Temple Fair
01 · Historical Records
The Fengdu Temple Fair originated in the Mingshan incense festival, is transmitted mainly in Fengdu County, Chongqing, began in the Western Jin dynasty, and has a history of more than one thousand years. By the end of the Qing dynasty, the number of temples had reached 72, and the incense offerings were extremely prosperous. The Fengdu Temple Fair reached its peak in the Qing dynasty. In March 1988, Fengdu folk organizations resumed hosting the Fengdu Temple Fair, attracting a total of 360,000 participants from the surrounding region, from all over the country, and from overseas Chinese communities, an unprecedented spectacle. The Fengdu Temple Fair originated in the people's belief in various gods and in the ancestral sacrifice activities of the various trades.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
After the Western Jin, Mingshan became a prized geomantic site where Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian schools vied to build monasteries and temples, gradually forming a huge complex of ancient buildings. Since then, the fair has been held without interruption once every year or once every two years, and its cultural attraction and driving force have steadily grown. With social and economic development, the fair merged with market trading, becoming a comprehensive social activity in which people worship the gods, exchange feelings and conduct trade, and displaying the following characteristics: first, the temple complex, which embodies the basic layout of Mingshan, is an indispensable material carrier of the fair's activities. The construction of the temples and the shaping of their images display the superb architectural and carving skills of the people. Second, during the fair there is a rich and colorful display of folk culture. There are dynamic performances such as song, dance and storytelling, as well as static displays of objects such as painting and handicrafts that embody exquisite folk workmanship, covering literature, music, fine arts, dance, folklore and many other categories, and fully reflecting the richness of folk culture. Fourth, the related religious sacrifices and ancestral worship activities always uphold the principle of "presenting goodness and bringing harmony" (weishan chenghe), guiding the people to release the good thoughts deep in their hearts. The Fengdu Temple Fair integrates folk cultural and artistic performance with economic and trade exchange and tourism, and has a broad social influence.
Pilgrimage among the seventy-two temples
Competing traditions raised halls for more than a millennium, reaching seventy-two temples, whose fabric still carries the fair.
Ancestor rites of the trades
Each trade honours its own founding ancestor with its own offerings, adding a human-centred layer to the pantheon of the fair.
Merit as the guiding theme
Sacrifice and ancestor rites rest on the principle of goodness, tempering the grandeur of ceremony with moral exhortation.
Song, dance and craft on one ground
Performers and makers share the fairground, letting song, music, painting, dance and custom each occupy its own corner.
Trade in local produce from neighbouring counties
Produce and crafts flow in from neighbouring counties, making the fair a marketplace and a channel of regional exchange.
The incense assembly since the Western Jin
Continuous since the Western Jin and peaking in the Qing, the fair now resumes its yearly or biennial rhythm after a long interruption.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Third, during the fair, local and neighboring counties and districts carry out trade in local products, handicrafts and the like, promoting exchange and interconnection between regions. The construction and image-shaping of Fengdu's Mingshan, the types of folk activities displayed in the incense-offering process, and the traditional cultural expressions of the Bayu region and of Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou all reflect the richness of regional culture and the wisdom and creativity of the people, and have historical and cultural value that cannot be underestimated.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The cultural value of the Fengdu Temple Fair comes from the completeness of Mingshan itself as a material carrier. After the Western Jin, the temples were built in competition by Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian schools, reaching seventy-two by the end of the Qing; the craftsmanship of the architecture and the statues thereby became one of the fair's most substantial attractions. The fair is held once every year or once every two years without interruption, and the temple complex, the temple market and the pilgrim routes together form a complete folkloric space that can be examined on the ground. The traditional cultural expressions of the Bayu region and of Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou are presented together at the fair: dynamic performances such as song, dance and storytelling appear in the same venue as static displays such as painting and handicrafts, covering literature, music, fine arts, dance, folklore and many other categories. The trade in local products and handicrafts also draws the people of neighboring counties and even neighboring provinces into one place, making the fair a case study in how the folk culture of eastern Sichuan converges around a religious center. The people of local and neighboring counties and districts also come forming associations by trade; each trade has different objects and dates for its ancestral sacrifices, and the fair gathers them all into the same season. The sacrifices and ancestral worship activities always uphold the principle of presenting goodness and bringing harmony, guiding the people to release the good thoughts deep in their hearts — an orientation that keeps the grand rituals converging in the direction of exhorting goodness. The revival hosted by folk organizations in March 1988 drew 360,000 participants, including overseas Chinese, and stands as a landmark event in which this tradition was reconnected in the contemporary era.
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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