Every year in the third month of the lunar calendar, the Miao people in the Qingshui River Basin of Fuquan, Guizhou, hold a fish-killing festival on both sides of the Qingshui River. Fuquan City is located in the central part of Guizhou Province, in the Miaoling Mountains, with the Yuanjiang River system in the southeast and the Wujiang River system in the northwest. The total area of the city is 1,688 square kilometers, with a total population of 280,000, most of whom are Han, Miao, Buyi, Shui, etc. Ethnic minorities account for 24% of the total population. The Nanming River and the Dumu River, which originates from the eastern foot of the Miaoling Mountains on the Huishui Gaopo, merge into the Liangcha River in Xianqiao Township in Fuquan City and are called the Qingshui River. The river section where the fish-killing festival is held is between Mianhuadong and Liangchahe in the Qingshui River in Fuquan City, including six small river villages: Mianhuadong, Guwangshen, Dashaba, Zhulinjiao, Shatan, and Dahuashui. On both sides of the Qingshui River, there lives a unique Miao branch with a population of about 40,000 people, known as the "Western Miao" in history. They migrated to the Qingshui River Basin to open up wasteland and settle down due to wars in the late Tang and early Song dynasties. It is impossible to find out when the Fish Killing Festival started because of the long history. However, according to the record of the "Hua Ling Ji" of the Fuquan Miao flower song that has been sung for hundreds of years: "Eighteen boys and girls play together, and the brother meets his mother at the thundering two forks. The two forks of the river are the fish killing beach, and the Wengzhang Waterfall is the fish canteen. The flowers and water at the mouth of the waves are like hairpins dancing, and the fishermen are killed in the back village by the river", it shows that the Qingshui River Fish Killing Festival has a history of hundreds of years. The Fish Killing Festival is called "Tingmi" in Miao language, which means "killing fish". The third month of the lunar calendar every year is the traditional time for the Miao people to kill fish by the Qingshui River. The killing fish activities are divided into six sections of the river. According to the custom of dividing the villages, the specific start time of the Fish Killing Festival every year is sent in advance by the "medicine head" to notify the "fish heads" of each village to hold a meeting and discuss. The time when the leaves of the calamus on the mountain grow to five or six inches long is determined as the start time of the Fish Killing Festival. After the time is determined, each Miao youth carries a bag of pounded and melted calendula leaves (a wild woody plant that can poison fish) and hands it to the "fish head" (called "diba" in Miao language), and they are piled on both sides of the river. The calendula leaves handed in should roughly reach the number specified in the notice. If there is too much difference, the "diba" will ask him to make up for it, otherwise he cannot participate in the fish killing. Those who do not bring or bring too little calendula leaves will be criticized on the spot. The "diba" is a prestigious village elder or a fish killing expert, who is responsible for presiding over and maintaining the order of the fish killing festival. During the entire fish killing activity, all those who participate in the fish killing must act in accordance with the village customs and river rules, otherwise the "diba" has the right to confiscate the fish killing tools of the violators or cut off the fork pole. The fish killing starts from the lowest downstream section of the river, and every three days, the river section where the fish is killed moves upstream. Before the start of the fish killing in each river section, a corresponding sacrificial ceremony will be held, and people from the upstream and downstream villages will be notified and invited to participate. The girls also make an appointment to form a group, put the flowery glutinous rice prepared by themselves in their waist baskets, and give it to the boys who kill fish to eat. After killing the fish, the companions will light a bonfire on the shore and boil the fresh fish with clear water, and will not go home until the sunset. After eating the "fish meal", some young fork-pullers will take the opportunity to go to the nearby small tributaries to hold a "killing fork pole" competition. The Killing Fish Festival is a ritual memory of the ancient fishing and hunting society of the Miao people living in the farming society. Later, it evolved into a relationship with praying for rain, with obvious folk religious colors. During the Killing Fish Festival, people take this opportunity to visit relatives and friends. Young men and women wear festive costumes, blow wooden leaves, sing love songs, play and fight, and talk about love. After eating the "fish meal", the young fork-pullers will take the opportunity to hold a "killing fork pole" competition. Since then, the Killing Fish Festival has become a festival of folk sports competitions unique to this Miao ethnic group. Due to the uniqueness of this Miao ethnic group and the uniqueness of the region where it is located, the Fish Killing Festival is a unique ethnic festival of this Miao ethnic group and this region. It is unique in terms of scale, participation, duration and rich content. It is not only a ritual memory of the fishing and hunting society of the ancient Miao ancestors in the farming era, but also a cultural relic of the transition from fishing and hunting culture to farming culture. It is also a festival that integrates ethnic religion, culture, social interaction, sports and entertainment. It contains the rich and long-term historical changes of the Miao people on both sides of the Qingshui River. It has important value and significance for studying the history, culture, folklore, religion and other aspects of the entire Miao ethnic group and enriching the cultural life of the nation. Due to overfishing, there are fewer big fish in the river than before. In addition, under the influence of the market economy, most young and middle-aged men in the village go out to work, and no one pays attention to this traditional Miao festival anymore. In addition, with the popularization of modern scientific and technological knowledge, the villagers realize that the amount of rain and the harvest of grains each year can only be solved by relying more on scientific and technological means. Nowadays, the villagers have gradually downplayed this traditional program, and this ancient ethnic activity day is no longer an event that the villagers look forward to every year. (No pictures yet, please provide.) (No pictures yet, please provide.)