Bahe
01 · Historical Records
It began as a game for building fitness and strength among soldiers, and later spread from the military to the people, becoming a large-scale popular sport.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Mass Rope-Pulling Contest is a large-scale popular sport passed down in Lintan County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, with a history of more than 600 years. The "Upper Section" includes Gucheng Village and Shanghetan Village in Chengguan Town, Lintan County, Shenzang Township and Wanmao Township in Zhuoni County, and other places; the "Lower Section" includes Xiahetan Village and Jiaochang Village in Chengguan Town, Yangyong Town, Muer Town and Dazu Town in Zhuoni County, and other places. The Mass Rope-Pulling Contest has three components. The first is the pre-competition sacrifice. This takes place at noon on the 14th day of the first lunar month, when the rope head (also called the "dragon head"; 8 centimeters in diameter and 1,808 meters long), wedges, wooden mallets, and other rope-pulling equipment are carried to the main hall of the City God Temple, and a ceremony is held that includes burning incense, reading the sacrificial text, setting off firecrackers, and tying red silk on the rope head. The second is pre-competition preparation. The consecrated rope-pulling equipment is carried to the main street at the West Gate. The rope is made in a very special way: two identical ropes, each thicker at the front and thinner at the back, with a loop at each rope head and the tail end divided into two strands. When pulling, the loop of one rope head is slipped into the loop of the other and locked with a barley-shaped wooden wedge, joining the two ropes into one, one end called the "upper joint" and the other the "lower joint." Afterward, each end is further tied into the first, second, and third joints and a tail joint (also called "double flying swallows"), laid out up and down so that many people can pull. The third is the rope-pulling itself. People from Lintan County and surrounding areas, organized by "connectors" elected by all, take the West Gate as the dividing line: those whose homes are in the Upper Section pull the upper rope, and those in the Lower Section pull the lower rope. At the signal of firecrackers, the contest begins. On the evenings of the 14th, 15th, and 16th, three bouts are held each night, with the winner decided over nine bouts in all. Participants may take part regardless of ethnicity, age, or gender. In recent years, the government has respected local transmission customs and stepped back from organizing the event, letting the people handle affairs of the people and giving full play to the enthusiasm of the masses in organizing activities. At the same time, through promotion into schools and media coverage, the project's influence and public recognition continue to grow.
The pre-contest sacrifice
At noon on the fourteenth of the first month the rope head, wedges and hammers are carried to the city god temple for incense, a written prayer, gunfire and red ribbons.
Rope-making and the barley wedge
Two tapering ropes are joined loop through loop and wedged fast with a barley-shaped wooden peg.
The linked sections
Each end is then divided into first, second and third links with a swallow-tail last section, laid out to admit crowds of pullers.
The linksmen and the west gate
Elected linksmen organise the pull, the upper district taking the upper rope and the lower the lower, signalled by gunfire.
Nine bouts over three nights
Three bouts a night on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of the first month, nine in all, decide the outcome.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Participants in the Mass Rope-Pulling Contest come mainly from Lintan County, with people from surrounding areas also taking part; in competition they are divided into the "Upper Section" and "Lower Section" by place of residence. This division follows the local people's identification with multi-ethnic coexistence and is not based entirely on administrative boundaries. At present, the event attracts large numbers of young and middle-aged participants, with tens of thousands of people taking part every year; it has become a cultural calling card of the locality. The Mass Rope-Pulling Contest has wide coverage, high popular participation, a distinctive format, and a grand scale, with strong regional cultural characteristics. The Mass Rope-Pulling Contest is passed down in Lintan County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, and has a history of more than 600 years. It began as a game for building fitness and strength among soldiers, and later spread from the military to the people, becoming a large-scale popular sport; the Lintan County Cultural Center is the designated protection unit. Participants come mainly from Lintan County, with people from surrounding areas also taking part; in competition they are divided into the "Upper Section" and "Lower Section" by place of residence, a division that follows the local people's identification with multi-ethnic coexistence and is not based entirely on administrative boundaries. At present tens of thousands of people take part every year, attracting large numbers of young and middle-aged participants, and the event has become a cultural calling card of the locality.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Mass Rope-Pulling Contest has no fixed inheritors: the broad masses of Lintan County and surrounding areas together form a stable community of transmission. They are at once organizers, participants, and practitioners, and together they have advanced the transmission and development of this project. Participants may take part regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, or religion, which reflects the people's beautiful wish for a peaceful country and prosperous people, helps strengthen ethnic unity and promote social stability, and carries considerable socio-cultural value.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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