Temple Fair
01 · Historical Records
Some of the large temple fairs had already reached considerable scale as early as the Tang dynasty, and they have been handed down without interruption ever since, exerting a wide influence. In China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the Taiwan region, the traditional temple fairs commonly observed by devotees were all introduced from the mainland, and they remain inseparably linked to the parent traditions from which they sprang.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
A temple fair, also known as a "temple market," is a folk belief activity held at regular intervals at a temple and in its vicinity; it is popular throughout the country. Each temple fair has its own stipulated dates, mostly a traditional lunar festival or a religious or folk-belief commemorative day. Temple fairs are characterized by concentration, mass participation, and fixity of schedule. During a fair, all kinds of folk activities and performances are fully displayed in public, the content of the activities is rich and varied, and processions to welcome the gods are also one form of temple fair. The Beidi (Northern Emperor) birthday temple fair is a comprehensive folk cultural activity popular in the Pearl River Delta; among them, the Beidi birthday temple fair at the Foshan Zumiao Ancestral Temple has the longest history, the largest scale, and the most far-reaching influence. The third day of the third lunar month each year is the birthday of Beidi, when the people hold grand celebrations. The Beidi birthday temple fair at the Foshan Zumiao Ancestral Temple consists of two parts. The first is the Beidi birthday celebration ceremony, including paying solemn respects at the temple, the procession of Beidi, operatic performances to thank the deity, and the firing of the great firecracker. The second consists of activities related to Beidi's birthday, such as the processions to the ancestral temple from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and on the first and fifteenth days of every month, Beidi being seated in ancestral halls from the sixth day of the first lunar month to the thirtieth day of the third lunar month, the spring and autumn announcement sacrifices on the fifteenth day of the second and eighth lunar months, and Beidi's exalted ascension to the "golden portal" on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. During the fair, "several hundred thousand people from the whole town vie to join the offering ceremony," a truly spectacular sight. After the reform and opening up, with people's spiritual and cultural needs constantly growing, the Beidi birthday activities spontaneously revived among the people, showing momentum that grew more prosperous year by year.
Paying respects and the Northern Emperor's procession
The first part of the Northern Emperor feast is paying respects at the temple, followed by a procession of the deity with full regalia along the streets.
Opera for the god and the firecracker display
Opera is staged for the god and large firecrackers are set off, the sound and fire forming the most recognisable scene of the feast.
Visiting the ancestral temple and the deity seated at village shrines
Regular visits on the first and fifteenth of each month, together with the deity enthroned at village shrines, keep town and countryside in ritual contact.
Spring and autumn decree sacrifices and the ascent feast
Decree sacrifices on the fifteenth of the second and eighth months and the ascent feast on the ninth of the ninth fill the ritual calendar.
The main feast of the third month
On the third day of the third lunar month hundreds of thousands join the rite, with dozens of wind bands carrying sound for miles.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In the Pearl River Delta, devotees of Beidi take the Foshan Zumiao Ancestral Temple as their greatest center; small temples in the surrounding villages mostly go to the ancestral temple to receive incense and offer sacrifices on the deity's birthday, forming a pattern in which the center leads the localities. The ritual procedures of the processions to the ancestral temple and of Beidi being seated in ancestral halls form a regular chain of ceremonial exchange between village halls and the ancestral temple. Besides local villagers, the pilgrims include a considerable number of fellow townspeople from Hong Kong, Macao, and overseas, who regard the Beidi birthday as an opportunity to rediscover their roots and renew old friendships. Operatic performances, processions, and the firing of the great firecracker are concentrated around the third day of the third lunar month; stalls spread along the streets, turning the religious festival into a city thoroughfare involving hundreds of thousands of people. After the reform and opening up, the activities were spontaneously revived among the people, growing in scale year by year, and the old spectacle of drums and horns shaking the ground has reappeared.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In overseas Chinese residential areas, many temple fairs brought from the homeland burn with thriving incense, transmitting the cultural lineage of the Chinese nation in a special way. In recent years, the Beidi birthday temple fair at the Foshan Zumiao Ancestral Temple has once again presented the grand spectacle of "several dozen bands of drums and horns, clamoring for more than ten li." The Foshan Zumiao temple fair integrates folk belief with mass cultural activities and is characterized by secularity, mass participation, and entertainment; it provides concrete and vivid reference material for the study of Guangdong local culture and folk culture.
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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