Guangchanhou Stories
01 · Historical Records
The Guangchanhou stories are folk stories created by the people of south-eastern Shanxi on the basic model of Chang Shun, a folk veterinary surgeon of the Song dynasty who was enfeoffed as a marquis; they are an oral tradition and practice of the people of south-eastern and southern Shanxi.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Guangchanhou stories have their core area in Shantou village of Fengcheng town, Yangcheng county, Jincheng city, Shanxi, spread to the seventeen townships of the whole county and further to the districts of Zezhou, Lingchuan, Qinshui and Yuanqu and to Jiyuan city in Henan, with their influence concentrated mainly in Linfen, Yuncheng and Changzhi in Shanxi. The Guangchanhou stories are made up of several dozen legendary tales spanning a long stretch of time, of large narrative scale and wide content. In the past those enfeoffed as marquises and granted titles were mostly civil and military officials and imperial kin, so the enfeoffment of a veterinary doctor as a marquis was undoubtedly a great and marvellous event. So the people of Yangcheng, against the background of the war between Song and Jin, kept elaborating this folk legend and in the long course of telling and spreading formed a series of stories. Although the Guangchanhou stories are folk legends, they are closely bound up with local features, folk belief and medical theory, and have given rise to many art forms such as local xiqu, chapter novels, dough figurines and paper cutting, and have also become one of the subjects of modern film and television drama.
Healing the Warhorses and Imperial Enfeoffment as Marquis of Broad Meditation
The main story of Chang Shun, a veterinary surgeon, healing the warhorses and being enfeoffed as Marquis of Broad Meditation.
The First Emperor of the Yuan Orders the Building of the Water-and-Grass Temple
The legend of the first emperor of the Yuan ordering the building of the Water-and-Grass Temple and the hanging of the marquis plaque.
Resigning Office to Return Home and Write Books
The episodes of Chang Shun's boyhood and apprenticeship and his gathering of herbs and practice of medicine after resigning office to return home.
The Water-and-Grass Temple Fair and Sacrifices
The folk activities of sacrificing to Guangchanhou and attending the Water-and-Grass Temple fair in the Yangcheng area.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Guangchanhou stories have their core area in Shantou village of Fengcheng town, Yangcheng county, Jincheng city, Shanxi; they spread to the seventeen townships of the whole county and radiate to Zezhou, Lingchuan, Qinshui and Yuanqu and to Jiyuan in Henan, with their influence concentrated mainly in the Linfen, Yuncheng and Changzhi area. The stories are transmitted mainly collectively by the people of Yangcheng, the tellers being mostly the villagers of Shantou village and the folk storytellers of the various townships.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Guangchanhou stories take as their protagonist the historical figure Chang Shun—a veterinary surgeon from Shantou village (originally Changban village) of Fengtou town, Yangcheng county—and take as their main content his healing of warhorses, his enfeoffment as Marquis of Broad Meditation and the imperial building of the Water-and-Grass Temple; the stories collected so far include chiefly the family history, his boyhood and apprenticeship, his hardships in gathering herbs and practising medicine, his marriage and love story, the marvel of his healing the warhorses, the twists and turns of his imperial enfeoffment, his resigning office to return home and write books, the hanging of the “Marquis of Broad Meditation” plaque, the building of the Water-and-Grass Temple by order of the first emperor of the Yuan and the manifestations of Guangchanhou. The key to its transmission for nearly a thousand years without decline is that the core content, “a veterinary surgeon enfeoffed as a marquis”, is extremely romantic and highly attractive. The Guangchanhou stories are transmitted mainly collectively by the people of Yangcheng county, the bearers being mainly the villagers of Shantou village, while in other townships of Yangcheng there are also folk “story bags” who can tell the Guangchanhou stories. The stories have intricate plots and complicated relationships among the figures; their vivid “grass-roots” history of striving and the spirit of the commoner doctor who embraces the world, relieves the distressed, holds a physician's compassion and turns the tide have important enlightening and educational significance for the community, for young people and for medical workers, and a certain reference value in history, medicine and folklore studies.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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