Grand ceremony was held to worship common ancestor 5,000 years ago

On April 22, the third day of the third lunar month, a grand ancestor worship ceremony was held in Zhengzhou City, capital of central China’s Henan Province. Many Chinese across the world came to worship their common ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, pray for the prosperity for China and wish the world peace and harmony.

Chinese legend has it that the Yellow Emperor was born, established a country and set his capital in the area of Zhengzhou over 5,000 years ago. He unified many tribes to form the Chinese nation and was revered as Chinese civilization’s ancestor.

Archaeological discoveries in Zhengzhou in recent years have confirmed that the time of the emergence of a state on this land coincides with the legendary Yellow Emperor era. Therefore, Zhengzhou is regarded the Yellow Emperor’s hometown.

The third day of the third lunar month is the birthday of the legendary Yellow Emperor. Since the period of 770 BC – 221 BC, there has been a folk tradition of worshipping the Yellow Emperor on this day.

Since the start of the 21st century, Zhengzhou has held 18 consecutive ceremonies. Nine fixed rituals including saluting, presenting flower baskets, offering incense, performing worship, reading worths, singing praises, dancing, praying for China and global peace and harmony, have been listed as national intangible cultural heritage. This year’s ceremony is especially grand as it marks the first year of offline ancestor worship after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Organizing Committee of the Yellow Emperor Hometown Ancestor Worship Ceremony.

The worship ceremony in the Yellow Emperor’s hometown has long found its echo abroad. This year, San Francisco, London, Sydney, Bangkok and other places followed Zhengzhou to hold worship activities.

Ancestor worship is the cornerstone of Chinese belief. Wang Liqun, a famous Chinese cultural scholar, said that the worship culture retains the unique cultural memory of the Chinese nation, and is the meeting point of emotional identity and communication among the Yellow Emperor’s descendants, which forms a strong spiritual cohesion to maintain families, clans and even the whole nation.

Being one of the eight ancient capitals of China, today’s Zhengzhou integrates ancient and modern elements, and enjoys convenient transportation and booming trade.

As a developing national central city and a key player in China’s historical civilization inheritance and innovation, Zhengzhou harbors the lives and dreams of over 10 million people. With rich ancient civilization and vibrant modernity, Zhengzhou is embracing the world with open arms.

Source: The Organizing Committee of the Yellow Emperor Hometown Ancestor Worship Ceremony