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0'Dry boat' helps keep tradition afloat
旱船“划”起传统民俗
Unique celebration, rooted in history, highlights village's enthusiasm for the holiday.
庆祝活动源远流长、独一无二，村庄对春节热情高涨
In Jiangshi village in Xiaojiafang town, Xie Kerong was busy preparing the bamboo needed to make the village's distinctive dry dragon boat ahead of the Lantern Festival. "We have to use best quality Moso bamboo and start preparing a month before the festival," says Xie, who used to be director of the cultural station in the town located to the southwest of Shaowu, a county-level city in the north of Fujian province. The boats are known as "dry "because they are not made to enter the water but rather to play an important cultural role.
在肖家坊镇将石村，谢克荣正忙着准备竹子，用于在元宵节前制作村里特色旱龙船。“我们必须使用最优质的毛竹，并在节日前一个月开始准备，”肖家坊镇文化站原站长谢克荣说。肖家坊镇位于福建省北部县级市邵武市区东南部。这些船被称为“旱船”，因为它们不用来下水，而是发挥重要的文化作用。
Now in his 70s, Xie used to scour streets, alleys and mountains in search of intangible cultural heritage materials, especially for the historical records and techniques for the dragon-boat making. Over the past four decades, he has refined the craft, which originated some 600 years ago in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) period.
如今70多岁的谢克荣曾走遍大街小巷、爬山涉水寻找非物质文化遗产材料，尤其是旱龙船制作的历史记载和技艺。龙舟制作技艺起源于大约 600 年前明朝初期（1368-1644），在过去的四十年里，他不断打磨这项工艺。
During the early hours of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first lunar month (which fell on Saturday this year), about 60 to 70 villagers gather to burn the midnight oil at the local ancestral hall to finish the making of the giant boat, which is about 6 to 8 meters in length and 3 to 4 meters in height, in one go.
正月十五元宵节（今年是星期六）凌晨，大约60至70名村民聚集在当地祠堂，通宵达旦完成巨船的制作。巨船长度约为6至8米，高度为3至4米，需要一气呵成。
"This involves paper-cutting, bamboo molding and assembly," Xie explains, "the boat comes out magnificently, and its shape and features are distinctive of the north of Fujian province." Once it is finished, the boat greets visitors at the break of dawn and is then carried door to door, in a symbolic gesture of spreading blessings, before being burned that night to signify the sending of the dragon back to the heavens.
“这涉及到剪纸、塑身和拼接，”谢克荣解释说，“船成型后宏伟壮观，形状和特征具有闽北特色。” 完工后，这条船会在黎明时分迎接游客，然后搬运到各家各户以象征性地传播祝福，当晚被焚烧象征着把龙送回天上。
About 3,000 to 4,000 visitors from neighboring villages come to enjoy the auspicious moment. This year, many young people have signed up to learn to make one of the boats with Xie. Although he has been retired for over 10 years, he has never missed the boat-making ritual and says he enjoys seeing the tradition celebrated.
大约有3000至4000名来自邻近村庄的游客前来享受这一吉祥时刻，今年还有不少年轻人报名和谢克荣学习制作旱龙船。尽管已经退休十多年了，但他从未错过造船仪式，并表示很高兴看到这一传统得到庆祝。
In downtown Shaowu, about 46 kilometers away, a series of celebratory cultural and folk art events helped liven up this year's Spring Festival. Local authorities organized a 15-day celebration for the public this year, as opposed to seven days in previous years, says Tian Fang, deputy director of the Shaowu publicity department.
在约46公里外的邵武市中心，一系列庆祝文化和民间艺术活动让今年的春节热闹非凡。邵武市委宣传部副部长田芳表示，不同于往年的7天，今年当地政府为公众举办了为期15天的庆祝活动。
"Some villages and towns have a tradition of dragon dance performances over the years, so they were able to put on good shows after just a few rehearsals," she says, "there's also growing cultural demand; every venue was bustling, proving the public's enthusiasm."
“有些村镇多年来一直有舞龙表演的传统，排练几次就能上演一出好戏，”她表示，“文化需求也越来越大，各个场地都热闹非凡，印证了群众的热情。”
