My hometown is Feng Tang Town, a remote southern town, which belongs to Lingshan, Qinzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. In order to highlight the regional characteristics and let others know more about the characteristics of their hometown, hometown people always bring the name of the town when they mention the cannon period, which is called "Feng Tang cannon period".
Feng Tang's artillery battle has a long history, which originated from the custom of setting off firecrackers in the first month of the Spring Festival. "The Chronicle of Jingchu" said: "On the first day of the first month, chickens crow and firecrackers are set off in front of the court to avoid evil spirits." Hometown people generally believe that the artillery period originated here.
In fact, the earliest record of firecrackers should be in Miracle Classic. The book reads: "The West Mountain is full of things, more than a foot, more than a foot, not afraid of people. When you commit crimes, it is cold and hot, which is called fear of mountains. Later generations will follow its shape and use gunpowder. "
Although the artillery period originated earlier, it really developed into an established cultural habit from the late Ming Dynasty. At that time, there were more than 20 villages in the town, separated by mountains, and it was not very convenient for people to communicate with each other. In order to avoid festival conflicts and allow relatives and friends in each village to walk around each other, the ancestors chose a day in the first month as their respective gun festivals by drawing lots.
The shooting period starts from the fifth day of the first month and ends on the twentieth day of the first month. The 13th day of the fifth lunar month is also the biggest shooting period. Every village in the town 17 held a gun festival. If you want to go there, you need to check the map and calendar in advance. Why? Because the villages with cannon dates are not close to each other, and there is no cannon date on the seventh, sixteenth and seventeenth day of the first month.
As for why there is no gun period in these three days, no one can tell. Some people say that these three days originally had a cannon period, but because their corresponding village merged with other villages in the development process, the corresponding cannon period was cancelled. Because there is no textual research, the "village-to-village theory" is just speculation.
The cannon period is a grand festival for hometown people. People are quite picky about how to live. What's the point? Politeness and sincerity.
On the day before the Gun Festival, people in the village, with respect, consciously gathered to set up a fort, build a colorful building, set off fireworks and clean the altar. The village is decorated with lanterns, couplets and banners.
Early that morning, every household in the village began to welcome friends and relatives to visit. The lion and dragon dance teams shuttled between the mountain roads and performed in front of the houses. Say a few good words to the host after the performance and ask for lucky money. Hometown people call it "Congratulations".
Equally busy, there are fellow villagers who do small business. In order to choose a good location, some people began to occupy the venue with snakeskin bags or a few bricks the night before. Early in the morning, businessmen set up stalls on both sides of the road. All kinds of businessmen came. Barbecue vendors, popcorn vendors, marshmallows vendors, apple vendors, orange vendors, sugar cane vendors, toy vendors ... there are selling voices everywhere, and there is a delicious barbecue smell everywhere. People visit relatives and friends, gossip, come and go, and kiss each other.
Selling things during the gun period is called "grabbing guns". When I was a child, I often followed my mother to catch a gun. Sometimes I sold toys, sometimes I sold fruits, and more often I sold my own sugarcane. There is no car at home. We usually get up at four or five in the morning and ride bicycles to push the goods to the village where the cannons are placed.
Selling things is similar to temple fairs in Beijing. However, the temple fair in Beijing is limited to one park, while the artillery period in my hometown is all over the village. As soon as you enter the village, you will find people everywhere. On the mountain, on the mountainside, at the foot of the mountain, between mountain roads, on the basketball court, in the paddy field, by the fish pond, and so on. There must be someone out of sight.
As a symbol of the cannon festival, it is a cannon. There are two kinds of guns, small fireworks and big fireworks. Small fireworks are generally 1 m high and about 30 cm in diameter. The height of fireworks is generally between 1.6 m and 2 m, and the diameter is 40 cm to 80 cm. Also known as "the king of fireworks".
These fireworks were not bought, but made by the villagers themselves. Use fine and beautiful bamboo and tough bamboo to build the outline, then seal several edges with sandpaper and rice paper, then draw on the paper with brushes and pigments, and finally put homemade firecrackers in it, and the fireworks will be ready.
If the fireworks are replaced by colored lights, the fireworks in the discharge period will become lanterns. Lanterns are elegant, fresh and beautiful. The Lantern Festival in my hometown is mostly like this. The handicraft skills of making fireworks everywhere show the unique charm of the hometown fireworks period, attracting many people to go. Last year, I heard from my sister that there were several foreigners in the town. Think about it, the reputation of my hometown during the artillery period spread further and further. I am very happy. As the saying goes, what belongs to the nation belongs to the world.
The ceremony in the artillery period is divided into five steps: offering guns, welcoming guns, sending guns, shooting guns and grabbing gun paper. The grand and unique celebration ceremony is the highlight of the gun period. Therefore, at the beginning of the ceremony, the whole village people, both the host and the guests, will go out to watch. Many tourists also attended the ceremony.
"Sacrificial fireworks" need to be placed on the altar. After lunch, people in the village began to "greet the guns". The bunting team, the rifle team, the music team, the waist drum team, the money ruler team, the flower fan team, the dragon team and the lion team performed successively to welcome the fireworks on the altar. Then a team of more than 300 people sent fireworks, carrying pig heads and fireworks, and carrying "Gong Xian" around the main roads, alleys and hutongs in the village. Finally, fireworks were sent to the "battery" where colorful flags fluttered. Batteries are usually set in rice fields around the village.
When shooting, there was a sea of people around the gun field. Thousands of pairs of eyes look in the same direction together. People's ears cover for a while and then let go; Gunfire, laughter.
As soon as the gun was fired, people poured into the gun field, fighting for colorful pieces of gun paper. "Grab the gun paper" can bring good luck. Until the gun paper is not much, and the smell of gunpowder gradually disappears, people just shout:
"A-mei, go home!"
"Brother, wait for me, I haven't put away my gun paper yet!" ……
The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, and the grass where people stood was trampled.
In the evening, every household will hold a banquet to entertain the distinguished guests, relatives and friends who come to celebrate. After dinner, guests who are in a hurry to go home leave directly; Those who are not in a hurry to go home will stay for the night and watch evening programs, such as basketball games, open-air movies, literary evenings and so on.
In recent years, the artillery period in my hometown has also kept pace with the times. It is said that during the cannon period, there will be seminars for entrepreneurs to go abroad, investment fairs, forums for respecting the elderly and caring for the young, ceremonies for helping poor children, awards for outstanding students and so on. It can be seen that culture has always been alive, and it always develops and enriches with the trend.
Gun Festival is a festival for hometown people, and it is a festival for hometown people to show their traditional skills, pray for beauty and get to know each other. It is precisely because of these colorful skills and active people everywhere that this festival is so grand and warm.
On the first day of the first month, I came to my hometown to participate in the artillery period. You must be filled with emotion when you hear the "rumble" of guns. Aren't they cries of hope?