Qianwang Legend
01 · Historical Records
The Qian Wang legend is a folk legend derived from the life and deeds of Qian Liu, king of Wuyue. Qian Liu, a man of Lin'an in Hangzhou, was a powerful regional garrison commander of the late Tang and Five Dynasties; almost every place where Qian Wang was active has his legends, which, with the spread of culture, extended throughout the country and even overseas.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Qian Wang legend is a folk legend derived from the life and deeds of Qian Liu, king of Wuyue. Qian Liu, a man of Lin'an in Hangzhou, was a powerful regional garrison commander of the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Almost every place where Qian Wang was active has his legends, which, with the spread of culture, extended throughout the country and even overseas. The Qian Wang legends are rich in content: legends of Qian Wang's life and family; legends of his courage in doing what is right and his surpassing wisdom and bravery; legends of his hard pioneering and founding of enterprises; legends of his removing the violent and pacifying the good and caring for the people's hardships; and also a number of place-name legends and local scenery and custom legends, forming a vast legend cluster. So far eighty-five main stories have been collected, and the number of variants is even greater. The Qian Wang legend truly expresses the will, wishes and loves and hates of the mass of the people.
Legends of Qian Wang's Life and Family
One of the contents of the Qian Wang legend.
Legends of Qian Wang Removing the Violent and Pacifying the Good
One of the contents of the Qian Wang legend.
Place-Name and Scenery Legends
The place-name, local scenery and custom legends formed in the Qian Wang legend.
Submitting the Land to the Song
The deeds of Qian Liu pursuing the policy of protecting the territory, pacifying the people and submitting the land to the Song.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
He came from a poor family, made his start selling smuggled salt and dominated the two Zhejiang provinces in the late Tang, pursuing the policy of protecting the territory and pacifying the people, serving China well and submitting the land to the Song, so that the wealth of Wuyue was the finest in the world, laying the economic foundation for the Taihu basin to become a land of fish and rice and for Suzhou and Hangzhou to become a paradise on earth. The Qian Wang legend is known to every household and every woman and child in his native Lin'an and its surroundings.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years the Qian Wang legend has been widely adapted into drama and film, which in turn has promoted the spread of the oral stories. At the same time it has served as an important reference for the study of history, folklore, sociology, literature and art. With economic development, the changes of the times and the impact of modern media and Western culture, oral literature is gradually being neglected, and the Qian Wang legend urgently needs salvage and protection.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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