On Zhong Yuan Festival Folk Ceremony

A traditional ethical festival usually has its inherent regulation of structure and specific cultural connotation;it presents the coordinating natural rhythm between human being and the nature, and it's the place people express their life experience and spirits.The Zhong Yuan Festival has a very long history and deep cultural tradition, it has a close relationship with local religion, yet it's not a ceremony under the well-organized religion influence. The thesis studies the Zhong Yuan Festival in a small town in the county of Tuan feng, Hubei, describing and analyzing the modern folk custom and religious activities during the Zhong Yuan Festival in a relatively close location for usual life and religious activity, and tries to lay out the practical situation of the Zhong Yuan Festival thoroughly.The thesis analyzes the structure and the symbol system of Zhong Yuan Festival. The Festival can be divided into family ceremony and emple ceremony from the aspect of places where it happens. And the Festival consists of several elements, which have been divided into several different levels and play different functions. The thesis tries to conclude the core element and subordinate elements from the structure of the Zhong Yuan Festival, and analyzes the function and symbolism significance of few specific elements in the ceremony. At last, the thesis analyzes the significance of the Zhong Yuan festival with the abundant understanding among local people about middle July celebration, proving the interacting and influence between the people's life and religious activities.