On May 27, with the Dragon Boat Festival around the corner, a "dragon boat raising" ceremony was held in Wenchong Street of Huangpu District, Guangzhou. After beating drums and burning incense for a blessing at the dragon boat dock, the villagers strived to excavate nine dragon boats from the riverbed.

Considering the abundant rain and humid weather in Guangzhou, the villagers here tend to sink the hulls of the boats under the river, so that the wet mud can wrap the boats and protect them from being eroded by the air. By doing so, they manage to keep the belian-made dragon boats intact for centuries. Every year, after the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, as the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, the villagers will choose a lucky day to raise the dragon boats out of the water.

The "dragon boat raising" ceremony that day was comprised of multiple parts, including sacrifice offering and praying, dragon boats excavating, cleaning, and decorating. After traditional sacrificial rituals, the villagers jumped into the pond in front of the temple and swam to the dock where the boats were hidden. As they opened the gate to release the water, several 40-meter-long dragon boats gradually emerged from the river.

Soon afterward, the villagers worked together to raise the dragon boats from the water, clean up the sludges in the hulls and attach the dragon heads and tails to the boats. With such efforts, nine dragon boats from three streets (Xifang, Dongfang and Wenyuan) were brought to life again.

"We used to store the boats in the mud, and it would take a lot of effort to clean the boats after raising them. But now, we preserve the boats by simply filling water in them, and so it's easier for us to wash away the dirt." Said a villager who took part in the ceremony. Before April 28th of the lunar calendar, the villagers will drain the water out of the dock, set up the boats and carry out a series of processes, such as making some small fixes, painting flowers on the surface and coating the boats with lard, so that the boats can return to the best state.

From April 30 to May 8 of the lunar calendar, dragon boat performances will take place in many places. Dragon boat teams from different places will gather to present their skills, and their performances will not be graded. The villagers will carefully decorate the dragon boat of their village from the first day of the May of lunar calendar to the fifth day especially. The dragon boat performance day in Wenchong falls on May 2 of the lunar calendar, on which the "dragons" from different villages will come to celebrate the festival together.

At present, Wenyuan, Dongfang and Xifang each have different numbers of dragon boats in different styles.

There is also a household story about the different designs and colors of the dragon boats: In those days, people from the three lanes decided to select the color and design of the boats by drawing lots.

As a result, the dragon boats in Wenyuan are black in color, with a horse painted near the prow, while swords, gourds and flowers in different colors decorate the hull; whereas the dragon boats in Dongfang are pure black, covered by lard and black paint without any decorations of other colors; as for Xifang, their dragon boats are yellow in color, painted with the "talismans of the eight immortals" and decorated with daffodils, lotuses, peonies and litchis, as a symbol of good weathers and abundant harvests.

广州黄埔文冲“起龙”：湖底藏蛟龙，花船藏佳话

端午将近，5月27日，广州黄埔文冲街举行了“起龙”仪式，村民们在龙舟坞前敲锣打鼓、焚香祈福，合力将藏在水中的9条龙舟挖出。

广州雨水丰沛，天气较潮湿，为了保护龙舟，平时村民会将船身沉入河涌水下，并用湿滑的河泥包裹龙舟，使船身与空气隔绝。这样保存起来的坤甸木龙舟，可历经数百年不坏。每逢端午临近，农历四月初八之后，村民会选择良辰吉日把龙舟从水里打捞起来，即“起龙”。

文冲街当天的“起龙”仪式包括祭祀祈福、挖出龙舟、清洗装饰龙舟等多个环节。在进行传统的祭拜仪式后，参与“起龙”的村民跳进公祠前的水塘，游向水塘一角藏龙舟的船坞开闸放水，半晌工夫，多条约40米长的龙舟两端渐渐露出水面。

随后，村民们合力将藏在水中的龙舟挖起，把船身的淤泥等杂物清理干净，再将龙头龙尾装上。在他们的努力下，当天来自西坊、东坊、文元的9条龙舟恢复了往日雄风。

“以前是通过藏在淤泥中保存，现在通过船坞放水存放，泥藏的龙舟要仔细擦洗，水藏的龙舟轻松冲洗即可。”参与“起龙”的师傅告诉记者，在农历四月二十八前，龙舟要“上床”，即通过架空龙舟，把船坞里的水排干净，再对龙舟进行修补、调整、画花、涂抹猪油等工序，使龙舟达到最佳状态。

据介绍，农历的四月三十到五月初八的9天内，各地均有龙舟“趁景”，即各方龙舟前来应景，只表演技巧，不排名次。尤其初一至初五，各乡村将精心打扮龙舟，相互探访会友。文冲龙舟景定为五月初二，当天迎接各水乡游龙共度端阳。

至今，文冲龙舟分为文园、东坊、西坊，三坊各自拥有不同数量、不同花色外表的龙舟。关于龙舟外表的花色，还有这么一段佳话——据传，当年三坊兄弟为选择龙舟外表花色，采取了抽签的方式。

其中，文园抽中乌龙画花，接近船头处画有飞马、船身画有宝剑、宝葫芦、鲜花等，色调以黑色为底，配红、黄、蓝、绿等不同颜色；东坊则抽中纯乌龙色，船身不画任何花色和色调、以涂抹猪油或黑色油漆为主；西坊抽中黄底花龙，船身外以黄色为底，上面画着“八仙神器”，加上水仙、荷花、牡丹、龙眼、荔枝等水果，寓意风调雨顺、五谷丰登。

文丨羊城晚报全媒体记者 徐振天
图丨李剑锋
翻译丨洪婷
责编丨古司祺