The Historical Origin of Nuwa Festival

Shexian county is located in the southwest of Hebei province, at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces. There is a royal palace on Huangshan Mountain, the ancient clock in the west of the city 10 km, covering an area of 550 mu. The main buildings are Yuan Chao Palace, Tingyi Palace, Guangsheng Palace and Forbidden City, which are divided into two groups: the mountain and the mountain, and the middle is connected by Panshan Road 18.

Nu Wa is the ancestor of China people. During the matriarchal clan society 6,500 years ago, Han ancestors lived along the Qingzhang River near Wagong, and then moved to the mountainous area to fight floods and control water, set up altars to worship and reproduce human beings. Later generations built temples here. The existing buildings were rebuilt in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and Taoist and Buddhist buildings coexisted, which became the material support of Nuwa culture.

Mainly based on the historical evolution of temple fairs, it represents the historical origin of Nuwa culture in Shexian County. Legend has it that Nu Wa's birthday is on March 18th of the lunar calendar. Every year from the first day of the third month to the eighteenth day of the third month of the lunar calendar, people from all directions come here to worship Nuwa, who has a history of more than 1000 years. Qing Jiaqing's Shexian Annals records: "The Moon of Ji Chun, the phase rate is praying here (the palace of the imperial palace). Everyone gets what he wants. There are Qin Jin in the west, Qingyan in the east, Yu Liang in the south, Yanji in the north, and thousands of miles to help the old and bring the young, and to enjoy their dedication. The sound of golden drums cheers has shaken the valley for more than a thousand years. " During this period, it experienced a tortuous development period of ups and downs. After the temple was built in the Northern Qi Dynasty, there were small-scale temple fairs. Later, after the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the temple fair expanded year by year and lasted for a long time, reaching its peak in the Qing Dynasty.

Nuwa culture in Shexian county has a long history and rich contents. Tile Palace was built in Tianbao period of Northern Qi Dynasty, with a history of 1450 years. It mainly includes folk sacrifices, prayers and wishes, pilgrimages, myths and legends, life customs, festivals at the age of New Year and so on. There are records about Nu Wa in the historical materials such as Songs of Chu, Book of Rites, Historical Records, Classic of Mountains and Seas, The West Chamber, Lanmingxun of Huainan Zi and Records of Shexian County in Jiaqing, Qing Dynasty. On the north bank of the lower reaches of the Zhanghe River in Linqing, Shexian County, it was the kingdom of Shahou in ancient times, and Shaxian County was established in the Han Dynasty. Later, Han changed his name to Shexian, because people on both sides of the strait waded into Zhangshui on foot. From the Wei Dynasty to the Northern Qi Dynasty, they are all Linshui County, which belongs to Wei County of Xiangzhou. The palace is located on the Phoenix Mountain in Tangwangqiaogou, which is 10 km northwest of the county. In the Western Han Dynasty, it was called Imperial Mountain in ancient times. According to legend, it is here that Nu Wa dug earth to make people, and refined stones to make up the sky. "Huainanzi" in the Han Dynasty contains: "The four poles were abolished in the past, Kyushu was split, the sky was not covered, and the land was incomplete; The fire is rotten and the water is inexhaustible; Wild animals eat people, while birds prey on the old and the weak. So nuwa refined five-color stones to make up the sky, and the broken claws were enough to set up four poles, killing the black dragon and helping Jizhou, and accumulating reed ash to stop the lewd water. Tianli, the four poles are positive, the water is dry, Jizhou is flat, the worms die, and the people's livelihood is ruined. " "Huainanzi Lan Mingxun" also contains: "Creation, Nuwa loess sitting in the audience, she is unable to provide. She threw a rope into the mud and lifted it like a human. "

After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), folk worship continued. During the "Cultural Revolution", the Wagong Temple Fair was imprisoned as a feudal superstition, which led to the disappearance of the Millennium Temple Fair, which was neglected and neglected. Wahuang ancient buildings and stone carvings have also been destroyed to a great extent, and many contents and forms of Nuwa culture are on the verge of extinction.

1978 After the reform and opening-up, the Wagong Temple Fair began to recover and gradually restored its former splendor. The scale of folk sacrifice is huge, pilgrims from all directions gather here, and the forms of sacrifice are rich and colorful, and the culture of Nuwa is continued and strongly protected. The county party committee and government attach great importance to ancient cultural sites, and allocate special funds for the rescue and restoration of ancient buildings in Wahuang every year. 1October 20th, 1996, 165438, Wagong was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

There were public sacrifices in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Qing Jiaqing's Shexian Annals recorded: "I practiced in Shunzhi, Kangxi and Yongzheng. Every March 18 is the birthday of the gods, and there is a ceremony to pay homage to the priests. From the first day of the month to the twentieth day, the temple gate opened and scholars and women from far and near gathered. " But the form and content have been lost. In September 2003 and September 2004, under the leadership of the government, two large-scale public sacrifice ceremonies were held and the government public sacrifice was resumed.

The above measures have played a very good role in protecting, inheriting and carrying forward the rich and profound Nuwa culture.