Editor's note:
The cross-strait joint sacrifice of Fuxi is a major and creative humanistic measure, which is full of national feelings that the two sides of the strait are one family and blood is thicker than water, and is a cultural gene of compatriots on both sides of the strait with the same roots, the same language, and the same culture.
Lanzhou, 3 Mar (ZXS) -- Why does "Fuxi" send homesickness?
——Interview with Li Ningmin, research librarian of Tianshui Museum, and Huo Zhijun, executive director of Fuxi Cultural Research Institute of Tianshui Normal University
China News Agency reporter Ding Si
The annual Qingming Festival is approaching, seeking the roots and asking the ancestors, cautiously pursuing the long term, and the Fuxi ceremony of the cross-strait joint sacrifice of the first ancestor of Chinese humanities with the theme of "the same root, the same ancestor of China" has become a sustenance for nostalgia. Taiwanese people crossed the strait to come to Tianshui, Gansu, the birthplace of Fuxi, and Tianshui, Gansu, also organized a Fuxi cultural exchange delegation to Taiwan to participate in the festival.
What is the significance of the cross-strait joint sacrifice of Fuxi? Why is Fuxi culture admired by people on both sides of the strait? What enlightenment does Fuxi culture have for the development and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and civilization? Li Ningmin, research librarian of Tianshui Museum, and Professor Huo Zhijun, executive director of the Fuxi Cultural Research Institute of Tianshui Normal University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East-West Question" for in-depth interpretation.
The 2022 (Nonyin) Public Festival of the First Ancestor of Chinese Humanities Fuxi Grand Ceremony was held in Gansu Tianshui Fuxi Temple Square. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Tianshui Municipal Party Committee of Gansu Province
The following is a summary of the interview:
China News Agency: Why does the Chinese nation sacrifice Fuxi? What are the similarities and differences in the etiquette regulations of the two sides of the strait sacrifice to Fuxi?
Huo Zhijun: In the ancient Chinese history and legend system, the Fuxi clan was a creation hero in the historical stage of transition from matrilineal clan society to patrilineal clan society, fishing, hunting and animal husbandry to agriculture, and barbarism to civilization in ancient times, with a unique status and extraordinary contributions. Based on Fuxi and its cultural creation activities, the ancient ancestors and sages of all generations gathered many production inventions on the Fuxi clan, and gradually formed a rich Fuxi culture through deductive processing and enhancement expansion, coupled with the derivation and transmission of folklore and belief. Therefore, Fuxi is not only a real human and tribal leader, but also a symbol and cultural symbol of the times, and then became the humanistic ancestor respected by the Chinese nation, ranking "the first of the three emperors and the first of the hundred kings".
From ancient times to the present, ancestor worship is an important spiritual gene for the Chinese nation to reproduce and inherit and maintain vigorous vitality, and going home to worship ancestors and visit the tomb every year on Qingming Festival is a typical embodiment of ancestor worship. According to legend, Tianshui, Gansu is the birthplace of Fuxi and the birthplace of Fuxi culture, and as early as more than 2000,1988 years ago, there was a tradition of sacrificing Fuxi in the Weishui River Basin. In 2005, Tianshui resumed the public sacrifice Fuxi ceremony. Since 6, the public festival Fuxi ceremony has been hosted by the Gansu Provincial People's Government and is scheduled to be held on June 22 every year. In 2014, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait achieved a common sacrifice for the first time.
The 2014 (First Sino-noon) Public Festival of the First Ancestor of Chinese Humanities, Fuxi Ceremony, was held in Tianshui. At the same time, the Datiangong in Chiayi City, Taiwan also held a local Fuxi festival. Photo by Ding Si
Li Ningmin: I haven't verified how many Fuxi temples there are in Taiwan. I have the impression that although the scale of Taiwanese temples is not very large, there are many of them. I have been to the Fuxi Temple in Taipei and Yilan twice. Taiwan's Fuxi Temple enshrines many statues, including the God of Wealth, Queen Mother and Niangniang to meet the different spiritual needs of the people, and the Fuxi Sacred Statue is enshrined in the most central position. It not only reflects the diversity of beliefs, but also confirms that Fuxi has an important position in the hearts of the Taiwanese people.
The ritual procedures of the folk sacrifice of Fuxi on both sides of the strait are basically similar, and they are all traditional Chinese sacrifice rituals, mainly including welcoming the gods, welcoming the pang wen, calming the gods, incense, offering offerings, kneeling, praying, and sending gods. However, there are slight differences in the form of expression, and the Tianshui Public Festival usually gathers more than 10,000 people at home and abroad, including drumming and bells, reading sacrifices, music and dancing sacrifices, offering flower baskets and flowers, and paying homage to icons. The overall ceremony of the Taiwan Fuxi Festival is grand and simple, wearing traditional sacrificial costumes to participate in the festival activities, and the ceremonies are held in Taipei, Chiayi and other places, with thousands of people.
