Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c12.s1.t2: Buddhism and Chinese Popular Festivals

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c12.s1.t2

Language: English

Buddhism and Chinese Popular Festivals

Buddhism has great influences on folk festivals greatly. From the perspective of Buddhism, Chinese festivals can be divided into three types on the whole: firstly, with the introduction of Buddhism brings new festivals to China such as Bathing Buddha Festival, Ullambana Festival, etc. The contents of these festivals and conventions change with different tendencies in the long-term social transformation from imitating ancient Indian customs to sinicising constantly, while some contents disappear gradually and new contents increase little by little. Secondly, some Buddhist festivals integrate with traditional Chinese festivals and form mixed festivals. For example, Laba Festival combines with the day of winter sacrifice, so that ancestor worship and Buddha worship are integrated. Yuanxiao Festival combines Lantern Festive and Shangyuan Day. Ullambana Festival mixes with Hungry Ghost Festival and has richer contents including Buddha worship, ancestor worship, sweeping tomb and releasing lantern. Thirdly, Buddhism participates in activities of traditional Chinese festivals, and many of them melt into Buddhist contents, eg Double Seventh Festival, Pure Brightness Festival, Double Ninth Festival, etc. On one hand, Buddhism provides appreciation sites or entertainment items for festival recreation; on the other hand, Buddhist ceremonies are held to pray for believers or to form a connection with the masses in other ways.

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The 'Feast of all souls' ceremony celebrated in the renchen year, 15 of the 60 year cycle at Jingan monastery in China

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New Year's Day in the Lunar Calendar, Buddhist pilgrims at the White Horse Monastery at Luoyang in Henan to pray for blessings

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Yuanxiao Festival

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Celebrated on the 15ᵗʰ day of the first lunar month, it is one of the largest traditional Chinese festivals and is also called as Shangyuan Festival and Lantern

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Carnival during the Lantern Festival at Chenghao monastery in Shanghai

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Festival. Its origin was very early and no later than the 1ˢᵗ century CE. However, the Lantern Festival was influenced by India. India celebrated a Lantern Festival, and it was a large national festival. It had influences on Buddhism and affected Chinese Lantern Festival through Buddhism. The Lantern Festival Fair in Tang Dynasty was very lively, both emperor and the common people participated in it actively. It had profound Buddhist colours. Shangyuan Festival had the convention of releasing living creatures in temples in the 10ᵗʰ century, which reflected the Buddhist concept of not killing.

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Lantern Festival in Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) lasted very long, and its Buddhist contents reduced obviously. After Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Buddhist colours of Lantern Festival became weaker.

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Bathing Buddha Festival

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Celebrated on the eighth day of fourth lunar month, it is the earliest Indian Buddhist festival accepted by the Chinese. According to Mahayana classics, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month

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A religious assembly of monks from the Donglin monastery at Lushan in Jiangxi, China

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was Buddha’s birthday and its folk name was Bathing Buddha Festival. After Buddhism was introduced into China, Chinese Buddhists began to hold Bathing Buddha Festival in the 2ⁿᵈ or 3ʳᵈ century CE. The action of bathing the Buddha originated from India. The content of “Parading the Buddha” was added when the activity of bathing the Buddha was held in Jin Dynasty (around 4ᵗʰ century CE). “Parading the Buddha” means parading Buddha’s image in a carriage. Shi Hu of Late Zhao in Jin Dynasty (reigned between 335-349 CE) ordered skilled craftsmen to make a sandalwood carriage, which carried the golden image of the Buddha to parade, nine dragons were made to jet out water to bathe the image, which was magnificent and luxurious. In the period between the 5ᵗʰ and 6ᵗʰ century CE, the activity of “Parading the Buddha” was held in the south and north of China in Bathing Buddha Festival, which was learned from India. ‘*Biography of Faxian*’ recorded India’s parading the Buddha in detail.

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In Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties period (late 6th century to mid-10th century CE), celebration activities were held on eighth day of the fourth lunar month. In the spring of 14th year of Xiantong (873 CE), the emperor sent out an imperial decree to order eminent monks to meet bones of the Buddha in Famen Temple of Fengxiang, and they were buried in Chang’an on April 8 in the lunar calendar. Common people lined the streets to hail. Transformation from bathing and parading the Buddha to meeting with the Buddha was a great event in the late Tang Dynasty.

