The 2007 Sacrifice Offering Ceremony for the Yellow Emperor will
be held in Xinzheng on April 19 (the third day of the third month
of the lunar calendar), the emperor's birth anniversary.
Xinzheng, a county-level city in Zhengzhou, is the hometown of
the Yellow Emperor, or Huangdi, the common ancestor of the Chinese
people.
Twenty thousand people, including leaders of the central and
local governments, delegations from China's Hong Kong and Macao
special administrative regions and Taiwan Province, and Chinese
delegations from overseas will attend the ceremony.
The three highlights of the celebration will be the construction
of the Surname Culture Square, the building of the Sacred Fire
Altar before the Yellow Emperor's sculpture, and a torch relay to
be kicked off in his hometown.
There will also be a series of activities to mark the occasion,
including the Yellow Emperor Culture Forum, to be held in Xinzheng
from April 17-19, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion
of the sculptures of the Yellow Emperor and the Red Emperor in the
Yellow River Scenic Area in Zhengzhou. A High-Rank Forum on the
Yellow Emperor Culture on April 18 and a large-scale art
performance, both in Zhengzhou, as well as other trade, investment
and tourism promotion events will also be held.
Common ancestor
The Yellow Emperor was a great tribal leader born 5,000 years
ago in Xinzheng.
The famous historian Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty (206
BC - AD 25) states in his Historical Records that there were three
strong tribes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River
at the time: the Youxiong Tribe led by the Yellow Emperor, and two
others led by Chiyou and the Red Emperor respectively.
The Yellow Emperor made his tribe the strongest by teaching them
farming and helping them improve moral integrity.
The Youxiong and the other two tribes finally formed a union.
Many other tribes also joined the union, marking the first
unification of the Chinese nation. The Yellow and Red emperors are
thus regarded by the Chinese people as their common ancestors.
The united nation designated Xinzheng (then called Youxiong) as
the capital. In ancient times, locals also called it "City of the
Yellow Emperor."
To ensure cohesion among the tribes constituting the nation, the
Yellow Emperor gave up the totem of his own tribe, the bear, and
adopted a new totem with characteristics of various tribes.?
The collaborative animal was a dragon featuring a snake's body, a
fish's tail, lion's head, deer's horns, and eagle's claws. Since
then, the dragon has been the common totem of the Chinese
nation.
The dragon pervades life in China, from the imperial to folk
rituals, dragon dances in the north to the dragon boat races in the
south. The Chinese people also call themselves the descendants of
the dragon.
Another reason that the Chinese call themselves descendants of
the Yellow and Red emperors is that most of the Chinese surnames
originated from them.
The Yellow Emperor, who the Historical Records say was surnamed
Ji, had 25 sons. The sons lived in different places and were given
surnames according to the names of their residential areas.
During the reign of the Five Legendary Emperors (2600 BC - 1600
BC), the surnames of the Yellow Emperor's direct descendants
numbered 510, according to another historical account. A further
108 surnames were given to the descendants of the Red Emperor.
Such family names have been passed down to the present and been
disseminated not only throughout the nation but also to many other
countries and regions. No matter where they go, these families
never forget they are the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and the
Red Emperor.
Recorded history of holding the sacrifice offering ceremony on
the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar every year
to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Yellow Emperor dates
back to the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC - 476 BC).
(China Daily March 20, 2007)
