CIATB Chapter 1018: The Little Thing of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Chapter 1018: The Little Thing of Intangible Cultural Heritage
In the original time and space, South Goryeo once applied to UNESCO to register the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, which originated in China, as its own intangible cultural heritage.
But it should be emphasized that what South Goryeo successfully applied for as a World Heritage Site was the "Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival" rather than the Dragon Boat Festival.
So what is the difference between the two?
First of all, it should be acknowledged that the Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Dragon Boat Festival in China, and the name was spread from China to South Korea.
China's Dragon Boat Festival originated in the Spring and Autumn Period two thousand years ago to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan of the Chu State. Various Dragon Boat Festival activities across China, whether it is eating rice dumplings, dragon boat racing, or family gatherings, are all based on commemorating Qu Yuan and are entertainment activities with social characteristics developed spontaneously by local people.
But it was different in South Korea.
The Gangneung Dano Festival evolved into a large-scale sacrificial activity in which both the official and civilian sectors of South Goryeo held solemn and dignified ceremonies to honor ancestors and martyrs.
The Dragon Boat Festival in China is to commemorate Qu Yuan. The purpose of the festival is to promote patriotic ideas and it is a spontaneous entertainment activity for the common people. However, in South Korea, it became a solemn ceremony to worship ancestors.
In order to worship their ancestors, South Goryeo had a set of customs, music, dance, procedures, activities and characteristics that were in line with its own nation at the Gangneung Dano Festival, and they were maintained for hundreds of years.
No matter what this activity is called or what its origin is, there is nothing wrong with the people of South Korea believing that it is part of their nation and culture.
The Dragon Boat Festival in China is just a commemorative event and a folk entertainment activity spontaneously carried out by the people. Perhaps people in some local areas have the habit of worshiping their ancestors on the Dragon Boat Festival, but the Chinese in most places do not have the custom of worshiping their ancestors on the Dragon Boat Festival.
The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.
The Chinese nation has also attached great importance to sacrifices since ancient times.
Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty said in "Four Sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Annals": In ancient times, there were four sacrifices in a year. The four sacrifices were to sacrifice to the ancestors and parents according to the produce of the four seasons. Therefore, spring is called "sacrifice", summer is called "礿", autumn is called "味", and winter is called "蒸".
Therefore, not to mention the smaller sacrificial days for ethnic minorities, in the vast Chinese mainland, the Han nationality’s sacrificial festivals are mainly based on these four most grand festivals: New Year’s Eve, Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Double Ninth Festival!
In addition to these four main sacrificial dates, some families in certain regions also attach great importance to the sacrificial activities on the "birthday" of an ancestor in the family and the "death anniversary" of the day he or she died.
In South Korea, the whole country, officials and people hold activities to worship their ancestors on the same day. Perhaps during the interview, the pictures looked spectacular and the people were united. That's because their land area is too small and their total population is too small. According to the territorial area of China, it is just one province. It is very easy to let the people of a province hold a holiday on a certain day.
It is different in China. There are dozens of provinces and even in each prefecture-level city in a province, the customs and habits are not the same. Some areas attach importance to New Year's Eve sacrifices; some areas are most grand during the Zhongyuan Festival, and the Double Ninth Festival in some areas will be very spectacular, although most areas are more accustomed to worshiping ancestors during the Qingming Festival.
Take the sacrificial activities of the Ghost Festival as an example. The ways in which people in different places carry out these activities are completely different.
In 2011, Hong Kong applied for the "Chao People's Yulan Festival" to become a national intangible cultural heritage. This is the most grand and large-scale folk activity of the Ghost Festival in Hong Kong, including burning street clothes, Yulan Festival taboos, Yulan Festival magic drama, Bodhisattva King, peace rice, and bidding for lucky items.
In 2014, the "Ziyuan River Lantern Festival" applied by Guangxi also became the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage. The most distinctive activity in the region is the Ghost Festival, when river lanterns are placed in the river for sacrifice and prayer. There are various styles of river lanterns, and the scene when many people light and place river lanterns in the river together is extremely spectacular.
In 2021, Laiwu's Ghost Festival customs were successfully applied to be a national intangible cultural heritage. Their sacrifices and prayers during the Ghost Festival also have methods and characteristics that are in line with the living habits of local people, which is different from other regions.
Therefore, the "Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival" applied for by South Goryeo is at best just a sacrificial activity and traditional custom of the people in a local area. It does not count as snatching the Dragon Boat Festival. Instead, it is the evolution of different customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in different regions.
Following South Korea's approach, Hong Kong, Guangxi, Shandong and Laiwu can all go to the United Nations to apply for their local Ghost Festival activities to be listed as intangible cultural heritage. In theory, all of them can be successful in the application. It is not the case that the successful application of Guangxi will cancel or deny Hong Kong's Ghost Festival celebrations.
Some netizens who are unaware of the truth feel indignant about certain intangible cultural heritage activities that South Korea has applied for to the United Nations simply because they were led astray and deceived by those articles that were taken out of context.
And what about the United Nations now? When some so-called "celebrity" can give speeches in it by paying a little money; when some internet celebrities can organize a group to visit and attend banquets by paying a little money; when it is completely reduced to a tool of interest for certain countries and is dedicated to serving specific countries, then that's it, and there is no need to care too much.
He is no longer the United Nations in CCTV, but just a funny clown who fools the world.
. . .
Xia Haoyang seriously consulted the property management and asked where he could legally burn paper money near the community.
It really does.
In order to facilitate urban residents' sacrifices, the Yancheng government allows certain crossroads in the city to be opened for centralized and standardized paper burning on the day of the Ghost Festival, and the crossroads at the entrance of the community is a centralized point.
This made Xia Haoyang very happy, because he really didn't want to let the pregnant Zeng Jingyi go to a place like a cemetery. Although he usually didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he still had to avoid things that should be avoided.
The two went to the supermarket to buy food, and then found a place to buy some incense and paper money, planning to worship at the intersection at night.
"Brother, can we find some time to go to the temple and burn incense?"
In the afternoon, Xia Haoyang was busy in the kitchen cooking and washing vegetables, while Zeng Jingyi was standing at the kitchen door with nothing to do, chatting with them idly.
"Why do you suddenly want to burn incense? Go to Badachu?" Xia Haoyang turned around and looked at Zeng Jingyi. Speaking of burning incense and praying for blessings, Xia Haoyang, as an outsider, first thought of Badachu.
"Why go to Badachu? If you have to go, you should go to Hongluo Temple. There is a saying among the people that 'Men go to Yonghe Temple and women go to Hongluo Temple'. If you want to pray for a successful career and wealth, of course you should go to Yonghe Temple. And if you want to pray for marriage and children, you must choose Hongluo Temple." Zeng Jingyi is a native of Yancheng. Although she does not believe in Buddhism, she knows these places in Yancheng very well.