Zhongyuan Festival: The Traditional Chinese Ghost Festival
Introduction
The Zhongyuan Festival is an ancient traditional festival in China, standing alongside the Shangyuan Festival (Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month) and the Xiayuan Festival (on the 15th day of the tenth lunar month) as three important festivals. It is a significant day for ancestor worship in Chinese culture. The festival customs are quite complex, as it is both the folk "Ghost Festival" and the Taoist "Zhongyuan Festival".
Origins of the Zhongyuan Festival
Historical Origins
The Zhongyuan Festival originated from the early "Mid-July" agricultural harvest celebrations and ancestor worship rituals. The origin of "Mid-July" can be traced back to ancient ancestor worship and harvest ceremonies. In ancient times, people often attributed agricultural丰收 to the blessing of gods. As Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty wrote in "Chunqiu Fanlu·Four Sacrifices": "In ancient times... there were four sacrifices a year. These four sacrifices correspond to the harvest seasons, during which people worship their ancestors and parents. Therefore, there is the spring sacrifice, summer sacrifice, autumn sacrifice, and winter sacrifice." While ancestor worship occurred throughout the year, the "autumn sacrifice" held particular importance.
Autumn is the harvest season, when people would hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to their ancestors' spirits, presenting the season's finest produce first to the gods before enjoying the fruits of their labor themselves, while praying for a good harvest in the coming year. Historical records indicate that autumn ancestor worship ceremonies existed as early as the pre-Qin period. Initially, the date of the "autumn sacrifice" was not fixed but gradually became established around mid-July, typically on the first full moon after the autumn equinox, marking the arrival of autumn.
Integration and Evolution
The custom of ancestor worship on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month has existed since ancient times and was originally a folk ancestor worship festival rather than a "ghost festival". The designation of "Mid-July" as the "Zhongyuan Festival" originated from Taoist beliefs after the Eastern Han Dynasty. Taoism recognizes three officials: the Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official, collectively known as the "Three Official Emperors". These are celestial representatives sent to earth who inspect human merits and demerits on the "Three Yuan Days" to determine rewards and punishments: "The Heavenly Official bestows blessings on Shangyuan Festival (15th day of the first lunar month), the Earthly Official grants pardons on Zhongyuan Festival (15th day of the seventh lunar month), and the Water Official resolves misfortunes on Xiayuan Festival (15th day of the tenth lunar month)."
The Earthly Official governs the underworld, so the focus of inspection naturally falls on all ghosts. It is said that on Zhongyuan Festival, the gates of the underworld open, and all ghosts leave the underworld to be examined. Ghosts with living descendants return home, while those without wander the human world searching for food, hence the name "Ghost Festival". Widespread activities include worshipping ghosts and lighting lotus lanterns to guide the spirits back home. Taoist temples hold grand ceremonies for good fortune, with Taoist priests performing rituals to transcend the souls of the deceased.
Legendary Stories of the Zhongyuan Festival
The Folk "Ghost Festival"
As the name suggests, "Ghost Festival" is a "festival for ghosts". The concept of "ghosts" and "ghost festivals" primarily emerged alongside and derived from the traditional Chinese virtue of "filial piety".
The Chinese nation is known for its emphasis on propriety and has always valued paying respects to ancestors. Elderly people may still remember that during annual Spring Festival ancestor worship, couplet banners often read: "Roots and Source" or "Remembering Origins", aiming to teach people not to forget their ancestors. From this concept comes the idea of a "festival for ghosts". China has four major ghost festivals: Qingming Festival, March 3rd, July 15th (or 14th), and October 1st.
On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, people pay respects to deceased ancestors by burning paper money, expressing missing for loved ones. This extension of family affection and reminder of one's own mortality endows the "Ghost Festival" with rich cultural connotations. Although the methods of worship are simple, they essentially preserve the sincere and practical significance of the festival. Despite changing times and different offerings, the deep missing and remembrance of departed loved ones remain forever engraved in the hearts of the living.
Whether through burning paper money to send blessings, offering chrysanthemums to express grief, online ancestor worship, or releasing river lanterns, the purpose remains the same: to collectively remember those who have passed away and send blessings to ancestors. This is a spontaneous expression of human spirituality and an extension of emotion; it reminds the living to cherish each day, not to unworthy society and loved ones, nor those who have departed forever.
The "Ghost Festival" originated from the traditional virtue of filial piety and primarily expresses descendants' respect and remembrance of their ancestors.
The Taoist "Zhongyuan Festival"
Taoism refers to the "Heavenly Official", "Earthly Official", and "Water Official" collectively as the "Three Officials". It should be clarified that the "officials" in Taoism do not refer to human officials but rather "segments" in the flow of time and space, similar to the "officials" in Chinese Go terminology. These Three Officials are celestial representatives sent to earth who inspect human good and evil each year and report to heaven.
Taoism's Three Officials have their birthdays on the 15th day of the first lunar month, seventh lunar month, and tenth lunar month respectively, known as the "Three Yuan" (Three Origins). Taoists believe: "The 15th day of the first lunar month, the segment of the Heavenly Official, is called Shangyuan Festival; the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the segment of the Earthly Official, is called Zhongyuan Festival; and the 15th day of the tenth lunar month, the segment of the Water Official, is called Xiayuan Festival." Together, these three Yuan festivals constitute Taoism's understanding of the world as a "Three-Yuan Unity" system.
Chinese Taoism differs from other world religions in that many religions emphasize "unity of god and human", which often leads to the deification of religious propagators. In Chinese Taoism, the propagators are not "gods" but "humans". Therefore, when spreading moral ethics, Taoists must practice "teaching according to aptitude". For those with average wisdom or limited time for deep self-reflection, Taoists use storytelling to "teach through entertainment".
The Taoist "Zhongyuan Festival" is essentially a festival for spreading Taoist ethics, encouraging people to focus on cultivating virtue on this day. On Zhongyuan Festival, those with the ability and leisure gather to study Laozi's "Tao Te Ching", exchange ideas, and reflect on themselves.
According to legend, a man named Chen Zidao married the Dragon King's daughter and had three children on the 15th days of the first, seventh, and tenth lunar months respectively, who became the Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official. These Three Officials are responsible for "bestowing fortune", "granting pardons", and "resolving misfortunes" in the human world. Possessing boundless magical powers, they inspect the human world on their respective festival days to evaluate people's moral character. Those with good moral character receive blessings, while others may face punishment.
As a tolerant religion that always allows for self-renewal, Taoism's Zhongyuan Festival is not only a day for "rewarding good and punishing evil" but also a Chinese-style "day of repentance" and "day of atonement". Those who have committed transgressions during the year can examine themselves through various rituals on Zhongyuan Festival and seek forgiveness from "heaven", "earth", and "humans".
Each year on July 15th, during the Zhongyuan Festival, when the Earthly Official reviews records and grants pardons, he takes out thick ledgers and, based on the performance of immortals, humans, and animals, makes marks to grant pardons and reduce punishments. Therefore,民间 performs various worship activities on this day to save lonely ghosts and spirits, hoping the Earthly Official will pardon all their sins.
The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is simultaneously the folk "Ghost Festival", the Taoist "Zhongyuan Festival", and the Buddhist "盂兰盆节" (Yulanpen Festival). Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism each take what they need, achieving "three teachings in one" and "three streams converging as one". Throughout China, on the evening of July 15th, according to the custom of remembering ancestors, families release "water lanterns" (also called river lanterns or lotus lanterns). These lanterns are typically made in the shape of lotus petals with candles inside, floating on rivers to universally salvation lonely spirits.