Temple Fair

01 · Historical Records

The Jincun Temple Fair, also called the Yongchang Temple Fair, began in the Song dynasty; it is a traditional temple fair activity centered on Yongchang Temple in Jincun, with the eighth day of the fourth lunar month as its main fair day and the worship of Jin Qi, a hero of the resistance against the Japanese pirates (wokou), as its core content. Yongchang Temple was first built in the Southern Dynasties period; the fair began in the Song dynasty and was at first mainly a Buddha-bathing activity held to celebrate the birth of Shakyamuni.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Jincun lies in the southeast of Tangqiao Town, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province. During the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, in memory of Jin Qi, who fell in the battle against the Japanese pirates on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, activities began such as sacrificing to Jin Qi and carrying the statue of Jin Qi the Chief (zongguan) out in procession; these gradually became the main content of the Jincun Temple Fair. From preparation to holding, the whole process takes nearly half a year, organized entirely by the villagers on their own initiative; the required expenses are raised by the villagers themselves and donated by believers. During the fair, villagers gather with their whole families and also invite relatives and friends to feasts. Villagers and pilgrims from all directions flock to Yongchang Temple and the surrounding markets, with more than tens of thousands of participants every year. During the fair, villagers spontaneously prepare foods such as noodles and glutinous rice balls and send them to the temple, providing them free of charge for pilgrims to eat. The fair takes the eighth day of the fourth lunar month as its main day and lasts three days around it. On the main day, Buddhist activities such as the bathing of the Buddha and worship of the Buddha are first held inside Yongchang Temple. Afterwards, centered on the Chief's Hall, grand activities of sacrifice to Jin Qi and the procession (chuhui) are held. Wherever the procession goes, villagers set up incense tables and set off firecrackers to welcome it. The performance items are rich and varied, covering gongs and drums, dragon dance, stilt-walking, carrying flower baskets, gangtou (shoulder-pole acts), incense gongs, incense burners, Jiangnan silk-and-bamboo music and many other traditional folk arts forms. In addition, the markets during the fair gather numerous folk handicrafts of the Jiangnan region. The Jincun Temple Fair is continued through group transmission; the elders and related personnel familiar with the fair's procedures and major cultural matters are its core organizers. During the fair, more than thirty folk performance troupes take part in the performances, and the village committee plays an important role in coordinating and organizing these troupes. The Jincun Temple Fair reflects the harmonious coexistence of Buddhism and folk belief. The Jincun Temple Fair is a cultural space in which many intangible cultural heritages, such as folk performing arts and handicrafts, are able to survive, fully reflecting the strong vitality of traditional culture.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Locally, the Jincun Temple Fair is as important as the Spring Festival. It carries forward the traditional Chinese virtues of defending one's home and country and of loyalty, courage and strength; it continues the traditional ethics of filial piety, fraternal duty and benevolence; and it has played an important role in strengthening local people's sense of cultural identity and fostering simple and honest customs.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Much of the value of the Jincun Temple Fair lies hidden in its two coexisting layers of belief. Yongchang Temple was first built in the Southern Dynasties, and the original fair was a Buddha-bathing celebration of the birth of Shakyamuni; during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, in memory of Jin Qi, who fell in the anti-pirate battle of the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, a whole set of folk beliefs and customs - sacrifices to Jin Qi and the carrying of the Chief's statue out in procession - was added. Buddhist Buddha-bathing and popular loyalty and courage appear one after the other in the same temple on the same day; this kind of coexistence is not common on China's southeast coast, and constitutes the uniqueness of the Jincun Temple Fair. In terms of organizational form, it is almost an annual general mobilization of the village community. From preparation to holding takes nearly half a year; expenses are raised by the villagers themselves with donations from believers; more than thirty folk performance troupes each take a part under the coordination of the village committee; and the elders familiar with the procedures are the true core. During the fair, villagers spontaneously make noodles and glutinous rice balls to send to the temple free for pilgrims to eat - a single meal draws local villagers and outside pilgrims closer. The Jiangnan folk handicrafts gathered during the fair, and the performance items such as gongs and drums, dragon dance, stilt-walking, carrying flower baskets and Jiangnan silk-and-bamboo music, provide stable venues for the survival of many crafts in the surrounding area.

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 (Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