Tibetan Festival: Shoton Festival (Traditional Chinese Festival)

Overview of the Shoton Festival

The traditional Shoton Festival is held every year at the end of June and the beginning of July in the Tibetan calendar. In Tibetan, "Snow" means sour rice, and "Dun" means "eating" and "banquet". According to Tibetan interpretation, the Shoton Festival is a festival for eating sour rice, so it is also called "Snow". Yogurt Day”. Because there are grand and enthusiastic Tibetan opera performances and a grand Buddhist exhibition ceremony during the Shoton Festival, some people also call it the "Tibetan Opera Festival" and "Buddha Exhibition Festival." The traditional Shoton Festival begins with an exhibition of Buddha, and features Tibetan opera performances and Tibetan opera performances and mass garden outings as its main content. It also includes wonderful yak racing and equestrian performances.

The center of the festival is Norbulingka in the western suburbs of ***. This used to be the summer garden of *** Lama, the local political and religious leader. When the festival comes, a brightly colored tent city will emerge overnight in Norbulingka and the surrounding woods, and several lively and bustling festival streets will form. Almost the entire city has moved into this green world. All people live a wild life in singing and dancing. Deep and enthusiastic singing accompanied by unique musical instruments on the plateau spreads in the shadow of the trees. These are the most energetic days for Japanese people.

Origin of Shoton Festival

Shoton Festival originated in the mid-11th century AD. At that time, Shoton Festival was a purely religious activity. According to folklore, there are more than 300 Buddhist precepts, and the most taboo is killing. As the weather gets warmer in summer, vegetation grows, insects hibernate, and all things revive. During this period, monks will inevitably trample and kill lives when they go out for activities, which violates the precept of "no killing." Therefore, the precepts of the Gelug Sect stipulate that from April to June in the Tibetan calendar, lamas can only stay in the monastery and practice quietly with closed doors, which is called "Yale", which means "summer residence" until the end of June. Only then can the ban be lifted. When the ban was lifted, the monks left the temples and went down the mountain one after another. In order to reward the monks, the secular people prepared yogurt, held picnics for them, and performed Tibetan operas at the celebrations. This is the origin of Shoton Festival.

History of Shoton Festival

In the second half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the Qing emperor canonized the fifth *** Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso and the fifth Panchen Lobsang Yeshi , granting gold books and gold seals, so that the system of "unity of politics and religion" is strengthened. According to records, those who participated in the Shoton Festival performances were Tashi Sherba, Jongpa, Jianggar, Xiangba, Juemulong, Tazhong, Lunzhugang, Langzewa, Bindumba, Ruonaga, Xi Rong Zhongzi, Gongbo Droba and other twelve Tibetan opera groups. Therefore, this traditional national festival with a history of more than 300 years can be said to be a Tibetan opera festival in a sense.

Tibetan opera penetrated into the early stage of Shoton Festival, which was the beginning of the combination of religious activities and cultural activities, but the scope was still limited to temples. First, Drepung Monastery was the center of the activity, which was known as the "Drebung Shoton Festival". After the Fifth *** moved from Drepung Monastery to the Potala Palace, during the Shoton Festival every June 30th, he would always perform Tibetan opera performances in Drepung Monastery first, and then go to the Potala Palace the next day to pay tribute to the emperor. * Performance. After Norbulingka was built in the early 18th century, it became the summer palace of the Communist Party of China. Therefore, the Shoton Festival activities were moved from the Potala Palace to Norbulingka, and citizens were allowed to enter the park to watch Tibetan operas. After that, the activities of the Shoton Festival became more complete and a fixed set of festival rituals was formed.

