Chinanews.com, Foshan, November 11 (Reporter Cheng Jingwei) The Autumn Festival Ceremony of the Ancestral Temple in Foshan, Guangdong kicked off in front of the third gate of the Foshan Ancestral Temple on the 5th.
According to reports, the Foshan Ancestral Temple "Spring and Autumn Festival" is the earliest official ritual of the Pearl River Delta to worship the true martial gods, and it is also the only Spring and Autumn Festival in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area that has been upgraded to the Spring and Autumn Festival, which is an important folk activity that has been communicated and interacted with by the officials and people in Foshan since the Ming and Qing dynasties and enhanced the people's sense of happiness, and has a history of nearly 600 years.
The village sage reads the memorial text. Courtesy of Foshan Municipal Archives
As the opening drama of the "2023 Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Week and Foshan Autumn Color Parade", this year's Foshan Ancestral Temple Autumn Festival Ceremony revolves around the theme of "Praying for Lingnan and Celebrating China", featuring the Foshan Ancestral Temple culture of protecting the country and the people, and restoring the tradition. The entire autumn festival ritual process is composed of nine links, including the Beidi ceremonial guard, the sacrifice worship, the incense ceremony, the reading of the sacrificial text, the sacrificial wine ceremony, the worship of the Beidi, the sacrificial dance, the golden pig cutting, and the cannon salute, which reproduces the historical grand occasion.
The scene of the autumn festival of the ancestral temple of Foshan. Courtesy of Foshan Municipal Archives
In the evening of the same day, the township drinking ceremony was held in front of the Wanfu Terrace of the Ancestral Temple of Foshan. Guests and seniors from foreign sister cities, domestic and foreign countries gathered together to talk and have fun. While eating big pot of choi around the table, they enjoyed the Cantonese opera performance on the Wanfu Stage, and felt the profound meaning of Foshan's folk culture in a happy and peaceful atmosphere.
Township drinking ceremony is an important official etiquette in traditional Chinese society, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Foshan every time the village drinking ceremony was held in the ancestral temple, widely invited elderly squires to participate, through the village drinking ceremony to promote etiquette, promote social virtues.
It is reported that the 2023 Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Week and Foshan Autumn Color Parade will organically integrate traditional and modern elements, focusing on enhancing the participation of citizens, including the "Food and Intangible Cultural Heritage" Food Exhibition, the Ancestral Temple Autumn Festival, the Township Drinking Ceremony, the Autumn Color Competition, the Autumn Color Parade, the "Hearing and Intangible Cultural Heritage" Concert, and the special performance of the Xinjiang Jiashi County Art Troupe. (ENDS)