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In the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), ceremonies of bathing the Buddha and activities of releasing living creatures were held on the day of Bathing Buddha Festival. Besides releasing living creatures, people worshipped the Buddha and prayed for blessings or did some other good things on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911 CE), the activity of releasing creatures on the day of Bathing Buddha Festival was not very flourishing in the north, and the activity of forming connection with beans replaced it, and the beans were boiled and distributed to the people to eat. In the southern water regions, the activity of releasing

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The end of the summer retreat (a Buddhist practice), chanting sutras and taking care of oneselves

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A scene celebrating the birth festival of the Buddha on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar

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Watermelon lanterns on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing

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A parade on the occasion of the bathing ceremony of the Buddha at a park in Taibei in Taiwan, China

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living creatures flourished in West Lake particularly.

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**Ullambana Festival** (15th Day of the seventh lunar month) was a traditional Chinese festival and was named “Zhongyuan Festival” by Daoists, and “Ullambana Festival” by Buddhists. Meanwhile, the summer retreat of Buddhist monks was dismissed, and it was also called “Pavarana Day”. Under the influences of Buddhism, common people called this day as “Ghost Festival”. Ullambana Festival originated from Buddhism, and was based on the Ullambana Sutra. Imperial family in the Tang Dynasty attached more importance to it than Buddha’s Birthday Festival on April 8 in order to show filial obedience, and it promoted Ullambana Festival all over the country to propagate filial piety.

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In the period of the two Song Dynasties, both governments and common people paid great attention to Zhongyuan Festival. People worshipped the Buddha and their ancestors, and abstained from eating meat on the basis of filial piety, but they didn’t forget entertainment. They watched a play ‘*Mu Lian Saving His Mother*’. Volume 4 of ‘*Dreams of Past Glories of Bianliang*’ recorded that “ten thousand of lanterns were released on rivers” on the evening of July 15 in the lunar calendar.

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The activity of releasing lanterns in Ullambana Festival was very prominent in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Chinese were influenced by Indian folk customs through Buddhism, and the convention has been held in India since ancient times.

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New Year's Day

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It is celebrated on the first day of first lunar month. The 'First Lunar Month' in volume I of *Dreams of Past Glories of Bianliang* of Wu Zimu in Song Dynasty wrote that “the first day of the first lunar month was named Yuandan and was called as New Year popularly. It was the first season of a year... No matter poor or rich people visited temples in constant streams.” It talked about New Year’s Day in Lin’an (Hangzhou) which was the capital of Southern Dynasty, and people went to visit temples on this day. Temples can become recreational places at such times because people can pray for happiness throughout the entire year on the first day of New Year, as well as appreciate the view. It is worthwhile to note that Yuandan here was different from New Year today, and it meant the first day of the lunar year, ie Lunar New Year’s Day. According to the statement of *Records of Annual Functions in Jing-Chu Area*, the first day of each month was a day of fast. The record that people went to visit temples on New Year’s Day was consistent with the aforesaid statements. New Year’s Day was traditional Chinese festival, but was influenced by Buddhism.

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Nirvana Festival

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It is celebrated on the 15^th day of second lunar month. According to the record in *On the Second Lunar Month* in volume I of *Dreams of Past Glories of Bianliang*, the 15th day of the second month of spring was Flower Fairy Festival, monks and nuns in temples of Zhangjiang held Buddhist Nirvana Grand Fair on this day, offered various kinds of flowers and fruits, hung calligraphy and painting works of celebrities, displayed precious gadgets and decorated bodhimanda magnificently and many people got together in constant streams. It can be seen that local people celebrated Flower Fairy Festival and Nirvana Festival jointly.

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[Figure: *A painting by Wang Hongli of Song Dynasty* *depictin prayers to the Demon Moharaga during* *the Qixi Festival*]

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*Parade celebrating the “Feast of All Souls” at Zhabei in Shanghai, during the middle of the 20th century*

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Avalokitesvara's Birthday

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It is celebrated on the 19^th day of the second lunar month. It is said popularly that the 19th day of second lunar month was Avalokitesvara’s Birthday, so Avalokitesvara Fair shall be held on this day in China. Commemorating and prayer activities are held in the north and south of China. People pray for sons, peace, promotion and fortune.

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Summer Retreat Day

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It is celebrated on the 15^th day of the 4th lunar month. Zong Lin, in his *Records of Annual Functions in Jing-Chu Area*, wrote that “monks and nuns hung alms bowls in temples, which was named Summer Retreat.” Indian Buddhism stipulates that nuns and monks shall not go out in rainy seasons and avoid harming living creatures, which is called “Rain Retreat”. The climate in China differs from India, and it is stipulated that the period between April 16-July 15 in the lunar calendar is known as “Summer Retreat” or “Summer Mediation”. It is also named Retreat System. This was the internal stipulation of Buddhism originally but was related to the populace, so some believers provided offerings during this period and governmental departments provided funds sometimes.