Before the Western Communist Reform, every year on June 29th of the Tibetan calendar, Tibetan opera troupes from all over the country went to the Potala Palace early in the morning to report to the "Ziqia Lekong" in charge of Tibetan opera at the local government, and Perform simple ritual performances. Then rushed to Norbulingka to pay tribute to ***, and returned to Drepung Monastery that night. The next day (June 30th) is the Drepung Shoton Festival, with a day of Tibetan opera performances. On July 1st, five troupes from ***, Shikabei, Qiongji, Yalong, Doilungdeqing, Nimu and other places, six "Tashi Sherba" troupes, a yak dance troupe and a "Zhuoba" "Dancing and Drumming was performed jointly in Norbulingka. From July 2nd to 5th, four local theater troupes, including Gyantse, Angren, Nammulin, and ***, will take turns to perform square plays for one day each. During the five-day Shoton Festival, the Kashag *** has a holiday, and all officials must concentrate I went to Norbulingka to watch a play with Mr. Kashag. Every day at noon, the Kashag hosted a banquet for all the officials, and they had to eat sour milk during the banquet.

After the democratic reform in 1959, the content of Shoton Festival became more abundant. During the festival, Tibetan people near *** City flocked into Norbulingka in small groups, old and young, carrying various baggage and highland barley wine barrels. During the festival, in addition to local Tibetan opera troupes, Tibetan opera troupes from Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces come to the holy city to compete in opera arts. In addition to watching Tibetan operas, people also set up colorful tents under the shade of trees, spread mats and carpets on the ground, and put out fruit wine, dishes and other festival foods. Some were talking and drinking, some were dancing and singing, and many cultural and artistic groups also came to perform folk songs and dances to add to the fun. The commercial department transported various materials and festival foods to Norbulingka and set up stalls and tents to supply tourists. In the afternoon, various families began to visit each other. The host toasted three sips of "Songzhun Nieta" wine to the guests. When urging the guests to drink, they sang drinking songs with different tunes. In each tent, they toasted to each other, which was very lively. In recent years, various agencies and units in the autonomous region have arranged large-scale cultural and artistic activities, academic seminars, and experience exchange meetings during the Shoton Festival, making the Shoton Festival even more significant.

Shoton Festival Activities

Shoton Festival is the most solemn festival in ***. Thousands of Buddhists flock to *** from all over the world to express their most pious With the heart in mind, we worship the supreme Buddha one step at a time. Buddhist believers go to the mountains to practice. After the practice, relatives at home bring yogurt to the mountains to greet them. On the way home, people eat yogurt, dance and sing. At this time of year, the main Tibetan opera genres from all over the country gather in Norbulingka for several days to perform and compete, and the scene is bustling. The most solemn Buddha-showing ceremony, the most joyful Tibetan opera performance, as well as yak racing, song and dance performances, the mysterious Tibetan style is all before your eyes.

Displaying Buddha in Drepung Monastery

As the prelude to the festival, displaying Buddha in Drepung Monastery is the most eye-catching ceremony. At 8 o'clock in the morning, on the mountainside behind Drepung Monastery, under the first ray of dawn, accompanied by the dignified and solemn sound of Buddhist trumpets, a huge 500-square-meter statue of Sakyamuni woven with colorful silk appeared. The statue of the nun gradually revealed its peaceful face... Tens of thousands of believers and deeply affected tourists all clasped their hands and paid homage.

Drepung Monastery was built in 1416 AD by Jiangyang Qujie, the fourth disciple of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the "Yellow Sect" of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It covers an area of ??250,000 square meters and is the largest * The largest Buddhist temple, the building complex is divided into the 4,500-square-meter Tsoqen Hall, the Doisong Lakang III Buddhist Hall, the Four Dracangs (Scholars), Ganden Phodrang Hall, etc., because of its white exterior wall buildings leaning against the mountain. The temple looks like a big pile of rice from a distance, and the pile of rice is called Drepung in Tibetan. This is the origin of the name of Drepung Monastery.

Tibetan Opera

Tibetan opera performance is another highlight. Starting from the second day of the Shoton Festival, in the Longwangtan Park opposite Norbulingka and Potala Palace, Tibetan opera is sung non-stop from 11 a.m. to dusk every day. It is said that due to limited time, this is to extract the essence of the play. Otherwise, a play will be sung for several days. The performers will enjoy themselves and the viewers will never tire of it.

