TL;DR: Lễ hạ điền is a village rite held when rice transplanting begins, while lễ thượng điền is held when the rice has formed ears or at the end of the crop, praying for a good harvest. Custom books do not fully agree on timing and names; some call lễ thượng điền lễ thượng tân or the new rice ceremony in the ninth lunar month.
How do lễ hạ điền and lễ thượng điền differ?
Lễ hạ điền takes place when the village begins transplanting rice, while lễ thượng điền takes place when the rice has formed ears or at the end of the harvest. Both are community rites of the village, praying for a harmonious crop, and both belong to the traditional agricultural rites of the Kinh people in the northern delta.
This distinction is recorded fairly consistently in custom books. Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) writes: "In rural areas, on the occasion of transplanting rice one may also hold a rite called 'Lễ Hạ điền', and when the rice has begun to form ears there may also be a period of incense offering called 'Lễ Thượng điền'"[1]. In the collection by Song Mai and Quỳnh Trang (2006), readers find a nearly parallel account: farmers hold lễ hạ điền right at transplanting time, and when the rice forms ears they offer incense in a rite called thượng điền, also called thượng tân, that is, the new rice ceremony held in the ninth lunar month[2].
The name "hạ điền" literally means "going down to the field", while "thượng điền" means "going up to the field" or "offering up to the field". This naming reflects the rhythm of wet-rice cultivation: one rite opens the transplanting season, the other marks when the rice has taken root and begun to form ears, or when the harvest is finished.
Lễ hạ điền: who leads it and where is it held?
Lễ hạ điền is held by the village; according to Phan Kế Bính (1915), the village usually chose a kindly old man whose wife was still living to transplant a few handfuls of seedlings first, after which the whole commune began transplanting.
In Toan Ánh's (2001) account of the tịch điền rite in communes, the chief celebrant is the tiên chỉ or the highest-ranking dignitary in the commune; the villagers escort him to the field reserved for this rite, where an altar is set up for the ceremony, and only after the ceremony do they proceed to transplant rice[3]. Although this passage concerns the tịch điền rite, the organization on the village field shows the general model of commune-level agricultural rites.
On lễ hạ điền specifically, Phan Kế Bính (1915) writes: "The lễ thượng điền and hạ điền are held in villages that have new fields to sacrifice to, but many villages only hold the rite on the day of hạ điền. Some villages sacrifice to the Phúc thần, others only to the Tiên Nông deity. Customarily a gentle and virtuous old man whose wife is still alive is chosen to perform the lễ hạ điền. That is, he must first transplant a few handfuls of seedlings, and from then on the whole commune may transplant"[4]. Thus lễ hạ điền is not only a sacrificial rite but also a rite opening the transplanting season: after the old man transplants the first handfuls, the whole village may go down to the fields.
Ngô Tất Tố (1940) in Việc làng also mentions lễ hạ điền as a rite held when the first rice plants are put into the field, and "every village in the countryside has it"[5]. However, it should be noted that Việc làng is a work of reportage literature, not a methodical field study; its data should be read as descriptive material by a contemporary observer of the northern countryside.
Is lễ thượng điền the same as the new rice ceremony?
Not exactly. Lễ thượng điền and the new rice ceremony are closely related but not identical in every account.
Some books merge them. Song Mai and Quỳnh Trang (2006) write: "When the rice forms ears there is again a period of incense offering called 'Lễ Thượng điền' or 'Lễ Thượng tân', that is, the New Rice ceremony in the ninth lunar month"[2]. Thus according to this account, lễ thượng điền, lễ thượng tân and the new rice ceremony are three names for the same rite, held in the ninth lunar month.
But Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) separates them: "There is also the lễ Thượng tân in the ninth lunar month, which is also the New Rice ceremony"[1]. Here lễ thượng tân and the new rice ceremony are identified, while lễ thượng điền is described separately as the rite when rice forms ears. This difference may be because each author relies on customs of different regions, or because of each person's classification.
Phan Kế Bính (1915) places lễ thượng điền among the "tuần tiết" of the year, alongside other festivals, and writes: "the day of hạ điền is the day one first steps down to the field, the day of thượng điền is the day one first has new rice"[4]. This account shows lễ thượng điền tied to the time of new rice, that is, after the harvest. Thus there are at least three different understandings of the timing of lễ thượng điền: when rice forms ears, in the ninth lunar month (lễ thượng tân, new rice ceremony), and when new rice is available after harvest.
