Temple Fair
01 · Historical Records
Some of the large temple fairs had already reached considerable scale in the Tang dynasty and have been passed down without interruption ever since, exerting a wide influence. In China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as the Taiwan region, the traditional temple fairs commonly observed by devotees were all introduced from the mainland and remain inseparably tied to their origins. The Gancha Chang (Rushing to the Tea Market) is a traditional folk custom of the Yushan area of Pan'an County, Zhejiang Province. The Yushan ancient tea market, located in Matang Village, Yushan Town, Pan'an County, was first built in the Song dynasty and rebuilt during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty; it is the earliest surviving ancient tea-trading site discovered anywhere in the country. Xu Xun of the Jin dynasty, when touring Yushan, made great contributions to developing local tea production and opening up tea sales; the people of Yushan, grateful for his kindness, honored him as the "Tea God", built a temple and set up his image, and worshiped him in all four seasons. By the Song dynasty, the temple was rebuilt for the Tea God and a tea market was opened alongside it; the temple thus came to be called the "Tea Market Temple" (Chachang Miao), and two seasonal fairs centered on the tea trade — the "Spring Community" (Chunshe) and the "Autumn Community" (Qiushe) — took shape.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Temple fairs, also known as "temple markets", are a type of folk-belief activity held at regular intervals at temples and in their vicinity, popular throughout the country. Every temple fair has its own prescribed session dates, most of which fall on a traditional lunar festival or on a religious or folk-belief commemorative day. Temple fairs are characterized by concentration, mass participation, and fixity. During a fair, all manner of folk activities and commercial exchanges can be fully displayed in public, and the activities are rich and colorful; processions for welcoming the gods are also one form of temple fair. The "Spring Community" fair is set for the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when local tea farmers come to the tea market in festive dress and hold folk cultural activities such as community opera performances, hanging lanterns, and welcoming dragon lanterns (pavilion lanterns). The "Autumn Community" fair is held on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month; tea farmers and common people carrying tea and goods come from all directions to the market, forming a grand and bustling fair. In addition to the trade in goods, various folk art performances take place during the Autumn Community, such as the Thirty-Six Trades, human pyramid stacking, and the Carrying of the Eight Immortals. The Gancha Chang has a complete set of solemn sacrificial rites for the Tea God and a series of rich and colorful folk art activities; it involves wide popular participation, has been transmitted for a long time, and has never been interrupted from ancient times to the present.
The spring term on the fifteenth
The spring term falls on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, when growers in festive dress stage opera, lanterns and a lantern-dragon welcome.
The autumn market term
On the fifteenth of the tenth lunar month growers and villagers carry tea and goods to the old tea yard, which becomes a produce market.
The thirty-six trades, human pyramids and the eight immortals
Alongside the market, the thirty-six trades, human pyramids and the palanquin of the eight immortals turn each craft into stage display.
Lantern-dragon and pavilion lanterns
The lantern dragon is built around pavilion-style light frames, lit at night so that they answer the incense light of the tea yard temple.
The rite for the god of tea
The local people venerated Xu Xun as god of tea; the temple built beside the tea yard kept worship through the year and underwrote both fair terms.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
At the Gancha Chang fair, the trade in tea and medicinal materials is closely linked to agricultural production, promoting the development of local production, economic prosperity, and social harmony. The local character of the Gancha Chang is jointly sustained by tea production and medicinal-herb production. The Yushan area has produced tea since ancient times, and the rhythm of tea farmers' twice-yearly picking and tea-making matches the two gatherings of the Spring Community and Autumn Community; medicinal materials and mountain products are sold to neighboring counties through the market gatherings. The three-in-one of temple, tea market, and marketplace fixes the farming rhythm of the area into a predictable annual schedule. The legend of Xu Xun's activities here in the Jin dynasty gives the tea market a protective hue of belief: the villagers honor him as the Tea God, built a temple and set up his image, and worship him in all four seasons, seeking not illusory wishes but the practical hope that the tea will fetch a good price. Belief and commerce each take what they need from the other, and this is why the fair has never been interrupted from ancient times to the present.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In overseas Chinese communities, many temple fairs brought from the homeland thrive with burning incense, transmitting the cultural lineage of the Chinese nation in a special way. Protecting and transmitting this folk cultural activity is of extremely important practical significance for the maintenance of the ancient tea market and the development of local tea production.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Hu Wenxiang 04-1974
- Guan Zhangxun 04-1975
- Cheng Zhongxin 05-3018
- Wang Defeng
- Luo Binggen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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