Traditional Archery
01 · Historical Records
Nanshan archery is a traditional sport popular in Ledu County, Qinghai Province. It was introduced to the area during the Ming dynasty, took shape by the Qing dynasty, and has flourished for several centuries without decline.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Every summer, the townships of the Nanshan area of Ledu hold archery competitions, conducted in various forms including inter-village matches, challenge bouts, invitation tournaments, centralized meets, and decentralized meets, drawing large numbers of participants. Nanshan archery has rich cultural connotations: it is both a witness to the integration and development of the various ethnic groups in the Hehuang region throughout history and an important carrier of bow-and-arrow culture and the history of Qinghai's ethnic minorities. This form of activity has played a positive role in strengthening exchange and unity among the various ethnic groups. With the deepening advance of modern lifestyles, the scale of Nanshan archery can no longer compare with the past; planning for its future is urgently needed while there is still time. Archers use wooden bows locally called "duo er" fitted with iron-tipped arrows; the bows are made of white poplar or willow wood, with strings of sheep gut or silk thread. The shooting distance is mostly fifty to seventy paces, with standing targets set up on grassland or plateau, the bull's-eye marked with grass rope or wool; after the arrow hits the target, scores are counted by rings. The competition includes no running shots; victory is decided by standing shots.
Village matches, ladders and invitations
Every summer the mountain townships hold contests in many formats, from village matches to open ladders and invitation meets.
Archery beside the flower-song fair
The meet doubles as a flower-song and trade fair, with pedlars and crowds singing throughout, a carnival for the whole district.
Han, Tibetan, Hui and Tu archers
Loved by Han, Tibetan, Hui and Tu alike, the meet is the district's main form of mass sport and a promoter of inter-ethnic ties.
Ming arrival, Qing formation
Brought to Ledu in the Ming and fully formed in the Qing, the practice has continued for several centuries.
A vessel of Hehuang bow culture
The meet both witnesses the ethnic fusion of the Hehuang region and carries its bow-making and minority history.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Nanshan archery has a distinctive competitive format and rich content; it is deeply loved by the local Han, Tibetan, Hui, Tu (Monguor), and other ethnic groups and is a principal form of mass fitness activity in the area. Nanshan archery is at the same time a "hua'er" song festival and a goods exchange fair: on every competition day, merchants gather from all sides, and the watching crowd "man" (sings) hua'er folk songs and "layi" (local Tibetan love songs), filling the whole arena with a fervent atmosphere. Every spectator participates in some way, making Nanshan archery a carnival for the local people.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Traditional Archery.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Nanshan archery is both a mass fitness activity in which the Han, Tibetan, Hui, Tu, and other ethnic groups of the Nanshan area of Ledu participate together, and a local bond of interaction and exchange among the multiple ethnic groups of the Hehuang region: on every competition day, villages travel to the contests in the name of archery teams, and after the contests they host guests and visit relatives; trade stalls, the hua'er festival, and the archery competition all open at the same time, with the audience "man"-singing hua'er and singing "layi", so that both inside and outside the arena serve as social occasions. In recent years, the Ledu District, with the cultural center as its protection unit, has incorporated Nanshan archery into intangible cultural heritage displays, festival competitions, and rural tourism routes, organizing inter-village challenge matches and invitation tournaments in the Nanshan townships, while compiling registers of archers and the regulations of the archery grounds; however, due to the departure of young and middle-aged workers for outside employment and the declining number of bow-making craftsmen, neither the scale of the activity nor the completeness of the traditional archery techniques can compare with former times.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Baorenqianben 05-2552
- Lijiancan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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