The 2018 Cross-Strait Tribute Ceremony to Fuxi, the first ancestor of Chinese humanities, was held in Taipei City. Photo by Lu Mei
China News Agency: What efforts have the two sides of the strait made to achieve a common sacrifice to Fuxi? What is the point of joining hands in sacrifice?
Li Ningmin: In 1988, Tianshui resumed the public sacrifice Fuxi ceremony, and Mr. Xue Qingquan, the host of Taiwan's Fuxi (Bagua) Temple that year, attended the ceremony. Since then, every year in Taiwan, groups or individuals have come to Tianshui to participate in the public sacrifice of Fuxi, remember Fuxi's great achievements, pay homage to Fuxi, and seek their roots. Wu Boxiong, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, Yu Muming, former chairman of the New Party, and Jiang Xiaoyan, Chen Zhenxiang, Zhan Chunbai, and Lin Fengzheng, former vice chairmen of the Kuomintang, all went to Tianshui to participate in the public sacrifice and Fuxi ceremony.
In order to facilitate more Taiwanese people to participate in the local Fuxi sacrifice activities and strengthen cross-strait cultural exchanges, after consultation between relevant parties on both sides of the strait, the annual Tianshui Public Festival Fuxi Festival and Taiwan Fuxi Festival have been launched simultaneously on the same day since 2014. To this end, on June 2014, 6, Tianshui Fuxi Temple held a solemn ceremony to send the Taihao Fuxi Icon to Taiwan for worship. The Fuxi icon is 18 centimeters high with the dragon throne, which is consistent with the appearance of the Fuxi statue of Tianshui Fuxi Temple. In order to express its devotion, Taiwan respectfully invites the representative to fly all the way to Taiwan after receiving the icon from the Tianshui Fuxi Temple. After arriving in Taiwan, a solemn Fuxi icon seating ceremony was held in the Datiangong of Chiayi City on June 48. At the request of relevant Taiwanese authorities, on June 6, 21, Tianshui Fuxi Temple presented another Fuxi icon to Taiwan's Sanchong Xianxian Palace.
In 2016, the ceremony of paying homage to the first ancestor of Chinese humanities was held simultaneously in Taipei and Tianshui, Gansu. The picture shows the guests performing incense at the Fuxi Icon at the sacrificial ceremony held in Taipei. Photo by Chen Xiaoyuan
Huo Zhijun: Every year, the number of Taiwanese people who come to Tianshui to participate in the public festival Fuxi Festival continues to increase (ranging from 70 to 300 people). In order to promote cross-strait cultural exchanges, relevant parties on both sides of the strait have made arrangements to achieve common sacrifices across the strait. In order to cooperate with the Fuxi Festival in Taiwan, Tianshui formed a Fuxi cultural exchange group of nearly 20 people to participate in the festival in Taiwan. Since 2020, Taiwan has built a "cloud" platform for the joint sacrifice of Fuxi, and more than 5,2021 visitors from Taiwan have visited. In 4, the cross-strait joint worship ceremony was broadcast live on Facebook, with 5,2022 online live viewers, and in 19, the cross-strait joint sacrifice ceremony was broadcast live on YouTube, with more than <>,<> online live views.
Hand in hand to sacrifice reflects the common praise of the Chinese sons and daughters on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to Fuxi, the first ancestor of humanities, and highlights the sacred status of Fuxi in the hearts of compatriots on both sides of the strait. At the same time, the cross-strait joint sacrifice showed that "the two sides of the strait are one family" and was full of the affectionate sustenance of the people on both sides of the strait looking forward to the reunification of the motherland and the gathering of compatriots.
The 2019 (Jihai) Public Ceremony was held in Tianshui, Gansu, and representatives of people from all walks of life on both sides of the Taiwan Strait worshipped Fuxi, the first ancestor of Chinese humanities, at the Fuxi Temple. Photo by Yang Yanmin
China News Agency: Today, what contents of Fuxi culture are still admired by people on both sides of the strait? With the Fuxi culture as a bridge, what exchanges and cooperation have been carried out between the two sides of the strait?
Huo Zhijun: As the "root culture" of the Chinese nation, Fuxi culture not only has a long history, is broad and profound, but also keeps pace with the times and is full of cultural creative vitality, many of which are still admired by people on both sides of the strait. Specifically, it includes dragon culture, gossip dialectical thinking, etc., which are the centripetal force and the glue of national unity for the Chinese nation, compatriots at home and abroad. The spirit of creativity, dedication, and harmony embodied in the Fuxi culture are common to compatriots on both sides of the strait.
