Fang Weihua

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Fang Weihua, Male, Yao, from Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Wedding Customs (Ⅹ-139). The tradition is documented in Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wedding Customs in Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong: Liannan Yao Autonomous County is the principal area of residence of the Pai Yao. The Pai Yao are a branch of the Yao people, named for their having lived mainly in the eight great stockaded settlements (pai) of Liannan — Youling, Nangang, Hengkeng, Junliao, Majian, Libadong, Huoshaoping, and Dazhang — during the Yuan and Ming periods; according to historical records and folk legends, the Yao migrated to Liannan more than a thousand years ago. According to the fairly complete Fang-surname genealogy of the Eight-Pai Yao kept today, they have lived in Liannan for fifty generations, meaning that the Fang surname has been in Liannan for more than 1,100 years. The county's population is about 160,000, of whom 82,000 are Yao, making it the Yao autonomous county with the highest population proportion in the mountain region of northern Guangdong. The Tang dynasty poet Liu Yuxi, who was demoted to the prefect of Lianzhou during the Zhenguan era, once wrote the 'Song of the Moyao'. Today the performance and singing of the marriage customs are mostly concentrated in the Eight-Pai area; intermarriage between the pai does not exclude distant kin; and the Fang-surname genealogy records the origins of each branch of the surname as well as the old practice, at wedding time, of asking the xianshenggong to consult the Yao scriptures to set the date. The Tang dynasty poet Liu Yuxi, who was demoted to the prefect of Lianzhou during the Zhenguan era, once wrote the 'Song of the Moyao' (Moyao Ge): 'The Moyao grow up of themselves; their names are in no register.' At the wedding feasts held over three days, the groom and bride together return to the bride's natal home, commonly called 'hui mian' (returning to the maternal side); they return the same day and thereafter live their married life together.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Fang Weihua is anchored in the documented technical standards of Wedding Customs in Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Wedding Customs in Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong: Liannan Yao Autonomous County in Guangdong Province is the principal area of residence of the Pai Yao. The Pai Yao are a branch of the Yao people, named for their having lived mainly in the eight great stockaded settlements (pai) of Liannan — Youling, Nangang, Hengkeng, Junliao, Majian, Libadong, Huoshaoping, and Dazhang — during the Yuan and Ming periods. According to historical records and folk legends, the Yao migrated to Liannan more than a thousand years ago. 'Trading in the markets, they mingle with the shark-catchers; in marriage they consort with the timber merchants.' 'Their scattered dwellings claim the spring eyes; with fire-sticks they open the mountain ridges.' 'By night they cross streams a thousand ren deep; the sand-bearer cannot shoot them.' Thereafter, records of every subsequent dynasty contain accounts of Yao activity in Liannan. On this basis it is calculated that the Fang surname has been in Liannan for more than 1,100 years. Liannan Yao Autonomous County has a total population of 160,000, of whom as many as 82,000 are Yao. Yao marriage customs mainly comprise five processes: betrothal, recognizing the kinship, choosing the date, the wedding, and the return to the natal home. On the day of betrothal, the man's side prepares meat, wine, and the like, and the matchmaker delivers them to the woman's family to feast the inner relatives. After the betrothal, the man's side asks a 'xianshenggong' (ritual master) to choose a date and sends wine, meat, and the like as gifts for recognizing the kinship. The wedding date is set by the xianshenggong after consulting the Yao scriptures and the birth dates of both parties, and is mostly chosen between the sixteenth day of the tenth lunar month and the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. On the wedding day, the woman's family invites a xianshenggong to recite scriptures, praying to the ancestors for the giving away of the daughter. The bride, dressed in an embroidered floral skirt and carrying an evil-warding paper umbrella, is led out of the house by the groom's maternal uncle, with the bridal escort following behind. On reaching the entrance to the groom's village, the two sides send out singers to exchange antiphonal songs; only after several rounds can the party enter the village. Arriving at the groom's door, the xianshenggong recites scriptures to expel evil for the bride. Before entering the house, the bride first washes her face, then changes into the bridal attire of the groom's family, offers incense at the ancestral shrine, and then carries the washing water for the elders to wash their faces, recognizing each relative in turn. The dowry of a Pai Yao bride is rich and varied: embroidered wedding attire, 'dowry firewood' (the amount of firewood cut being an important measure of whether a girl is hardworking and capable of running a household), as well as draught cattle, fields, hills and forests, and various daily necessities. In the course of the wedding, people sing such songs as the 'Entering-the-Door Song', the 'Marrying-Out Song', the 'Escorting-the-Bride Song', and the 'Morality Song'. Their content is rich, reflecting from various aspects the productive activities, living customs, and religious beliefs of the Pai Yao, and expressing their thoughts, feelings, ideals, and wishes; they are an important vehicle of the traditional culture of the Eight-Pai Yao. For thousands of years, the history, culture, and customs of the Yao people have been transmitted orally from generation to generation through songs, stories, dances, and other forms. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Betrothal and kin recognition": At the betrothal the man sends meat and wine by a matchmaker to feast the bride's close kin; afterwards the day is fixed and gifts of recognition follow. "Fixing the date by the Yao books": The date is chosen by the officiant from the Yao books and the couple's birth data, usually between the sixteenth of the tenth and the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar months. "The bride leaves led by her uncle": The officiant prays to the ancestors for the marriage; the bride, in embroidered dress with a parasol, is led out by the groom's uncle. "Singing at the village gate": At the village gate singers from both sides exchange verses, and only after several rounds may the procession enter the settlement.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Fang Weihua was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Wedding Customs, with Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Wedding Customs in Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong as its declared area, and Liannan Yao Autonomous 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. Fangweihua (Liannanyaozuzizhi, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Fangweihua · China ICH Official Archive