Fanjiulou
01 · Historical Records
According to legend it originated in connection with the Qin-dynasty story of Meng Jiangnü making offerings to her husband at the Great Wall, and it forms part of the ritual observance of popular Daoism.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Nine-Tower Scaffold, also called Honglou, is transmitted mainly in Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province. The activity is held for three purposes: first to pray for peace, second to deliver the souls of the dead, and third to ward off calamity and repel evil influences. The Nine-Tower Platform is usually set up on the site a day in advance. Two thick Chinese-fir poles 13 metres high (in nine tiers) are raised on the ritual ground and are called the Nine-Dragon Pillars; then eleven or thirteen Nine-Tower tables, each 1 metre high, 1.5 metres long and 0.7 metres wide (divided into nine tiers, eleven tiers and so on), are stacked tightly against the Nine-Dragon Pillars to form the Nine-Tower Platform. Inside the enclosure are set an altar to the spirits and an Immortal Bridge; a Nine-Fold Gate is built as an arch from water bamboo, a Star Bamboo is erected from large moso bamboo, and a Demon-Detecting Mirror is hung above it. At its highest the Nine-Tower Platform can be built from 23 Nine-Dragon tables stacked together. At the start of the activity the shanren (Taoist priest) conducts a series of ritual observances, and then the climbing of the Nine-Tower Scaffold formally begins. Two Nine-Tower Masters somersault their way up from the bottom to the Nine-Tower Platform at the top, burn the documents for delivering souls, and then descend the scaffold again from the top. After the shanren has preached, the Nine-Tower Masters leap the scaffold a second time and climb up to the Nine-Tower Platform. After performing the Opening the Fan and the Throwing the Gift, they begin a series of thrilling and highly difficult movements, such as erecting the dragonfly (inverted balance), rolling forks, whirling a meteor hammer, and sliding the Five-Table rope, and then climb down from the top. Afterwards the ritual officer is summoned to extinguish calamity and take up the losses (disasters), and finally the shanren sounds the dragon horn to ward off the baleful influences and to see the spirits off.
The nine-dragon pillars and tables
Two thirteen-metre fir poles called the nine-dragon pillars are raised a day ahead, and eleven to thirteen low tables stacked against them to form the tower.
Altar, immortal bridge, nine gates and demon mirror
The ritual ground holds an altar and immortal bridge, nine bamboo gates and a star bamboo bearing a demon-revealing mirror; the tower may reach twenty-three tables high.
The mountain man's rites
The Taoist 'mountain man' first performs a sequence of rites before the climbing begins, seeking peace, salvation of the dead and expulsion of evil.
Handstand, rolling fork, meteor hammer and the five-table slide
On the second climb the masters perform facing, tossing and then risky feats such as handstands, rolling a fork and a five-table slide before tumbling down.
Dismissing calamity and sending off the gods
The closing rites call on the shaman officer to end calamity, after which the mountain man sounds the dragon horn to dismiss evil and send the gods away.
Qian Xiaozhan and the Rite of Summoning Gods
Qian Xiaozhan, who took up the art in 1990 and obtained the Taoist manual Rite of Summoning Gods, climbs unprotected to perform a dozen feats on a nine-table tower.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The climbing of the Nine-Tower Scaffold has been transmitted in the Puyang area of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. There, folk artists form a troupe that performs as part of temple fairs, Daoist ritual sessions and funeral observances, and the Puyang Town Folk Culture Research Association of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City serves as the protecting unit. Within the troupe the shanren (Taoist priest) acts as the head of the ritual, two Nine-Tower Masters serve as the high-altitude performers, and there are further parts such as the ritual officer and the drum-and-music players. The technique is also found in Dongyang and elsewhere in Zhejiang; the performance procedures of the two places are broadly the same, while the presiding figure differs.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Fanjiulou.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The climbing of the Nine-Tower Scaffold is highly skilful and visually striking; its performance routines have had some influence on modern acrobatics, and it holds considerable research value for the study of folklore and religion. As the surviving performers grow older, this long-standing folk activity has no one to carry it on after them and is gradually declining; it urgently needs rescue and protection. Qian Xiaozhan (official file record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han ethnicity, born in July 1969, native of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. A performer of the Nine-Tower Scaffold technique. Beginning in 1990 he devoted himself to inheriting and studying the technique, obtained the Daoist ritual manual Summoning the Gods and Their Ritual Observances, and formally took the stage as a Nine-Tower Scaffold performer. Without any protective equipment in the course of the performance, he can climb bare-handed onto a stage more than ten metres high built from nine immortals' tables and perform a dozen or more figures, including Crown of the Head, Head to Back, Head to Waist, Hanging Upside Down from the Golden Bell, and Rooster Standing on One Leg. China Central Television and media from Taiwan and Hong Kong have reported on the superb skill of the Nine-Tower Scaffold on several occasions. Representative inheritor of Fanjiulou under the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. He has devoted himself to transmission, taking on several apprentices and teaching them the technique.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qian Xiaozhan 05-2559
- Louyulong 05-2560
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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