Dragon Raises its Head
It is said that a geomancer named Liao Dao from Shaanxi came here from the "Longwei Mountain" in Shaanxi and confirmed that this place was the Dragon Head Mountain Range. A copper coin with a hole was pressed at the exact point of the mountain range as a mark. Soon, another geomancer named Hou Dao also came here and confirmed that this mountain range was the Dragon Head. He inserted a gold needle at the exact point as a mark. When Liao Dao was about to bury the golden bones brought from Shaanxi, he happened to meet Hou Dao. The two argued and went to the government office. After checking the ownership, the gold needle was inserted into the hole of the copper coin. It was judged that "the gold needle inserted into the copper coin, the two families have no chance, the public is beaten to build a temple, and peace will last for thousands of years." The name of "Longtou Mountain" has spread since then, and it has a long history from ancient times to the present. According to the stone tablet unearthed in the Ming Dynasty, the "Dragon Head Raising Festival" was designated as the "Zhonghe Festival" during the reign of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty; during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the second day of the second month was designated as the "Dragon Head Festival", and the third day was designated as the "Taking the Spring Festival". Since then, February 2 has become a grand festival in Longtou Mountain. Friends from all walks of life come to see the "dragon eye" of Longtou Mountain, bow and pray in silence to pray for good weather and good harvest in the coming year. The Dragon Head-raising Festival on February 2 every year is scheduled for three days (starting on the first day of the first lunar month, the main meeting on the second day of the first lunar month, and ending on the third day of the first lunar month). The content of the festival has developed from less to more, from simple to complex, and from low-level to high-level. There are many rural tools and supplies such as farm tools, furniture, agricultural materials, general merchandise, snacks, small toys, and medicine; there are rich and colorful cultural activities such as peep shows, folk art performances, dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, horse lanterns, and colorful lotus boats. The varieties of exchanges and exhibitions have expanded to more than a thousand kinds, and even advanced to high-tech. There are as many as 400 stalls and venues participating in the Dragon Head-raising Festival, especially rural, agricultural, and farmers' supplies account for more than 70% of the total commodities, and bamboo and wooden farm tools are the most prominent. Before the Dragon Head Festival every year, various materials are piled up like mountains at the Longtou Mountain venue, and they are sold out in three days. The sales volume of each session is more than 100,000 yuan. The Dragon Head-raising Festival in Lao Ma Township originated in the Tang Dynasty. Li Shangyin, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, served as the governor of Dongchuan in Zizhou in the seventh year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. In mid-spring, he was fortunate to participate in the Dragon Head-raising Festival in Lao Ma Township and wrote a poem in praise of it: "On the second day of February, I went up the river and heard the sound of the flute in the warm east wind. The flower whiskers and willow eyes are all rogues, but the purple butterflies and yellow wasps are all affectionate. I remember returning to Yuanliangjing after thousands of miles away, and I worked in Yafu Camp for three years. The new beach does not understand the intention of tourists, and the sound of the wind and rain on the eaves at night." From the Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republic of China until before liberation, due to the lack of cultural life, the Dragon Head-raising Festival was held every year, and it became more and more prosperous. Chen Ziang, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, passed by Longtou Mountain on his way to Beijing, and improvised a poem in Yaowang Tower, saying "I rested in Fucheng last night, and the sound of the beach startled the pedestrians. The boat has no north flowing water, and the iron hoofs are walking in the capital." The Dragon Head-raising Festival in Lao Ma Township is held, and commodity transactions and cultural activities are carried out with dragon sacrifice as a carrier, which has effectively promoted the development of local economic and cultural undertakings, and is of great significance for the inheritance of intangible culture. Information source: Mianyang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) Information source: Mianyang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)