The Shenlong Flower Swing is a local folk entertainment activity that can cultivate sentiment. It was born in Xinan Village, Hanjing Town, 20 kilometers north of Pucheng County. According to the elders of the clan, the old family book records that in the Ming Dynasty, Wang Li and Wang Yi, clan members who served as officials in the court, brought the swings in the palace back to the village in their original form. It has a history of more than 600 years since the 21st century. The Shenlong Flower Swing expresses the local working people's good wishes to ward off evil and disasters and welcome good fortune. Pucheng County is located in the northeast of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province. It has hilly, tableland, and plain landforms. It is rich in wheat, corn, cotton, and crisp pears. It is an important national commercial grain base; the location of the National Time Service Center; the five Tang Mausoleums of Qiao, Jing, Guang, Hui, and Tai are the best in the world; it is 110 kilometers away from the ancient capital of Xi'an; the Xiyan Railway and the Xiyu section of the Beijing-Kunming Expressway pass through the county. Pucheng Shenlong Flower Swing originated from the palace, with noble bloodline, large and handsome (20 meters high and 3.3 meters wide): red pillars and red beams, golden dragons entwined; copper bells jingling, dragon flags fluttering; monkeys living in the marquisate and ministerial positions, fighting to show a good harvest. "Inheriting the ancestral art" reveals the theme of the activity, and "unity and harmony" shows the humanistic aspirations. The "dangerous building" sways forward and backward, and the sand pot hides mysteries. The viewer is frightened, and the swinger is safe and sound. It is really ingenious and unique in the world. Pucheng Shenlong Flower Swing combines high, floating, leisurely, clever, soft, beautiful and joyful in one. Since ancient times, it has been praised as "a beautiful young man in his twenties playing on the swing on the mandarin duck tower; face to face, white jade shoulders side by side; two pairs of jade hands holding each other, four golden lotuses upside down; the spring outing talent points to the distant side, suspecting that it is a fairy descending from the sky." The Pucheng Shenlong Flower Swing has a profound connotation. The Southwest Village continues to revise the family book every 20 to 30 years during the Qingming Festival, so the Shenlong Flower Swing is also set up every 20 to 30 years to eulogize the merits of the ancestors, gather the soul of the Wang family, and inspire future generations to forge ahead. The Pucheng Shenlong Flower Swing is made during the day and set up at midnight. It swings for seven consecutive days amid the sound of firecrackers and gongs and drums during the Qingming Festival, and is suitable for all ages. There are local folk customs where the elderly can avoid all diseases and prolong their life by swinging on the swing, and the young people can jump over the dragon gate and have a promising future by swinging on the swing. Historical Origin Swings have appeared in China since the Spring and Autumn Period. It was originally a production tool for the tribe, which was used to pick wild fruits by swinging. Later, it was discovered by Duke Huan of Qi during his northern expedition and brought to the Central Plains, and evolved into a palace entertainment tool named "Qianqiu". By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it had the meaning of "longevity for thousands of years", and was later renamed "swing" to avoid taboos. By the Tang Dynasty, swinging on a swing had become one of the main entertainment activities during the Cold Food Festival, from the palace to the local people. Emperor Xuanzong also enjoyed it. "The emperor called it a half-immortal play, and the citizens in the capital called it that." "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi" The Shenlong Flower Swing in Xinan Village, Hanjing Town, Pucheng County (locally known as "Shenlong Flower Swing"), according to the elders of the village, the ancestors of the Wang clan, Wang Li and Wang Yi, were officials in the Ming Dynasty. They passed on the shape of the palace swing to their hometown, and wrote its method and their ancestors' annotated poems into the clan book. Although the clan book no longer exists, the old ancestors still keep it to this day through word of mouth. There are strict rules for the age interval, time of establishment, graphic structure, production process, size, plaque content, miscellaneous equipment, and sacrificial activities before, after and after the establishment of the "Shenlong Flower Swing", which are not allowed to be violated when the clan members are working. The rules are that the swing is set up once every 20 to 30 years, the time is midnight, the dragon pillar is a golden dragon around a red pillar, the theme of the plaque is "inheriting the art of ancestors", the swing is three sections high, about 20 meters, and incense is burned to worship ancestors, firecrackers are set off, and community firework is played. Since the founding of New China, the white-headed man has been set up three times in this village in 1956, 1986 and 2008. In July 2008, it was displayed during the "First Cultural Tourism Festival in Weinan, China" and began to be known to the world. Basic content The Shenlong Flower Swing in the southwest of Pucheng has always been the village's traditional custom of relatively fixed intervals in the social evolution of the village's history of more than 880 years. The Qingming Festival is used to commemorate the kindness of the ancestors and the descendants continue to enter the family book. Its production method and other related procedures have retained the rules set by the ancestors in their original form, and it is still an entertainment activity that men, women, young and old in the village are happy to participate in and contribute to. The Shenlong Flower Swing in the southwest of Pucheng combines the feelings of height, floating, leisure, cleverness, softness, beauty and joy. It has the reputation of "a beautiful young man and a beautiful lady in their twenties playing on the swing on the mandarin duck platform; facing each other, shoulders of jade shoulder to shoulders; two pairs of jade hands clasped, four golden lotuses upside down; a talented man pointing at the far side of the swing, suspecting that it is a fairy from heaven." The production techniques of the "Shenlong Flower Swing" are as follows: (from the ground upward) (1) Basic part: a pair of vertical large rollers used in farmers' threshing fields are placed on the site and stabilized at a distance of 3.3 meters. A rattan ring made of newly cut rattan with a diameter of about 12 cm is