Temple Fair

01 · Historical Records

The historical background of the Jiuhuashan Temple Fair is the route by which Buddhism spread into the mountainous country of southern Anhui. In the late Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty, the Silla monk Jin Qiaojue crossed the sea and entered the mountains; after a period of secluded practice he passed away, and his disciples revered him as an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha (Dizang), so the name of the mountain and the name of the bodhisattva were fused into one. Thereafter, on the thirtieth day of the seventh lunar month, the birthday of Dizang, monks and laypeople gathered together, and the sacrifices gradually became a fixed institution; later still, around three festivals — the Buddha's Birthday on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Self-Confession Day (zizi) on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the birthday of Dizang on the thirtieth day of the seventh month — each was paired with a dharma assembly, and on the fifteenth day of the tenth month the Yinzhi Assembly, jointly held by the people and the monasteries, was added, so that within a single year there came to be four dates on which one could regularly journey to the mountain. The flourishing of the fair periods also depended on geography. The hardship of the mountain roads, the differences in scenery across the four seasons, and the breadth of the faithful turned the temple fair into a long-distance, cross-province pilgrimage: besides the dharma assemblies, pilgrims formed a market at the foot of the mountain, the incense within the mountains and the trade outside them serving as conditions for each other. This also explains why the sacrifices at Jiuhuashan mostly emphasize the deliverance of departed souls — relatives of the dead come from afar, both to perform a dharma rite for the souls and to seek protection in the mountains.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Jiuhuashan Temple Fair is a cultural space for traditional folk activities held at regular times at Mount Jiuhua in Chizhou City, Anhui Province, to venerate the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha (Dizang). Mount Jiuhua is a famous scenic area, known throughout the world for its beautiful natural landscapes and rich Buddhist cultural tradition. In the late Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty, the Silla monk Jin Qiaojue crossed the sea to Mount Jiuhua to practice; after he passed away, his disciples revered him as an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha (Dizang). Thereafter, on the thirtieth day of every seventh lunar month, Buddhist monks and local people held grand sacrificial ceremonies, gradually forming the Jiuhuashan Temple Fair: on the Buddha's Birthday (the eighth day of the fourth lunar month), the Self-Confession Day (the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month), and the birthday of Dizang (the thirtieth day of the seventh lunar month), the "Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly," the "Ullambana Assembly," and the "Great Vow Dharma Assembly" are held respectively, and on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month the people and the monasteries jointly hold the "Yinzhi Assembly"; pilgrims from all directions worship piously, and buying and selling gather into a market. The Jiuhuashan Temple Fair takes the deliverance of departed souls and prayers for peace and the happiness of all beings as its main content.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

At the same time, local people hold "dragon lantern" and "lion lantern" activities and perform nuo (exorcism) ritual programs such as "Mulian Rescues His Mother," "The Ninth Watch of the Night," and "Liu Wenlong," continuing for several days in a lively spectacle.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The value of the Jiuhuashan Temple Fair lies first in its having placed Buddhist festivals completely into the timetable of Chinese rural life: the bathing of the Buddha on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Ullambana rite on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Great Vow Dharma Assembly on the thirtieth day of the seventh month, and the Yinzhi Assembly on the fifteenth day of the tenth month connect with one another while each has its own ritual emphasis, and the dragon-lantern and lion-lantern performances and the nuo ritual plays such as "Mulian Rescues His Mother," "The Ninth Watch of the Night," and "Liu Wenlong" interspersed among them bring filial-piety narratives and local vocal styles together through the temple gate. At the meeting point of Buddhist custom and popular belief, one sees most clearly how a foreign religion was remade by the local people into a part of their own lives. Judging from the current state of transmission, temple fairs of this kind, centered on dharma assemblies, are constrained at both ends by monks and devotees, and the complete transmission of ritual protocols requires a long period of gradual training; the performance of nuo ritual plays depends even more on temporarily organized troupes. Once the main cast is missing, the movements and vocal styles of the plays will have nowhere to be transmitted — this is precisely the weak link in nuo-type projects within temple fairs that requires the most attention.

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

1. Temple Fair (Chizhoushijiuhuashanfengjing, Anhui) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