Celebrating 'Gan Nian' in Tujia Villages
Celebrating 'Gan Nian' in Tujia Villages: 'Spring snow fills the sky, and flowers bloom wherever it touches; who can tell which trees in the garden are true plum blossoms?' Amid drifting auspicious snow, Spring Festival arrives. Spring brings busy fields, and the twelfth month brings busy preparations. As soon as the twelfth lunar month begins, every Tujia household is husking rice, turning millstones, making rice cakes, and gathering firewood—a scene of bustling activity. Everywhere you go, you see baskets full of puffed rice and cured meat...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Celebrating the 'Rushed New Year' in a Tujia Village
"Spring snow fills the sky as it comes, and wherever it touches, flowers bloom; I wonder which trees in the garden are truly plum blossoms." Amid the drifting auspicious snow, the Spring Festival arrives.
In spring, people are busy in the fields; in the twelfth lunar month, they are busy preparing for the New Year. As soon as the twelfth lunar month begins, every household in the Tujia village is husking rice in mortars, turning millstones, making glutinous rice cakes, and gathering firewood—a scene of bustling activity. At this time, no matter which house you visit, you will see baskets full of puffed rice, racks full of cured meat, jars full of sweet rice wine, and vats full of rice cakes. The old Tujia people say: after a whole year of toil, it all comes down to these few days: on the twenty-third of the twelfth month, send the Kitchen God up to heaven; on the twenty-fourth, the Tujia celebrate Minor New Year; on the twenty-sixth, every household grinds tofu; on the twenty-seventh, every household puffs rice; on the twenty-eighth, kill chickens and ducks and make rice cakes; on the twenty-ninth, the home has everything. Once the New Year goods are all prepared, they wait for the New Year. While others celebrate on the thirtieth of the twelfth month, the Tujia celebrate on the twenty-ninth; when others celebrate on the twenty-ninth, the Tujia celebrate on the twenty-eighth—in any case, one day earlier, hence it is called the 'Rushed New Year.'
On New Year's Day, family members rush back for the reunion dinner even from a thousand li away, as the saying goes: "Even a sparrow has its thirtieth night." There are also wandering souls stranded far from home who, on New Year's Eve, feel especially sorrowful and write poems to express their feelings: "Climbing the tower a thousand li away, I gaze toward my hometown; the river and sky merge in evening snow, the road vast and dim; I know from afar that on the hall's altar the Tusu wine is poured, and the family drinks all around, missing but one cup."
Before the reunion dinner, the elders first place a whole cooked pig's head on a steaming tray before the ancestral shrine, then pour eight cups of wine, fill eight bowls of rice, lay out chopsticks, and burn incense and paper money. The children kowtow and pay respects to the five directions—this is called 'hanging the meal,' also known as honoring the ancestors. Then they take wine, food, incense, and candles to the graves of departed kin to pour libations, burn incense, and burn paper—this is called 'sending light.' After midnight, the adults wake the children from their dreams, and the whole family gathers around a sumptuous table to begin the reunion dinner. During the reunion dinner, doors must be closed and bolted, and it is most taboo for outsiders to burst in. Thus the whole family eats and drinks together through the night until dawn.
According to legend, in the twelfth lunar month of the thirty-third year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1554 AD), the imperial court conscripted Tusi soldiers from Xiangxi to resist Japanese pirates. It happened to coincide with the New Year season, but military orders are as unshakable as a mountain, so the Tusi king ordered the New Year to be celebrated one day early. Because time was short, every household had to cut chunk-style meat, steam rice in wooden tubs, pour wine in big bowls, and cook pork, tofu, and radish together in one pot—commonly called 'mixed dish.' The currently popular 'Sanxiaguo' (three-ingredient pot) is a legacy of that mixed dish. After the New Year, the Tusi of Maogang and Sangzhi in Zhangjiajie, as well as Yongshun, Baojing, Rongmei (present-day Hefeng and Laifeng in Hubei), and Youyang, marched in mighty formation to the front lines. After three years of bloody battles, they finally drove the Japanese pirates out of the country. Emperor Shizong of Ming bestowed a plaque inscribed with 'First in Military Merit in the Southeast.' Thereafter, to commemorate the military achievements of the fallen heroes, the Tujia people have celebrated the great New Year on the night of the twenty-ninth of the twelfth month every year. Old chronicles record: "On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the soldiers were greatly feasted; on New Year's Eve, the Japanese were unprepared, and thus a great victory was won. Later generations followed this custom, and it became a family tradition."
As the saying goes, "Fire on the thirtieth, lanterns on the fifteenth." On the thirtieth night, every household must burn a very thick dry tree stump in the fire pit, and the whole family sits around the fire, eating puffed rice, candies, melon seeds, chestnuts, and sweet potato chips while chatting about everything under the sun, in a warm and peaceful atmosphere. The fire must burn brightly forever—a bright fire means prosperous people and wealth. Therefore, the Tujia people worship fire. The blazing fire must burn until dawn—this is called 'sitting out the year.' When the first crow of the village rooster is heard, the whole family rises, opens the door, and the eldest loudly chants the words for opening the gate of wealth: "The gate of wealth opens wide, gold and silver treasures roll inside; the four corners of the main hall, gold and silver treasures scooped up by the basketful; the main hall square and wide, gold and silver treasures fill the barn." At the same time, one person quickly lights firecrackers—seeing who can be the first to open the door and set off firecrackers. In an instant, the whole village comes alive... Old chronicles record: "On the first day of the first month, at the rooster's crow, firecrackers are set off, called welcoming the New Year." The Tujia people also call it 'snatching the New Year.'
The first day of the first lunar month has even more customs. First, one takes advantage of the dawn to carry firewood into the house, symbolizing 'bringing in wealth' (firewood and wealth are homophones in Chinese). On the first morning, women may sleep in, and men must not urge them to get up. After rising, the whole family kowtows to the elders to wish them a Happy New Year. The new daughter-in-law serves puffed rice tea and egg tea, and the elders naturally give red envelopes. On the first day, one does not visit other households; when relatives and friends meet, they bow with hands clasped, saying 'Happy New Year' or 'May you prosper.' A Tujia bamboo-branch poem records: "On New Year's Day, open the door to paper money flowers, red lanterns and green wine emerge to face the sky; returning home feels like a first-time guest, each calling out to invite New Year greetings." Before the third day of the first month, it is forbidden to draw water from the well or to splash water or sweep outside the door, for fear that family wealth will flow out. On the first day, one does not dun others for debts or borrow things. On New Year's Eve, a bundle of paper money is tied up, inscribed with words like 'Door God and Wealth Money,' set up on a seat for offerings, and burned on the third day of the first month—this is called burning door god paper. From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth, it is forbidden to speak coarse or unlucky words... Some villages still preserve the interesting ancient customs of feeding the fruit trees a New Year meal, cooking a New Year meal for the cattle, and paying New Year respects to the cattle.
There is a rural custom: on the first day, visit the family clan; on the second day, visit the in-laws. Starting from the second day, it is time to go out and pay New Year visits. Neighbors visit each other, relatives and friends visit each other. On the mountain paths, one can see New Year visitors dressed in red and green everywhere. Even strangers greet each other politely with 'May you be blessed.' A bamboo-branch poem says: "On New Year's Day, neighbors go to each other's homes, bowing and greeting tirelessly; remember we met just last night, yet today we must exchange pleasantries again." In the countryside, if there are feuding families, one New Year visit can dissolve all past grievances and restore good relations—showing that New Year visits are also a civilized spiritual activity.