placed in the middle of the rollers. A flat round stone mortar with a diameter of about 15 cm is placed on the ring (a special tool for farmers to tamp the foundation, with a round bottom and a flat top and a small flat round pit in the middle). A steel ball with a diameter of about 8 cm is placed in the pit of the mortar. (2) Dragon pillars: The dragon pillars are a pair of hardwoods 10 meters high and 25 centimeters in diameter. They are placed on a table as wide as the roller (a small hole is chiseled in the middle of the lower cross section to facilitate future docking with the steel ball). The pillars are wrapped tightly with oily red paper, and a golden dragon made of wheat straw is wrapped around and fixed on the pillars. (3) Horizontal beam: The horizontal beam is a pine wood 4.5 meters long and 30 centimeters in diameter. It is also wrapped tightly with red paper and fixed on the dragon pillar (upper end). A bronze bell is hung in the middle, and a pair of fashionable couplets are hung on the outside of the dragon pillars. The dragon gate with the golden dragon wrapped around the red pillar is thus completed. (4) The plaque: First, install 8-meter-long pine rafters wrapped with colored paper on the top of the two dragon pillars, and then fix wooden rafters wrapped with colored paper parallel to the beams about 2 meters away from the beams. This forms a rectangular empty surface. This empty surface is where two plaques with "Inheriting the Ancestral Arts" and "Unity and Harmony" are installed. The plaques are decorated with paper flowers, treasure bottles, and small colored flags. (5) The monkey, bucket, and dragon flag part: The delicate and delicate golden monkey is placed just above the plaque. Three large, medium, and small square buckets are placed on the left and right colored pillars. The four sides of the lower large bucket are inscribed with the words "Good weather and good harvests" and "Peace and prosperity for the country and the people". The middle bucket is pasted with four golden dragons. The four sides of the upper bucket are decorated with paper flowers, and the top is filled with bouquets of flowers. A two-meter-high dragon flag is fixed at the ends of each colored pillar. At this point, the production of the dragon swing is basically completed. (6) Supporting the swing: At midnight, all male members of the clan go out, burn incense, pray and kowtow. Then, following the command, they all start to move, pull the rope and carry it on their shoulders. The swing is then placed on a steel ball covered by a bottomless sand pot. At this time, lanterns are lit, firecrackers are set off and suonas are played to celebrate. (7) The next day, early in the morning of Qingming Festival, after the ceremony of offering sacrifices in front of the ancestral tombs is completed, the swing is set off, the community fire is played and the clan book is recorded. This continues for seven days before the swing is fully enjoyed. The Shenlonghua swing in the southwest of Pucheng is not only made with exquisite craftsmanship, but also has many details and profound meanings. The connection between the dragon column and the foundation is covered with a sand pot, giving people the suspense that the sand pot bears the entire weight of the swing; the steel ball is connected to the dragon column, so that even when the swing swings and the copper bells jingle, it is easy to restore balance and help people. The plaques in the middle, "Inheriting the Art of Ancestors" and "Unity and Harmony", point out the theme and teach people's hearts. The golden monkey in the middle of the upper part prays for the tribe members to be granted the title of marquis and prime minister, and have a promising future. The left and right buckets "Good weather and good harvest" and "Peace and prosperity" hope that there will be enough food and clothing and a peaceful life. The swing is set up at midnight, one is that the dragon energy rushes straight to the stars to let the ancestors feel it, the second is to keep the mechanism confidential, and also for safety considerations. The elderly swing on the swing, and there is also a long-cherished wish to be immune to all diseases and prolong their life. The swing is set up once every 20 to 30 years, one is because 20 to 30 years is a generation, and the clan book needs to be continued. The second is to set up the swing and play the community fire to inform the ancestors that there are descendants joining the clan book, and the third is to swing and play the community fire to gather and attract more wanderers to return home to sweep the tombs and worship the ancestors, so that their names can be prepared to be recorded. Basic characteristics 1. Long history. It has been passed down in its original flavor for more than 600 years since the Ming Dynasty. 2. Tall and majestic. It consists of three sections and is 20 meters high. 3. Royal legacy. Golden dragons circling red pillars, copper bells ringing red beams, flower buckets stacked, dragon flags fluttering. 4. Hidden secrets. The thousand-jin lotus is placed on two sand pots, which can swing without collapsing. 5. Rich in humanities. "Inheriting the art handed down from ancestors" teaches people the truth, eliminates diseases and disasters, and hopes for a good harvest. 6. Profound meaning. The golden monkey sits high, implying that the clan members will be granted titles and appointed as prime ministers, and have a bright future. 7. Clear purpose. It is supported once every 20 to 30 years, and a generation will be included in the clan book. Main value The Shenlong Flower Swing is not only a local folk entertainment activity that can cultivate sentiment, but also a "living fossil" for studying the palace swing structure hundreds of years ago, a unique art form that unites the hearts of the clan members, and a display platform for human wisdom. Protecting it is of great significance to protecting the diversity of national culture and expanding the development space of national culture. The excavation, rescue and protection of the Shenlong Flower Swing will play an important role in promoting the local spiritual civilization, enriching the people's cultural life, improving the people's cultural quality and building a harmonious society. Related instruments and products The related instruments include: a copper bell, a pair of rollers, stone mortars, steel balls, a pair of dragon pillars, beams, extension pillars, etc., and several ropes. The related products include: two dragon flags, a golden monkey, two golden dragons made of wheat straw, a plaque, six buckets, a pair of couplets, and several paper flowers. Related works include: a pair of photos of the Shenlong Flower Swing in 1965, 1986, and 2008. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)