Temple Fair

Ⅹ-84Folk CustomsSuzhoushigusu, JiangsuBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

From the Chunxi era of the Southern Song (1174-1194), after the Daoist priests Lu Daojian and Wang Dayou held a cloud-water vegetarian feast (yunshui zhai) to heal the sick on the birthday of Immortal Lü, every year on the fourteenth day of the fourth lunar month the local people formed the custom of going to Fuji Abbey to celebrate the birthday of Immortal Lü; this custom gradually developed into the "Ya Shenxian" (Jostling for the Immortal) folk temple fair unique to Suzhou. The fair was especially flourishing in the Qing dynasty and, after more than 800 years of transmission, has continued to the present day. The origins of Ya Shenxian can be traced back to the Chunxi era of the Southern Song. In those years the Daoist priests Lu Daojian and Wang Dayou set up a cloud-water vegetarian feast on the birthday of Immortal Lü to heal the sick; the cakes and medicines were free of charge, and the more people came, the more it became a much-told story. The villagers, grateful for their kindness, made the fourteenth day of the fourth lunar month each year a day to celebrate Immortal Lü's birthday; from birthday celebration to market-going, it eventually grew into Ya Shenxian, unique to Suzhou. This custom was at its height in the Qing dynasty and has continued uninterrupted for more than 800 years since. Around the four days of the fair, people from Suzhou's four cities and six districts, together with pilgrims from Wuxi, Shanghai and the Hangjiahu region, all surge toward Shenxian Temple; the Changmen area, normally closed off, goes several days and nights without darkness. The wonder of Ya Shenxian lies in the word "ya" (jostling): no reservation is needed and no registration is required - when a person arrives, they can catch the immortal's eye, and according to their lot they may seek blessing. This threshold-free openness is precisely the key to its survival to the present day.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Centered on Shenxian Temple, the Ya Shenxian Temple Fair's participants come not only from all of Suzhou's four cities and six districts but also extend as far as Wuxi, Shanghai and the Hangjiahu region; it is one of Suzhou's grand folk festivals at the turn of spring and summer. The number of participants each year approaches one million. Folk legend has it that the fourteenth day of the fourth lunar month is the birthday of Patriarch Lü (Lü Zu), when Lü Dongbin descends to the world in transformed guise to enlighten mortals. Therefore people flock to Shenxian Temple to offer incense, hoping to "jostle" (ya) their way to the immortal, so as to dispel disaster and illness and meet with good fortune. The fair's main activities include the jiao rite of prayer for blessings to Patriarch Lü, sacrifices by the traditional Chinese medicine community, folk incense offering and worship, and consultations at the "Heavenly Hospital" (Tianyiyuan), as well as flower markets, displays of folk handicraft skills, snack sales and folk arts performances. The fair usually lasts three days. The fourteenth day of the fourth month is the main day of Patriarch Lü's birthday; on that day activities such as the jiao rite to Patriarch Lü and sacrifices by the traditional Chinese medicine community are held, folk performance troupes parade spontaneously, and the people burn incense, make offerings and chant hymns in praise of the deity, bringing the fair's carnival atmosphere of prayer and blessing to its climax. This heritage project expresses the Suzhou people's worship of and affection for the immortal Lü Dongbin, reflects the optimistic life wisdom and cultural creativity of the people of Wu, and manifests the cultural spirit of the unity of heaven and humanity and of great virtue bearing all things.

The rite for Lord Lü

On the birthday of Lü Dongbin the temple performs his rite, the day's most solemn act and the threshold of the pilgrims' rounds.

Rites of the physicians' guild

Physicians keep their own offerings to acknowledge a patron of medicine, linking the guild's craft to the cult of the saint.

Healing at the celestial clinic

A celestial clinic inside the temple offers treatment, tying healing to the legend of Lü's medical art within one space.

Songs of praise and spontaneous processions

Troupes process spontaneously while worshippers sing praises, drums and song filling the lanes at the height of the revelry.

Flower market and craft displays

A flower market and roadside crafts turn the fair into a showcase of everyday skill as well as devotion.

The birthday of the immortal

On this day the immortal is said to descend among the people, and pilgrims crowd the temple hoping to meet him and be spared illness.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Suzhou Ya Shenxian Temple Fair is distributed in the Changmen area of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The large body of folk immortal tales related to the Ya Shenxian Temple Fair is still circulating among the local people today and has been collected and compiled.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The fair involves more than 200 inheritors and is in a sound state of continuity. The Suzhou Ya Shenxian Temple Fair, having gone through more than 800 years of change, is a vivid source for studying the social conditions, folk life, handicraft skills and commercial development of Suzhou and even the Jiangnan region.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Temple Fair (Suzhoushigusu, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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