中秋将至

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching

一起来重温那些自古就流传下来的

lets have a look at traditional Mid-Autumn Festival customs in Foshan

佛山传统中秋习俗！

that have been passed down since ancient times!

　　烧番塔

　　Brick Tower Incineration

　　“烧番塔”是佛山很多村庄的中秋保留节目，在西樵松塘村、丹灶仙岗村等地尤为盛行。以往，中秋那天白天，小孩子们都喜欢聚在一起砌番塔，小孩会家家户户串门讨柴火，集中在村中门楼边开阔场地烧番塔，火苗高升就代表吉祥，升得越高越好。

　　"Brick Tower Incineration" is a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival custom still observed in many Foshan villages, particularly popular in Songtang Village, Xiqiao and Xiangang Village, Danzao. In the past, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children would gather together to build a brick tower and burn it in the open area next to the village gate with the firewood collected from villagers. It is believed that the higher the flames rise, the more auspiciousness there will be.

　　前年，中央广播电视总台央视中文国际频道《传奇中国节·中秋》全球直播佛山中秋盛宴。皎洁月光下，村民和游客边观看番塔旺盛的火焰，边欣赏村道上挂满的彩色宫灯，个个都不亦乐乎。

　　CCTV’s Chinese International Channel had a live broadcast of Foshan people’s celebration of the  Mid-Autumn Festival in the special program entitled "Legendary Chinese Festival·Mid-Autumn Festival" in 2018, where local villagers and tourists feast their eyes on the exuberant flames of Brick Tower Incineration, strolling along the streets decorated with colorful palace lanterns, having great fun under the bright moonlight.

　　竖中秋

　　Lantern Hanging

　　以往，每逢中秋节，各家要用竹条扎灯，灯有多种样式，有果品灯，也有鸟兽、鱼虫灯，也可砌成字灯。入夜，满城灯火，如繁星点点，和天上明月争辉，以此庆贺中秋。

　　In the past, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, families would use bamboo strips to make lanterns in the shapes of birds, beasts, fish and insects or even Chinese characters. When night falls, hundreds of festival lanterns light up, like fallen galaxy bathed under the moonlight.

　　如今在佛山，不少地方都举行灯会贺中秋，图示2019佛山映月湖中秋灯会盛况。

　　舞火龙

　　Fire Dragon Dance

　　舞火龙是农历八月十五的民间习俗，旧时用稻杆扎成龙形，插上燃着的香，由青壯小伙子赤膊上阵，挥舞舞动。传说舞火龙可以趋吉避凶，令当地风调雨顺。在顺德乐从，扎火龙、火龙巡游、中秋茶话会等形式多样的节日活动，在乡村旅游文化节中得到传承和发扬。

　　The Fire Dragon Dance is another Mid-autumn custom. On the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, fire dragons made of rice straw and stuck with burning incense are waved by half-naked young men. Legend has it that the Fire Dragon Dance can bring good fortune and good weather for the local crops. In Lecong, Shunde, various festivals such as Handmade Fire Gragons, Fire Dragon Parades, and Mid-Autumn Festival Tea Parties, have been inherited and carried forward in the Rural Tourism Cultural Festival.

在顺德乐从，志愿者指导孩子们扎火龙。

一条条全新的火龙制作完成。

　　木刻饼印工艺

　　Woodcut Cake Printing

　　中秋之夜，重头戏当然是一家人围坐赏月，看传统民俗，品美味月饼！大家在品尝月饼之前，留意过印在月饼上的花纹吗？佛山木刻饼印工艺至今已经有300多年历史，如果正在阅读这篇文章的你≥80后，那你曾经吃过的饼制品很有可能就出自传承人杨海成先生制作的饼印模具。

　　The highlight of Mid-Autumn Festival night, undoubtedly, is admiring the moon with family members sitting together, appreciating traditional customs, and tasting delicious moon cakes! Before tasting, have you noticed the patterns printed on the moon cakes? Foshan woodcut cake printing has a history of more than 300 years. Readers of this article who were born after 1980, are very likely to have had cakes made with the cake printing molds created by Mr. Yang Haicheng, the current inheritor.

　　上世纪八九十年代，佛山木刻饼印业如日中天。杨师傅回忆道，当时饼印定做的订单数量非常多，广州、佛山大部分酒楼以及全球有华人的地方就基本会有他的饼印。

　　In the 1980s and 1990s, Foshans woodcut cake printing industry was in full swing. Master Yang recalled that the number of orders for cake printing molds was quite large at that time. His cake prints could be found in most restaurants in Guangzhou and Foshan and among Chinese communities in the world.

　　然而，近年来，传统木刻饼印受到塑料月饼模具的冲击，大家对于月饼印的理解，更多的是偏向收藏性质的工艺品。或许在不久的将来，这项技术就会面临失传。

　　However, in recent years, traditional woodcut cake printing has been hit by the popularity of plastic moon cake molds. These woodcuts are merely regarded as handicrafts worth collecting. It is a great regret that this unique craftsmanship is going to die out.

　　佛山新闻网报道

　　来源：丈量、佛山文化、珠江时报

　　编译：Anthony

　　审校：Annie、Eleanor、陈婉萍、邹静姬