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*Placing lanterns in the river in the evening on the occasion of the ceremony on the 'Feast of all souls'*

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Eating rice porridge during Lapa Festival

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Double Seventh Festival

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It is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month. A traditional festival in ancient China, it was also called “Night of Skills”. This festival was related to an old folk legend closely, ie the story of the Cowherd and Weaving Maid. Because there were prayer activities, like “Praying Skills” in ancient Double Seventh Festival, ie the maids prayed Vega (the moon in another statement) for skills by threading needles, so this day was also named “Maids’ Festival”.

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Recreational activities of Double Seventh Festival were rich in Song Dynasty. A very important programme was held, which was named selling and playing Mohele. Mohele is also called as Mahoraga, and is a kind of clay doll. According to investigation of scholars, the name of this kind of doll came from Buddhism. Some people thought that it was related to Rahula, the son of Sakyamuni, and others thought that it evolved from the great black god Mahakala of Tantric Buddhism. In any case, it’s commonly believed that it was the product of Buddhist influence.

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Kshitigarbha Festival

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It is celebrated on the 15^th day of seventh lunar month. It is said that it was Kshitigarbha’s birthday (there was another saying that it’s his nirvana day). In the Qing Dynasty, in Beijing people went to temples for worship and celebration, and temples held Dharma assemblies. Incenses were burnt and lotus lamps were lighted beside roads at night, and streets were bright as day in the capital.

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Mid-autumn Festival

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It is celebrated on the 15^th day of eighth lunar month. It is one of the traditional Chinese folk festivals, and originated from the myth of Lady in the Moon. It was related to Buddhism later. In the Qing Dynasty, Beijing people cut watermelon into lotus petals and let moonlight shine on them, which symbolised fullness, or they drew lotuses on paper, and person sitting on lotus was named “Bodhisattva of Moonlight”, symbolising happiness and prosperity. Some women even went to Buddhist nunneries to join in on the celebrations.

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Double Ninth Festival

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It is celebrated on the ninth day of ninth lunar month. Double Ninth Festival was also named “Hill-climbing Fair”, “Daughters’ Festival” and Chrysanthemum Fair, etc., and different names were given according to different activities that were held. In the Northern Song Dynasty, several large temples held “Lion Fair”, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sat on some fake lions to accept offerings, and monks rode on lions to chant sutras, which attracted a lot of audience.

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Laba Festival

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It is celebrated on the eighth day of the 12^th lunar month. China celebrated “the day of winter sacrifice” in the Han Dynasty and it was confirmed as the eighth day of 12^th lunar month in some regions in the south in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. *Records of Annual Functions in Jing-Chu Area* wrote that “the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was the day of winter sacrifice, and proverb said that spring grass grew once winter drums were beaten.” Villagers beat fine waist drums, wore Hu masks, and acted as Vajra-warriors to dispel diseases.” It’s proven that folk activities on the day of winter sacrifice had been influenced by Buddhism.

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In the Northern Song Dynasty, the 8th day of the 12th lunar month was the festival of monks, but common people participated in celebrations. There were two activities held in large temples in Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Dynasty, including Bathing Buddha Fair and eating Laba porridge. It’s commonly said that Buddha became enlightened on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month. Bathing the Buddha and eating porridge on the Enlightenment Day had good grounds. According to Buddhist scriptures, Sakyamuni had practised austerity for six years after he adopted monastic life and he thought that austerity could help him to be enlightened finally, so he made the decision to terminate austerity. He came to Niranjana River to bathe in it and washed the dirt accumulated in past six years. After the bath, he became tired because of austerity. At that moment, the shepherdess Sujata offered him milk porridge. After drinking it, Sakyamuni restored his physical strength, and he came to sit under a bodhi tree. After 49 days of meditating, he became enlightened after the appearance of the morning star. He bathed and ate porridge before his enlightenment which was the origin for Kaifeng to hold Bathing Buddha Fair and eating Laba porridge in Northern Dynasty. Bathe Buddha was held twice-a-year by large temples in the capital on Buddha’s Birthday and Enlightenment Day in Northern Dynasty.

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In Southern Dynasty, Bathing the Buddha wasn’t held on the eighth day of 12th lunar month, and people only ate Laba porridge. Hereafter, the convention of eating Laba porridge on the eighth day of 12th lunar month has been kept till now.

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Besides the above-mentioned festivals, the 21ˢᵗ day of the second lunar month (Samantabhadra's Birthday), the fourth day of fourth lunar month (Manjusri's Birthday), 13ᵗʰ day of seventh lunar month (Mahasthamaprapta's Birthday), 22ⁿᵈ day of the eighth lunar month (Dipamkara's Birthday), the 30ᵗʰ day of the ninth lunar month (Bhaisajyaguru's Birthday), and 17ᵗʰ day of 11th lunar month (Amitabha's Birthday) had certain influences on common people.