Xiaolanju Flower Fair
01 · Historical Records
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Xiaolan began to cultivate chrysanthemums. By the Ming Dynasty, the art of chrysanthemum cultivation was already flourishing in Xiaolan, and chrysanthemum cultivation had transitioned to shaped potted plants. In 1782 and 1791, the major family clans successively held two large chrysanthemum fairs jointly. In the Jiaxu year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1814), a large chrysanthemum fair was held again, and the local gentry agreed that, in memory of the ancestors who settled in the Jiaxu year of the Xianchun reign of the Southern Song, a grand fair would be held in every Jiaxu year thereafter. By 1934, a total of three grand chrysanthemum fairs had been held. In 1994, to carry on the tradition, the villages jointly held the Jiaxu Chrysanthemum Fair.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xiaolan Town is located in the middle of the Pearl River Delta and is an important town of Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. The people of Xiaolan are skilled at growing potted chrysanthemums, with exquisite craftsmanship. Historically, whenever the chrysanthemums were in full bloom, the various families would display their chrysanthemum art together and compete for excellence, called the "Ju Examination" (chrysanthemum contest), which later developed into the chrysanthemum fair. The fair lasts from several days to more than ten days, and its activities mainly include appreciating chrysanthemums, competing with chrysanthemums, chanting about chrysanthemums, painting chrysanthemums, tasting chrysanthemums, waterborne "miaose" (floating tableaux), and chrysanthemum opera. The Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair uses flowers as a medium and chrysanthemums as a way to meet friends; with exquisite craftsmanship and grand scale, it constitutes a distinctive comprehensive folk flower festival. Between the grand fairs, small chrysanthemum fairs are held every year or every few years.
From chrysanthemum trial to full flower fair
Families once set their potted chrysanthemums side by side to be judged at a local trial; the practice grew into a village fair lasting days.
The sixty-year Jiaxu cycle of fairs
Elders fixed a grand fair for every Jiaxu year, agreed in the Jiaqing reign, revived jointly by all villages in 1994.
Viewing, judging, chanting and painting
Viewing and judging went side by side with chanting and painting, turning the blossoms into words and paper.
Floating tableaux and chrysanthemum opera
Floating tableaux and small-scale chrysanthemum opera enlivened the quiet potted blooms with water-borne and staged spectacle.
Village-level small chrysanthemum fairs
Between the grand fairs, villages held their own every one or two years, judged by local growers and enthusiasts.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The skeleton of the Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair is the family clan. This important town in the middle of the Pearl River Delta has had families cultivating chrysanthemums since the Southern Song; after the Ming Dynasty the art of chrysanthemum cultivation gradually flourished, and cultivation shifted from ground planting to shaped potted plants, giving each family bonsai worth comparing. By the end of the 18th century, different family clans in the same town had joined hands twice in succession to hold fairs, gathering the chrysanthemum art of each family in one place to be judged for excellence — this was what the locals called the "Ju Examination" (chrysanthemum contest), and also the embryo of the later chrysanthemum fair. Thereafter the town set the rhythm of the fairs on a sixty-year sexagenary cycle, and in the early 19th century the local gentry agreed that a grand fair must be held in every Jiaxu year; three such fairs were held during the Republic of China period, and the Jiaxu Chrysanthemum Fair held jointly by the villages in 1994 reconnected the old practice that had been interrupted for many years. Although today's fair banners, villages, and artists have been replaced by new generations, they still belong to different clan lines; the small chrysanthemum fairs organized by each village — one every year or every one or two years — compete over the quality of that year's chrysanthemum work.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair is the most concentrated expression of Chinese chrysanthemum culture; it has extremely strong mass participation and profound cultural content, and possesses high historical and cultural value. At the same time, the chrysanthemum's noble and pure character has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts; the Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair, which transmits chrysanthemum culture, plays an important promoting role in cultivating temperament, raising the cultural literacy of the masses, enhancing foreign cultural exchange, and building a harmonious society. Beyond the visual pleasure of the chrysanthemum fair, there is also a whole set of literati activities related to the chrysanthemum: besides appreciating the flowers, chanting, painting, and tasting chrysanthemums each occupy a session, while waterborne floating tableaux and chrysanthemum opera turn the static colors of the flowers into flowing performance. The judging in the chrysanthemum competition is especially strict: the plant form, petal color, and naming of the potted chrysanthemums are often discussed on the spot by all present, and the merits are publicly judged. This way of running the fair — using flowers as a medium and chrysanthemums as a way to meet friends — allows the villagers of the Pearl River Delta to place aesthetic evaluation, production craft, and clan fellowship all within the flowering season, and has thus made Xiaolan a place where chrysanthemum culture has taken root.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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