With the Fuxi culture as a bridge, the two sides of the strait have also carried out in-depth cultural, commercial and tourism exchanges. With the help of the Fuxi culture, compatriots on both sides of the strait drew the largest "concentric circles."
In March 2023, "I Have a Date with Four Seasons" - "Spring Outside the Car Window" tourism theme promotion and travel merchant inspection group walked into the Fuxi Temple Scenic Area of Tianshui City. Photo by Li Yalong
China News Agency: What reference and enlightenment do the two sides of the strait have for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the development and progress of Chinese civilization?
Li Ningmin: One year, we went to visit the Fuxi Temple in Yilan, Taiwan. The local people were very warm, and the members of the two-kilometer-long welcoming group beat gongs and drums to welcome us, and gave us warm hugs, just like the Tianshui Fuxi Temple Zhengyue Temple Fair. They also made many local traditional offerings to Fuxi, which were placed in the courtyard of Fuxi Temple, and we held a sacrifice to Fuxi together. They said, "You are really from the old ancestors' hometown" and "My mother's family is here," and everyone was very happy. In the minds of Taiwan compatriots, Fuxi is the common ancestor of everyone.
There is a street in Taipei City called Gangu Street and a road called Tianshui Road, and legends about the Fuxi Nuwa brothers and sisters getting married and reproducing human beings and creating gossip are also widely spread among Taiwanese people. Fuxi culture has become a spiritual link for cross-strait people's exchanges and integration, and it still has many times value.
In July 2016, the "Chinese Sons and Daughters Cultural and History Experience Camp and Taiwan Students' Silk Road Cultural Journey" was held in Lanzhou, with the participation of teachers and students from Taiwan universities and Northwest Normal University. Photo by Ding Si
Huo Zhijun: Fuxi culture is the origin of the Chinese nation and an important source of Chinese civilization. Today, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan compatriots, and overseas Chinese and Chinese all consider themselves to be "descendants of the dragon" and have their hearts for China. Although the myths and legends and folk beliefs of Fuxi Nuwa of various ethnic groups in China have their own characteristics, the spiritual core of Fuxi's painting to open the sky and Nuwa to create people has been passed down to this day, and has become an important force for condensing "diversity and integration" Chinese culture.
The cross-strait joint sacrifice of Fuxi is a major and creative humanistic measure, which is full of national feelings that the two sides of the strait are one family and blood is thicker than water, and is a cultural gene of compatriots on both sides of the strait with the same roots, the same language, and the same culture. It embodies the sense of identity and belonging of Taiwan compatriots, brightens the national identity of the Chinese nation, and plays an irreplaceable role in forging the sense of community of the Chinese nation and promoting the reunification of the motherland. Paying tribute to Fuxi together is also a grand ceremony to inherit the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, gather national strength, and enhance the sense of belonging, identity and honor of the Chinese sons and daughters. (End)
Respondent Profile:
Li Ningmin, research librarian of Tianshui Museum
Li Ningmin, a cultural and museum research librarian, enjoys the special government allowance of the State Council and a leading talent in Gansu Province (first level). Former director of Tianshui Museum, president of Fuxi College, director of China Museum Association, vice chairman of Gansu Provincial Museum Association, distinguished professor of Shaanxi Normal University, School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, expert of Gansu Province Cultural Relics Protection Technical Consulting Expert Database. He is currently the honorary director of Tianshui Industrial Museum and the honorary director of Tianshui Hongwen Museum. He has presided over and completed more than 20 cultural relics protection projects and scientific research projects such as Fuxi Temple, compiled and published more than 20 monographs and catalogs, published more than 10 papers, and been responsible for the creativity, planning and specific organization and implementation of public sacrifice Fuxi ceremonies and folk sacrifices for 17 consecutive years.
Huo Zhijun, executive director of the Fuxi Cultural Research Institute of Tianshui Normal University
Huo Zhijun, Ph.D., Executive Dean and Professor of Fuxi Cultural Research Institute of Tianshui Normal University, Master Supervisor, Leader of Chinese Classical Philology at the Master's Program of Chinese Chinese Literature First-level Discipline, and Selected as Gansu Province "Feitian Scholar" Distinguished Professor. In recent years, he has mainly studied the imperial history and literature of the Tang Dynasty, and Longyou local documents. He has presided over 2 projects of the National Social Science Fund and 1 sub-project of the major project of the National Social Science Fund. He has published 15 monographs, including "Tang Dynasty Royal History and Literature", "Collection of Gansu Dynasty Works", and "Longyou Local Literature from a Cross-cultural Perspective". He has published more than 90 papers in journals such as "Literature and Art Research", "National Literature Research", "Guangming Daily" and so on.