Kuang Huofa
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Kuang Huofa, Male, Han, from Kaiping, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Lantern Fair (Ⅹ-81). The tradition is documented in Kaiping, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lantern Fair in Kaiping, Guangdong: Chen Baisha instructed that Pancun had five black-stone beast mountains — Lion Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Horse Mountain and Ox Mountain — whose five beasts held the village in check and should have ensured peace, but the lion, king of the five beasts, was in a deep slumber and had not awakened, while the other four beasts made trouble, which was why the locality suffered frequent disasters. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. The custom of lighting lanterns at Yuanxiao (the fifteenth night of the first lunar month) originated in the Han dynasty, developed further during the Tang and Song dynasties, and by the Ming and Qing periods lantern fairs across the country had reached their peak. The Pancun lantern fair originated in the Ming dynasty, when officialdom was corrupt, society was dark, bandits ran rampant and the people had no means of living. Qi Jianzhai, the thirteenth-generation ancestor of the Kuang family of Pancun, went to visit the famed scholar Chen Baisha (1428-1500), who had once taught in Pancun, to ask how to avert disaster and escape misfortune.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Kuang Huofa is anchored in the documented technical standards of Lantern Fair in Kaiping, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Lantern Fair in Kaiping, Guangdong: The lantern fair is a traditional popular festive celebration of the Chinese people. It is widespread throughout the country and is also quite prevalent in overseas Chinese communities. Lantern fairs are mostly held during the Lantern Festival period, though some places hold them on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month; the character of the fairs differs from region to region. According to traditional custom, on the night of the full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people hang and light colorful lanterns of every kind, while holding celebrations such as viewing, admiring and competing with lanterns, in prayers for family reunion, longevity and abundant harvests. Centered on the lantern fair, localities have developed a series of distinctive Yuanxiao Festival customs, such as guessing lantern riddles, eating yuanxiao (sweet rice dumplings) and walking off the hundred ailments. Over time, Lantern Festival activities have grown ever richer, and in many places traditional folk performances such as dragon lantern dances, lion dances, stilt walking, land-boat dancing and yangge (rice-sprout song) dancing, Taiping drum playing and taige (carried platforms) have been added to the festivities, making the lantern fairs still more lively and exuberant. The Pancun lantern fair is handed down in Pancun Township, Shuikou Town, Kaiping City, Guangdong Province, and has a history of more than five hundred years to this day. Every year on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Pancun Township is filled with colorful banners blocking the sun and the sound of firecrackers; more than forty villages hang lanterns and festoons in every household, and the people of the whole township crowd around a great flower lantern more than three meters high, touring the entire township from morning till dusk, with a ceremonial silk umbrella (luosan) leading the procession and dragons and lions following alongside. He advised each family in the village to hang lanterns, fire cannons and beat gongs and drums to wake the lion, so that it would keep the four beasts in check. Following his advice, the people of Pancun on the thirteenth day of the first month of the eighth year of the Tianshun era of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming (1464) lit lanterns, fired cannons, waved banners and shouted in every household, and the noise shook the heavens. It is said that from then on Pancun returned to peace and tranquility. From that year on, the people of Pancun have held lantern-dancing activities every year on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, to avert disaster, pray for blessings and see out the old year and welcome the new. Every year people from the neighboring counties and cities of Taishan, Xinhui and Heshan come to visit and add to the excitement, and the whole lantern fair presents a scene of joy, bustling with noise and liveliness. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The five beast-shaped hills": The hills are read as five beasts whose lion has fallen asleep, and the resulting disorder was understood as the reason for the village's years of misfortune. "Lighting lanterns and beating gongs to wake the lion": In 1464 every household lit lanterns and beat drums on the thirteenth of the first month, and the village was said to have returned to peace thereafter. "The lantern parade led by the silk umbrella": On the thirteenth, forty-odd villages carry three-metre lanterns through the township from morning till dusk, led by a silk umbrella and flanked by dragon and lion teams. "Neighbouring counties come to join": Crowds from Taishan, Xinhui and Heshan come every year to watch and enliven the fair, making it a festival shared across neighbouring counties.
The five beast-shaped hills
The hills are read as five beasts whose lion has fallen asleep, and the resulting disorder was understood as the reason for the village's years of misfortune.
Lighting lanterns and beating gongs to wake the lion
In 1464 every household lit lanterns and beat drums on the thirteenth of the first month, and the village was said to have returned to peace thereafter.
The lantern parade led by the silk umbrella
On the thirteenth, forty-odd villages carry three-metre lanterns through the township from morning till dusk, led by a silk umbrella and flanked by dragon and lion teams.
Neighbouring counties come to join
Crowds from Taishan, Xinhui and Heshan come every year to watch and enliven the fair, making it a festival shared across neighbouring counties.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Kuang Huofa was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Lantern Fair, with Kaiping, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Lantern Fair in Kaiping, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Kaiping, Guangdong as its declared area, and Kaiping 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
Historical origin
The Lantern Festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. The custom of lighting lanterns at Yuanxiao (the fifteenth night of the first lunar month) originated in the Han dynasty, developed further during the Tang and Song dynasties, and by the Ming and Qing periods lantern fairs across the country had reached their peak. The Pancun lantern fair originated in the Ming dynasty, when officialdom was corrupt, society was dark, bandits ran rampant and the people had no means of living. Qi Jianzhai, the thirteenth-generation ancestor of the Kuang family of Pancun, went to visit the famed scholar Chen Baisha (1428-1500), who had once taught in Pancun, to ask how to avert disaster and escape misfortune.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lin Wenyi | Handan, Hebei | 03-1474 | Other regional school |
| Shao Chuanfu | Feidong, Anhui | 03-1475 | Other regional school |
| Kuang Huofa | Kaiping, Guangdong | — | This page |
| Niujunqi | Bazhou, Hebei | — | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。