three or four cameras on the scene were all aimed at it, and everyone was guessing where the mast was lying. It turns out that Zhongshan Village is divided into four residential areas: southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest. Legend has it that when the king's boat becomes auspicious, the main mast will fall in which direction, the prince will be more favorable to the villagers in that area, their lives will be safer and their careers will be more developed.
Figure 6- 26 Wang Chuan Huaji
After fifty minutes of flame burning, the Wang Chuan and the surrounding piles basically turned into ashes, the main mast gradually tilted to the northwest and fell down amid the cheers of dozens of northwest villagers. At this time, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Fireworks in the sky and firecrackers on the ground were ringing again. At this time, the Xiang Opera show on the stage in the village had just started, and the villagers were about to have fun all night.
