What are the typical folk activities of the Frost Festival of the Zhuang people?

The Zhuang Frost Festival is a typical folklore activity of the Zhuang people, mainly popular in Tianwait, Daxin, Debao, Jingxi, Napo and other counties in the Zhuang region of Guangxi, of which the Zhuang Frost Festival in Xiangdu area of Tianwait County is the most typical, and the influence of its festivals extends as far as Yunnan and Vietnam. The Zhuang Frost Festival is held within nine days after the frost in the lunar calendar and is attended by tens of thousands of people every year. Relying on the rice culture of the Zhuang people, the festival was originally a form of rewarding nature and celebrating a good harvest for the Zhuang people, expressing their good wishes for a good harvest.

From the historical point of view, after the Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, the Frost Festival of the Zhuang was integrated into the commemoration of the national heroine Mrs. Wah (1496-1555), originally surnamed Cen, was the daughter of Cen Zhang, a native official of Guangxi. She was smart and studious since childhood, studying poetry and books with her father, practicing martial arts, and proficient in the art of war. When she grew up, she married Cen Mang, a native official of this state. During the Jiajing period, Cen Mang served as the governor of Tianzhou, and when she was in office, Mrs. Wah assisted him in managing the state's affairs, building a righteous school, promoting education, gathering displaced persons, and stabilizing the order.

When the Japanese invaded the southeast coast of China in 1553, Cen Dalu, a native official of Tianzhou, was a young man, his great-grandmother, Mrs. Washi, who was already in her twilight years, resolutely responded to the imperial court's call for troops and trained 7,500 Zhuang soldiers to fight in the war under Yu Dayou, who, in the battle of Wangjiangjing (north of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, present-day China), defeated the Japanese by combining with the "native soldiers" of Hunan Province. In the battle of Wangjiangjing (north of Jiaxing, present-day Zhejiang Province) in the war against the Japanese, the "native soldiers" of western Hunan were united to defeat the Japanese invaders and won a major victory. In the cruel war against the Japanese, several sons and grandsons of Mrs. Wah died bravely for the country. Later, the deeds of her family full of loyalty were known to the emperor, and she was grandly conferred the title of Lady of the Second Rank by Emperor Jiajing. Her heroic deeds of leading generals to fight against Japanese invaders have also been commemorated for generations to come.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Zhuang Frost Festival entered its heyday, with not only the people worshipping the festival, but also the state officials, who often wore official uniforms and led the crowd to pay homage to the festival, and the exchange of materials also became more prosperous. Before the Zhuang Frost Festival, the old people began to busy preparing items to be sold in the Frost Festival stalls. Later, merchants from all over the world came to sell their goods, and even Vietnamese merchants came from far away. In addition, there are also mountain song duets (songs to pass on history, songs to make friends, songs to pass on love), theater performances, and visits to friends and relatives. After the reform and opening up, the Zhuang Frost Festival became even more prosperous, and in addition to the traditional contents, activities such as praying for longevity as well as basketball and tug-of-war competitions were added.

Today, the local Zhuang Frost Festival in Tianwait County lasts for nine days. During the event, people from all over the world rush to Xiangdu from all directions to feel the continuation of more than three hundred years of folklore activities, the scene is extremely spectacular. The number of participants each year is as many as 100,000, and the activities are mainly based on the ethnic culture of the Zhuang Frost Festival, with the contents of rituals and prayers for blessings, thousands of people playing the hammer, worshiping the capsule sea show, mountain song duet, the "Long Milk Lady" drama, national martial arts performances, basketball competitions, playing the gyroscope, playing the ruler and other ethnic sports competitions, food festivals, trade and other colorful folk activities. Through the annual Zhuang Frost Festival activities, effectively show the Zhuang folk customs, cohesion, promote national unity, the formation of folklore and folk diversification.