China Guide 2008

According to Chinese lunar calendar, June 19th is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is a famous traditional festival – Duanwu festival.For thousands of years, Duanwu has been marked by eating Zongzi and racing dragon boats.

The taste of Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China. Zongzi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, while Eastern China people like to stuff Zongzi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor.

Duanwu is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, because dragon boat races are the most popular activity during the festival, especially in Southern China. A dragon boat is shaped like a dragon, and is brightly painted in red, white, yellow and black. Usually, a dragon boat is 20 to 40 meters long, and needs several dozen people to row it. Boatmen row the boat in cadence with the drumbeats, as the captain standing in the bow of the boat waves a small flag to help coordinate the rowing. Before the race gets underway, a solemn ceremony is held to worship the Dragon King.

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History of Nuo

In the West, people dress up at the end of October in masks and costumes to exorcise evil spirits haunting the towns. It’s called Halloween. It was originally a Celtic ritual to drive away the devil. Later, these activities developed into masquerades and festivals. China has its own version of this kind of ritual. It’s called “Nuo”.

“Nuo,” also called the “Nuo sacrifice” or “Nuo ceremony,” was originally a type of sacrificial and magical ritual held to expel evil spirits and pestilence. Its name is derived from one of such rituals, where people shouted “nuo, nuo” to drive away the devil.

Nuo has a long history. It started twenty thousand years ago. Nuo originally meant a patterned step to drive away evil during the last month of the Chinese lunar year. Later, Nuo evolved into a dance. The purpose of Nuo was to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and to petition for blessings from the gods. At this time, Nuo was a sacrificial activity. (more…)

Tie-dye is a dyeing technique similar with the arts of batik, also adopts dye-resistant technique.  The difference is that batik parts of the fabric not intended to be dyed are covered with removable wax; but tie-dye parts of fabric are enlaced and bundled in order to resist to be dyed.  The bundled parts of fabric show the natural color transition generating various beautiful patterns, as the permeation of the dyestuff. 

Tie-dye has centuries-old history in China.  Far back to 1300 years ago, the cloth made by tie-dye technique had been popular in Tang Dynasty.  One emperor of Song Dynasty once claimed to forbid the civil use of tie-dye technique and title it for royal family only in 10^th centre.  The ancients of White Nation, a minority of China, already knew this dyeing technique greatly well over 1000 years ago, and had developed this technique to be a unique part of the culture of White Nation.  (more…)