The origin of Binyang Cannonball Festival

Binyang Cannonball Festival is a unique traditional festival in Binyang County, Guangxi. It is a comprehensive folk festival born from the fusion of Han and Zhuang cultures. It has a distinct and rich ethnic color. It is held on the eleventh day of the first month of the lunar calendar every year. The Binyang Cannonball Dragon Festival has a long history with different origins, but the most festive account originates from the Song Dynasty battle between Di Qing and Nong Zhigao at Kunlun Pass. Di Qing, a famous general of the Song Dynasty in the fifth year of the Emperor's blessing (1053 A.D.), was trying to paralyze Nong Zhigao, a Zhuang leader who had revolted according to the pass. On the eve of the Lantern Festival, Di Qing ordered a three-day banquet feast and had his soldiers tie up dragons and dance, calling for firecrackers to be fired in every household to celebrate the carnival. That night, Di Qing led his elite soldiers to raid Kunlun Pass and captured it at the time of three drums. Since then, the residents of Pennsylvania City consider the cannon dragon dance to be auspicious. Every year at this time, they dance to celebrate the festival. The carnival continues to be passed down to this day. The Binyang Cannon Dragon Festival includes activities such as swimming in colorful racks, the Lantern Festival, and the Cannon Dragon Dance. The orders for the Cannon Dragon Dance are given by the chief commander (also known as the head of the meeting), and the dragon dancers go bare-chested and wear Qing Dynasty official hats (all made of bamboo and black). The Cannon Dragon will open the way with dragon cards, gongs and drums, and the Wenwu field. Binyang Cannon Dragon will open the way in advance, lighting and escorting the dragon will be prepared in advance of each household to clip the road, each household following the dragon to arrive to throw in the cannon dragon. There is a saying that the sound of the cannon will not stop, the dragon dance will not stop, so it is called cannon dragon.2 Cannon dragon is scheduled to open at 7:00 p.m. that night at the temple or country. The head of the meeting bites through the crown of the rooster and lights up the dragon's eyes with the blood of the crown, and ten thousand cannons are fired, and the dragon leaps up. In recent years, the Hundred Dragons Dance in Binzhou and other special brands have attracted many tourists at home and abroad, known as the Oriental Carnival.1 On June 7, 2008, the Binyang Cannonball Dragon Festival was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list