Feng Wu

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Feng Wu, Male, Dong, from Shiqian, Guizhou, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Nongliershisijieqi (Ⅹ-68). The tradition is documented in Shiqian, Guizhou. Within the regional tradition and school record of Nongliershisijieqi in Shiqian, Guizhou: The Qianlong-era prefectural and county gazetteers of Shiqian already contain records of the local custom of "saying spring". "Saying spring" is divided into "saying the formal spring" and "saying the wild spring". The name "saying spring" (shuochun) derives from the office of the Spring Official. The Zhou dynasty established the office of Spring Official, whose duty was to take charge of farming affairs; later folk singing-and-storytelling artists borrowed this official title, dressing up as "spring officers" (chunguan) to go down to the countryside, presenting spring-urging prayers as delivering spring on people's behalf. Holding a spring ox in hand, the artist goes from house to house, and at each house distributes a lunar calendar and a God of Wealth spring poster, urging spring ploughing and wishing the household good fortune; "saying spring" generally opens at the Spring Festival or on Beginning of Spring each year and closes at the Spring Equinox, exactly matching the start and end of the year's farming season. Though called recitation, "saying spring" is in fact sung, with the tunes differing from place to place and relying on the artist's own voice and improvisation. The Qianlong-era prefectural and county gazetteers of Shiqian already record the local custom of "saying spring", showing how early its transmission was. The Dong people of Shiqian absorbed this custom and have continued it to the present day; in the local dialect "saying spring" has its own distinct inflections, differing from the singing styles of surrounding areas, and forms a recognizable branch of sung storytelling in eastern Guizhou.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Feng Wu is anchored in the documented technical standards of Nongliershisijieqi in Shiqian, Guizhou. Within the documented technical tradition of Nongliershisijieqi in Shiqian, Guizhou: "Saying spring" (shuochun) is a folk performance activity passed down from generation to generation by the Dong people of Shiqian: at the time of Beginning of Spring, performers dress up as "Spring Officials" and sing out verses urging agricultural work, blessing favorable weather and abundant food and clothing. The "Spring Official" was an official post in the Zhou dynasty, charged with farming affairs. In later times, folk singing-and-storytelling artists dressing as Spring Officials went from house to house performing in the countryside, giving rise to the custom of "the Spring Official delivers spring", which urged farming and prayed for blessings. The singers are also commonly called "chunguan" (spring officers). "Saying spring" generally begins at the Spring Festival or on Beginning of Spring each year and ends at the Spring Equinox. The verses of "saying spring" are in fact sung, with simple tunes that differ from place to place. "Saying the formal spring" uses fixed spring verses, whose content is chiefly the "24 agricultural solar terms" and "fishing, woodcutting, farming and reading", covering history, geography, the humanities and every other aspect. "Saying the wild spring" is also called "saying the playful spring" or "saying the flowery spring"; its content is rich, flexible, changeable and unconstrained, and its main pieces include "Opening the Gate of Wealth", "Praising the Host", "Talking of Tea" and "Answering the Child". Holding a spring ox in hand, the "chunguan" distributes, at every house he visits, one lunar calendar and one God of Wealth spring poster, the intent being to urge spring ploughing and to wish the household good fortune. This item is a precious survival of China's long-standing traditional folk rituals of agricultural civilization. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The spring officer bringing spring": A performer dressed as the ancient spring officer goes from door to door urging the ploughing. "Reciting the formal spring text": The formal version recites the twenty-four solar terms and the lives of fishermen, woodcutters and scholars. "The improvised spring text": The freer version includes named pieces such as Opening the Money Gate and Praising the Host. "Carrying the spring ox and the almanacs": The performer carries a spring ox and leaves an almanac and a lucky charm at each house.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Feng Wu was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Nongliershisijieqi, with Shiqian, Guizhou as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Nongliershisijieqi in Shiqian, Guizhou: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Shiqian, Guizhou as its declared area, and Shiqian County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Fengwu (Shiqian, Guizhou) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Fengwu · China ICH Official Archive