China News Service, Zhoukou, March 24 (Reporter Liu Peng) The 2595th anniversary of the birth of Laozi, the founder of the Chinese Taoist school, was held on the 24th in Luyi County, Henan Province, where Laozi was born. Domestic and foreign Laozi cultural research scholars, guests surnamed Li, and people from all walks of life in the cultural and artistic circles gathered in Luyi to pay homage to the sage.
People worshiped Lao Tzu in front of the Taiji Hall of Taiqing Palace in Luyi. Photo by Liu Peng
In 571 BC, on the 15th day of the second lunar month, Laozi (surname Li Ming'er, courtesy name Dan) was born in Qurenli, Li Township, Ku County, Chu State (now Taiqinggong Town, Luyi County, Henan Province). Lao Tzu was a great philosopher and thinker in ancient China. He was considered the ancestor of the Li family by the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. His masterpiece "Tao Te Ching" is considered to be the oldest philosophical classic in the world.
The Tao Te Ching was played at the festival. Photo by Liu Peng
Since the Han Dynasty, on every Lao Tzu's birthday, descendants have held temple fairs and worshiped at Laojuntai and other places in Luyi County, which has continued for generations and thousands of years.
On the 24th, the opening ceremony of the 9th China Luyi·Henan Province Intangible Cultural Heritage (Traditional Drama) Exhibition and the national intangible cultural heritage representative project "Laozi Ceremony" kicked off in Luyi, and people from all walks of life entered the Taiqing Palace. Attend festivals.
Pictured is the performance scene. Photo by Wen Jian
After the 9-gun salute of the Golden Age, the representative guests presented flower baskets, burned incense, and offered wine to the statue of Lao Tzu in turn. Li Bo, a well-known cultural scholar and professor of Nanjing Normal University, read the memorial text. All the guests bowed three times and paid homage. The ceremony was completed after worshiping "The Supreme Good is Like Water" with music and dance.
Pictured is the performance scene. Photo by Wen Jian
The reporter saw at the event that the Taiqing Palace was crowded with people that day. An endless stream of pilgrims went to the incense table in an orderly manner to offer incense and wine, and worshiped the statue of Lao Tzu with reverence and memory in front of the Taiji Palace.
Representatives and guests from all walks of life took photos. Photo by Wen Jian
As the "hometown of Laozi", Luyi County has in recent years implemented a strategy of integrating culture, tourism, and creativity, deeply exploring the unique "rich mines" of Laozi culture, and continuing to polish "the hometown of Laozi, the origin of Taoism, the ancestral home of Taoism, and the root of the surname Li" The four major cultural brands inherit and actively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional culture.
On the same day, the 9th China Luyi·Henan Province Intangible Cultural Heritage (Traditional Drama) Exhibition also kicked off at the Laozi Cultural Square of Taiqing Palace. In the next seven days, some representative national-level intangible cultural heritage projects of traditional drama will be performed here. This move is intended to show the unique charm of China’s excellent traditional culture to the public. (over)