Card mats were spread on the grass, and relatives and friends sat around leisurely, placing the highland barley wine and butter tea brought all the way, as well as various Tibetan snacks made by themselves, many *** Listening to Tibetan opera, while shaking the prayer wheel or twisting the prayer beads.

The stories of Tibetan opera include "King Nosa", "Princess Wencheng", etc. Its high-pitched and moving singing voice, ups and downs of monologues, magical and magnificent facial makeup, simple and solemn costumes, and graceful and moving dance postures have gone through the ages. After more than 600 years of refinement, Tibetan opera exudes a unique charm that is natural and rich in heritage.

The significance of Shoton Festival

Over the past 200 years, *** has seen the coexistence of Drepung Shoton, Potala Shoton and Norbuling Shoton. Among them, Roblin The card is centered. The Shoton Festival is an important festival for the Tibetan people and a concrete manifestation of the continuity of Tibetan cultural heritage. Celebrating this festival well is of positive significance for Tibetans to maintain the uniqueness of their national culture, enhance national unity and safeguard the cultural diversity of the world.

With the evolution of history, the Shoton Festival has now become a traditional and modern festival that integrates traditional Buddhist exhibitions, cultural performances, sports competitions, investment promotion, economic and trade negotiations, commodity exhibitions, and tourism and leisure. Extravaganza.

Contents of the Shoton Festival

On the 29th day of the sixth lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, we will do some "humor", which is equivalent to the current leadership interviews and opening ceremonies, that is, Tibetan opera groups in various regions Come to the Potala Palace, Norbulingka, and Drepung Monastery.

On the 30th day of the sixth lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, we engage in the traditional "Drepung Shoton". This day is the Buddha Bathing Festival held in Drepung Monastery. The large thangka with brocade and embroidered Buddha statues dozens of feet high will be carried by hundreds of young and middle-aged lamas in a long snake position, accompanied by religious bands, to the Shops were hung on the steep back cliff to the northwest of the temple, allowing tens of millions of monks and laypeople to come to pay their respects and worship. At the same time, this day is also the day when the iron lama "Gegui" who maintains the normal order of political and religious activities in Drepung Monastery changes his position every year.

On the first day of the seventh month in the Tibetan calendar, various groups went to the Potala Palace and the places specified by Norbulingka to worship and perform the "Xiepo" ceremony.

On the second day of the seventh lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, Tsechalkong, monks and lay officials set up tents and curtains at a location in Norbulingka, and placed carpets, card mats, food and entertainment utensils, etc., in preparation. Used for activities such as watching theater, playing, and worshiping. Starting from this day, the four major blue mask troupes take turns to perform officially.

From the 3rd to the 6th of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, it is stipulated that the four major blue mask groups of the later period, namely Zhongba, Jianggar, Shangba and Juemulung, will take turns to perform a performance on the Norbulingka stage. What I am good at all day long are whole traditional plays, such as "Jiu Budun Yue Dunzhu", "Prince Nosang", "Princess Wencheng", "Baima Wenba" and so on. These days are the first stage of Tibetan opera performances during the Shoton Festival.

On the seventh day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, Tashi Sherpa, the largest early White Mask Tibetan opera group, also held a one-day performance in Norbulingka. The opening ceremony "Jialu Wenba" and the ending ceremony "Tashi" of the White Mask Sect are mainly performed to indicate the successful conclusion of the main activities of the Shoton Festival, to celebrate blessings and pray for good luck.

From the 8th to the 15th of the seventh month in the Tibetan calendar, various Tibetan opera troupes perform in various areas of ***, which is called "*** Shoton".

After the 16th day of the seventh month in the Tibetan calendar, Juemulung can perform in places other than Linkuo in *** city. Individual Tibetan opera groups from other places are also invited to perform in the suburbs outside the city. However, generally They began to return to their own areas.

On August 1 of the Tibetan calendar, the "Sela Qia Season" festival, that is, "Sela Shoton" begins.