‘Dragon raises head’: more than a haircut

Illustration:Chen Xia/GT

The day of Longtaitou falls on March 11, Monday, this year. Longtaitou means "dragon raises its head." It is on this day that people traditionally go get their first haircut since the Chinese New Year for good luck. At Silian Hairdressing, a time-honored, state-owned hair salon in Wangfujing, Beijing, the hairdressers gave free haircuts to a group of sanitation workers to show their gratitude and express their best wishes to these workers in this traditional festival.  

The festival is a reflection of China's ancient agrarian culture. It is also known as Eryue'er, which can be literally translated as "two month two," since the festival is on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar. It marks the start of spring and farming, as ancient Chinese believed that after this day, the Dragon King, who is in charge of rain, would awaken from his winter sleep.

Upon entering Silian, it would be very hard to not notice the auspicious red photography backdrop decorated with various elements for the Year of the Dragon. Besides hanging paper-made dragon decorations, the salon also introduced the festival and the haircut tradition through an informative poster. 

The salon opened for business at 7 am on Monday, two hours earlier than normal, to accommodate more customers, many of whom were already lining up before opening. 

"To better prepare for the high demand today, staff members who were supposed to rest also stepped in to help. As we mainly cater to older customers, who are not very familiar with making reservations on smart phones, we didn't open up online reservations. There are younger customers as well. We put up all these decorations and set up a lottery especially for today in the hope of keeping this hair-cutting tradition along with other culture-rich traditions alive today," a salon representative told the Global Times. 

Two other hair salons located near Beijing Olympic Park were also packed with customers. While booking in advance usually isn't necessary, that day both salons required reservations. 

"There are many office buildings near the salon. A lot of young people came when we opened in the morning. They went to work with their new haircut. Many had already made reservations. People all want a good start for the coming spring," said one hairdresser.   

Meanwhile, as an important traditional festival in folk culture, the customs of the Longtaitou involve more than just getting a haircut, and they are very different from the north to the south.

In the north, there are several customs related to agricultural production. The festival is celebrated around the time of "Jingzhe" or "Awakening of Insects," the third of the 24 Solar Terms, a time when all creatures become active and diseases are prone to arise, posing a threat to crops. Therefore, people perform the rituals of yinlong, which literally means "summoning the dragon," to suppress pests and ensure the safety of people, livestock and crops. 

In some areas of Northeast China, people knock on the beams of their houses with long poles in the morning of the day of Longtaitou. The ritual is called qiaolongtou, or "knocking on the dragon's head." It's meant to awaken the dragon the protector and ensure peace for the community. 

Different from the dragon worship prevalent in the north, worshiping the deity of the land is more popular among people in the south. Due to the belief that the earth carries all things and wealth accumulates from the earth, reverence for the land developed. They hold performance competitions to appease the gods and seek blessings.

There is a custom of eating ciba, glutinous rice cakes especially popular in South China's Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is believed that eating it will protect people from the thunder god's wrath.

Whether in the north or the south, the cultural connotations of Longtaitou cannot be simply divided into worship of the dragon or the earth deity based on geography. It is through the integration and evolution over generations that the festival has gradually formed a unique set of customs and significance. 

The diverse culture and rich history of such traditional festival customs embody the country's ancient wisdom, respect for nature and good wishes for life. 

By bonding people together, it remains lively till today.

The authors is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]