Table comparing accounts in custom books
| Rite | Timing according to books | Place | Who leads | Books |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hạ điền | When transplanting begins | Village field | Old man whose wife is still living | Phan Kế Bính (1915)[4]; Ngô Tất Tố (1940)[5]; Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001)[1] |
| Thượng điền | When rice forms ears | Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001)[1]; Song Mai, Quỳnh Trang (2006)[2] | ||
| Thượng điền | When new rice is available (after harvest) | Phan Kế Bính (1915)[4] | ||
| Thượng tân / New rice | Ninth lunar month | Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001)[1]; Song Mai, Quỳnh Trang (2006)[2] |
The table above shows that the books do not fully agree on names and timing. This is understandable for village customs: each village may have its own rule, and the authors recorded at different times and places.
Why do the books differ on lễ thượng điền?
There are two main reasons: first, customs differ from village to village; second, authors may merge or separate the rites according to their own understanding.
Phan Kế Bính (1915) remarked on the diversity of village rites: "All those days have rites, depending on village custom and on whether the year is plentiful or poor, using oxen and pigs or chickens and glutinous rice, some places sacrifice, others make offerings"[4]. This sentence shows that as early as the beginning of the 20th century, researchers were aware that village rites had no single model. That one village calls lễ thượng điền the new rice ceremony while another separates them into two rites is normal.
Etymologically, "thượng tân" (offering new things) and "thượng điền" (going up to the field) are two different terms, though both refer to rites offering agricultural products. The books' mixed use may reflect the intersection of the two concepts in village life.
How do lễ hạ điền and thượng điền differ from the court's tịch điền rite?
Lễ tịch điền is a rite presided over by the king or mandarins, with the character of a state ceremony; lễ hạ điền and thượng điền are village rites organized by the villagers.
In the section on the tịch điền rite at court, Toan Ánh (2001) relates that after the rite the king returns to the Đại Nội, the implements are put in storage, and the buffaloes and oxen are handed to the local village to tend the field until harvest; alongside this, provinces and communes also hold the tịch điền rite, with the provincial mandarin starting the ploughing at provincial level, while at commune level the tiên chỉ or the highest-ranking kỳ mục dignitary takes it on[3]. Thus the tịch điền rite has two levels: court and local. Lễ hạ điền and thượng điền belong to the village level, tied to each village's specific cultivation cycle.
A notable detail in Toan Ánh's (2001) account is the custom of villagers splashing water and throwing mud at the chief celebrant while he is transplanting: "The villagers stand on the field bank, wait until he begins to transplant, and use water, sometimes even mud, to throw at him. Being thrown at, he is flustered and wants to finish transplanting quickly... and the villagers splash water and throw mud at him, laughing merrily as they splash"[3]. This custom shows a festive atmosphere, not a purely solemn ceremony. However, it should be noted this is an account of the commune-level tịch điền rite, not of lễ hạ điền purely.
Is lễ hạ điền the same as the "going down to the field" rites of ethnic groups?
No. Lễ hạ điền is a rite of the Kinh people in the northern delta, while "lễ xuống đồng" is a general name for early-year agricultural festivals of many different ethnic groups, with their own rites and meanings.
The custom books cited in this article mainly describe Kinh customs in the northern delta, from the beginning to the end of the 20th century. One should not infer that lễ hạ điền and thượng điền take place identically in the central region, the south, or among ethnic minorities. The "lễ xuống đồng" of the Tày, Thái, Mông and other peoples have their own features of timing, offerings and rites, presented in a separate article on the early-year "lễ xuống đồng".
Points to note when studying these two rites
- Narrow source scope: The books cited here mainly record Kinh people in the northern delta, not representative of the whole country or other ethnic groups.
- Diversity of village rites: For the same rite name, each village may have different timing, offerings and rites. There is no "standard version" against which to measure other places.
- Differences among books: Authors may merge or separate lễ thượng điền, thượng tân and the new rice ceremony according to their own understanding. Readers should compare multiple sources rather than rely on one book.
- Relation to the new rice ceremony: Lễ thượng điền may coincide with the new rice ceremony in some localities, but not in all. Details of the new rice ceremony are presented in a separate article on the Full Moon of the Tenth Month and Tết Hạ Nguyên.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion
If you are studying lễ hạ điền and thượng điền to write an article, do research, or learn about your home customs, start by identifying the specific locality. Early 20th-century custom books often write generally about the northern delta, but each village may have its own rule. If possible, compare with the village charter or stele of the village you are interested in, as that is the most reliable source on local custom. Modern books such as Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001), Song Mai and Quỳnh Trang (2006) can give you an overview, but they often rely on older records and may repeat each other, so they should not be treated as many independent sources.
