Dashu Yimin Ye Festival follows the ancient ritual and strives for major national cultural resources from various countries

The residents held a grand "public feast", using salted rice cakes, the rations of the volunteer army in those years, as sacrifices to entertain the volunteers.

The Yiminye Festival in Dashu District, Kaohsiung City will be held today (10th). This year’s "Xiatui River Liuzhuangtou, Yiyonggong performs great and small merits" festival follows the original flavor of ancient rituals. Representatives from the Bureau of Cultural Resources of the Ministry of Culture came to record it. They hope that this festival, which has been passed down for 239 years, will have the opportunity to be registered as a national-level major cultural asset.

The "Great Gong" is only held once every twelve years, while the "Small Gong" is held once every six years. They are both grand events in Shuiliao and Shui'anli. Especially this year, the Kaohsiung Municipal Museum of History applied for a national major cultural resource, which is of special significance. The event kicked off with the 8-day Memorial Concert for the Volunteers of Wushuiliao. This morning we went to the Tamsui River to ask for water, and in the afternoon there was a public banquet ceremony. Tomorrow there will be a water-delivery ceremony. Every ritual was solemn and solemn in accordance with ancient rituals. Many groups from other counties and cities who offered sacrifices to the volunteers were invited to visit.

The organizer, Kaohsiung City Yi Minye Cultural Association, specially arranged a story wall. Zhang Danying, chairman of the association, said that many people do not know the origin of the sacrifice, so this story of the ancestors is introduced with pictures and texts. Shi Rongrui, the director of Shuigliao, said that this festival has been going on for more than 200 years and many residents are looking forward to it.

The festival originated in the 52nd year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1787). Lin Shuangwen of Taiwan raised troops, and Nanluzhuang Datian responded, leading troops to besiege Fengshan County. Xu Yangren, a martial arts scholar in Guang'an, Wandan, joined forces with more than 3,000 volunteers from Lunzaiding, Daliao, Shepi, Wushuiliao (the old name of Shuigliao and Shuianli), Xipuliao and Zhuanziyao Liuzhuang to help. Zhuang Datian received a tip from a beggar and forged a letter from home to falsely claim that Zhuang's army was besieging the Yimin's hometown. The rebels returned to defense overnight and were ambushed. They fought fiercely by the Gaoping River for two days from October 1st to 2nd of the lunar calendar. The Yimin were exhausted from the journey and more than 2,000 people were killed (other writers in literature and history claimed that more than 200 people died and more than 500 were seriously injured). Emperor Qianlong commended the volunteers and awarded them a plaque of "Jingyi". The six villages have taken turns performing large and small meritorious services to commemorate the volunteers until now.