Shangsi and third-month-third observances

Shangsi: spring purification beside water

Shangsi (上巳) was a spring observance in which people went to rivers and other waterside places for purification, outings and gatherings. Its name originally referred to the first Si day of the third lunar month. Si is the sixth of the twelve earthly branches used to name days in Ganzhi, the stem-and-branch cycle. During the Wei and Jin periods, the observance became associated with a fixed date: the third day of the third lunar month.

Sanyuesan means “third month, third day.” Several communities celebrate festivals on this date, including the Zhuang of Guangxi and the Li of Hainan. Their observances have their own histories and meanings; the shared date does not make them all versions of the same purification ceremony. It is a lunar date, not Gregorian March 3.

The cleansing at historical Shangsi expressed a wish to remove illness, misfortune and harmful influences as spring advanced. Flowing water gave that wish a physical form. Washing and waterside rites could accompany a day outdoors, with food, drink and company. Over time, convivial outings and literary gatherings became prominent alongside the older ritual purposes.

One custom sent cups of wine floating along a winding stream. Participants seated beside the water drank from the arriving cups and composed poems. The most famous gathering took place at the Orchid Pavilion in 353. Wang Xizhi and his companions met among hills, bamboo and flowing water, and the poems they wrote were brought together with his celebrated preface. Its movement from pleasure in the gathering to reflection on the brevity of life gave the occasion a lasting place in literature and calligraphy. The scene made the waterside feast an enduring image of cultivated friendship.

Zhuang and Li third-month-third festivals

For Zhuang communities in Guangxi, Sanyuesan can combine ancestral remembrance, worship, song gatherings and shared food. Singing is an exchange: a singer or group poses a line, question or challenge, and another answers. Skill lies in the reply as well as the voice. Such gatherings have provided opportunities for courtship and for young people from different households to meet.

Five-coloured glutinous rice is a distinctive festival food in many Zhuang communities. Plant-based dyes give portions of rice different colours before they are steamed and brought together. The rice may be offered to ancestors and then shared, connecting the meal’s festive appearance with gratitude and remembrance. In places where grave visits are central, relatives bring food to the graves and gather for the offerings. Other local celebrations include deity worship, embroidered-ball exchanges and games with decorated eggs. These activities are selected and combined differently from one community to another.

Among the Li people of Hainan, Sanyuesan likewise brings ancestral remembrance together with music, dance and social gathering. Festival dress, rice wine and rice cooked in bamboo can be part of the occasion. People honour their ancestors, visit and entertain one another, and join in celebrations that extend beyond a single household.

Antiphonal singing also has a place in Li courtship traditions. Questions and replies allow singers to show wit, express affection and develop an exchange in front of others. In bamboo-pole dancing, dancers step between poles opened and closed rhythmically by their companions. The performance depends on coordinated movement and timing, making participation itself a form of collective celebration.

Distinct celebrations on the same date

The waterside purification and poetry of historical Shangsi belong to a different tradition from the songs, offerings and communal celebrations of Zhuang and Li Sanyuesan. Their shared spring date accommodates several ways of marking the season: seeking protection, honouring ancestors, displaying skill and forming relationships through a gathering. Each gains its character from the customs and community attached to it.