The Root-Seeking Festival, an annual ceremony commemorating the birth of the Yan Emperor (Yandi), was held on May 26 at Suizhou Emperor Yan Shennong native place scenic spot, in the city of Suizhou, central China's Hubei province.
The main ceremony of the Root-Seeking Festival. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
Yan Emperor is widely believed to be the common ancestor of all Chinese people, and Chinese people from all over the world are being called upon to salute their forebears.
Chinese people from home and abroad participated in the ceremony via video link or in-person to salute their common ancestor, in a bid to enhance consensus around Chinese identity and promote Chinese civilization and culture.
A poster of the Seeking Festival [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
Themed "Global Chinese: A Family Jointly Realizing the Chinese Dream," the festival included a main ceremony along with eight smaller activities that took place throughout May. The main ceremony featured a cauldron lighting and bowing, as well as an ancestral worship ceremony.
Cauldron lighting at the ceremony. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
The Yan Emperor, also known as Shennong or the "Divine Farmer," first emerged as a legendary figure among the Chinese people more than 5,000 years ago, and so is considered as the common forebear of all Chinese. It is believed that he was born on April 26 on the Chinese lunar calendar in Hubei's Suizhou city. Every year since 2009, the city has held a ceremony commemorating the emperor's birth.
He is celebrated for introducing major agricultural innovations to the Chinese people of ancient times. He is credited with the invention of "slash-and-burn cultivation" and for devising tools, such as the plough. He is also said to have sampled hundreds of plants in a bid to find the ideal ingredients to produce herbal medicines. He also pioneered the founding of markets for bartering and trade.
His achievements, alongside those of fellow tribal leader, the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), have long seen the two of them esteemed as the co-founders of both the Chinese nation and its civilization. This is why, traditionally, Chinese people refer to themselves as the descendants of Yandi and Huangdi.
The ceremony for the Root-Seeking Festival in Suizhou has become a national-level rite to revere Chinese ancestors and a renowned cultural brand of Hubei province.
The event has been jointly hosted by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Association for Yan Huang Culture of China, and Hubei provincial government.
