Zhangjiajie Folk Custom: Water-Splashing Dragon—A Rain-Praying Revelry
Zhangjiajie's Water-Splashing Dragon, also called 'Watering Dragon,' originated in the Tang Dynasty among the Bai people who migrated here, and is very popular in Xiyin and Mojiaogang villages of Yinjiaxi Town, Yongding District. It is a way for local Tujia, Bai, and Miao peoples to pray for rain and blessings during hot, dry spells. When drought strikes, local leaders organize the Water-Splashing Dragon performance.
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
The Zhangjiajie Water-Splashing Dragon, also known as the "Watering Dragon," originated and evolved during the Tang Dynasty from the Bai people who migrated to this area. It is very popular in Xiyin Village and Mojiaogang Village of Yinjiaxi Town in Yongding District, and is a form of rain-praying and blessing by the local Tujia, Bai, and Miao peoples during hot and dry seasons. Whenever a drought occurs, local prominent figures come forward to organize the Water-Splashing Dragon, and the performance is extremely grand.
The Water-Splashing Dragon is made of woven willow branches, consisting of a dragon head, dragon body, dragon tail, and a rolling treasure ball. The dragon's body generally has 12 sections, one for each month, and 13 sections in leap years. The dragon body is not covered with paper or cloth, but is simply inserted all over with willow branches, symbolizing the wish to "obtain willow-branch sweet dew water," and is accompanied by attendants carrying fish, shrimp, mussels, clams, and other figures. The dragon head has eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, horns, and whiskers, vividly lifelike, while the dragon tail curves upward and can sway left and right. The person holding the dragon head is usually a prestigious elder from the Tujia mountain village, while the dragon body and tail can be held by anyone. The rolling treasure is also woven from willow branches into a spherical shape, flying up, down, left, and right in front of the dragon's mouth to form a "dragon seizing the treasure." During the performance, bare-chested performers dance the dragon along the streets while onlookers splash water on them, soaking the dragon dancers from head to toe, all to pray for heavy rain—the more water, the greater the rain is believed to be, so everyone from surrounding villages joins in.
Today it has developed into a way to celebrate festive occasions and express good wishes for a happy life. It uses fresh palm leaves as the dragon's whiskers, and kudzu vine, yellow vitex branches, and pine branches as the dragon's body, divided into 9, 11, 13, 15, or other odd-numbered sections of different lengths, with 9 to 15 people participating in the dragon dance. Accompanied by the clanging music of gongs, drums, and suona, one person holds the 'treasure' in front, and when the dragon dance is lively there are more than 50 movements and play styles such as 'Two Dragons Snatching the Treasure,' 'Snake Shedding Its Skin,' and 'Black Dragon Twisting Around a Pillar.' At the same time, people in ethnic costumes use basins, water ladles, antimony buckets, and other containers to carry water and splash it around the dragon. In this way, while dancing they splash water; the more water splashed, the more joyfully the dragon dances, also wishing everyone favorable weather and a bumper harvest that year. The scene is joyful and festive, witty and humorous. It has been included in the first batch of the city's intangible cultural heritage protection list.
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