Temple Fair

Ⅹ-84Folk CustomsDongguan, GuangdongBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

In written records the Chayuan fair is called the March Contest Fair, a name that points to its true character: this is not purely temple worship, but a four-day village-community grand festival with the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak as the main object of sacrifice and the god-procession fair as its main practice. The dates are fixed from the 25th to the 28th of the third lunar month, unmoved by the year's fortunes, and the program of the four days follows precedent: the first day is the Arraying of the Fair and the marshalling of the procession; the next day is the Costuming; the middle days are the circuit through the villages; the final day closes with the Birthday Festival of the Eastern Peak. Dividing the contest fair into scheduled segments was a product of the Lingnan region, where great lineages and small communities are numerous and order must be kept through procedure. Organization is layered accordingly: the stewards marshal the procession in front of the ancestral hall, each village's managers and the temple office of the Eastern Peak divide responsibility for rites and banquets, and the dragon-lion auspicious-beast troupes are formed by village arts enthusiasts. The association's rules are to carry on tradition, return to folk custom, involve the whole populace, and integrate and include; during the four days the council, the temple, the village communities, the arts associations, and the people each have their own division of labor, and none oversteps, which is why this program has never fallen into disorder to this day.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Chayuan fair is the Chashan temple fair of the Eastern Peak, recorded in written sources as the "March Contest Fair". The temple fair is a folk custom activity distributed across Dongguan and even the Lingnan region, with the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak as the main object of worship and the god-procession fair as its main form of practice; it is held annually from the 25th to the 28th of the third lunar month, with Chashan Town as its concentrated area of transmission. The Chayuan fair lasts four days, and following traditional procedure it carries out a rich array of folk activities: the Arraying of the Fair (baihui), in which stewards marshal the procession before the Lin family ancestral hall at Shangbu; the Costuming (banhui), in which young children and youths dress as figures from stories; the Circuit (youhui), in which the bodhisattva procession (the Eastern Peak Emperor and Lord Guan), the civil-and-military patrol, the dragon-lion-auspicious-beast troupe, and the children's story troupe proceed through the villages in that order; the Running of the Bodhisattvas (zou/pao pusa), in which people carry the six statues, including Marshal Lei, in a running prayer for blessing; and the Birthday Festival of the Eastern Peak, with the rushing of the gods, wooden-man puppet shows, and grand Cantonese opera. The Chayuan fair aims to pray for seasonable weather and abundant harvests; it embodies the common people's wishes for a better life and for peace and prosperity under a tranquil realm, and it carries rich and diverse forms of cultural expression including folk belief, ritual practice, performing arts, and handicraft. The Arraying of the Fair (day one) and the Birthday Festival of the Eastern Peak (final day) are led by the temple office of the Eastern Peak and the managers of each village community, who are responsible for transmitting the rites and the "Banquet of Ten Thousand Blessings" and its ceremonial etiquette; the Costuming usually has boys as civil-and-military patrols, girls carrying flower baskets, and young children playing historical figures, with the young mostly taking elders as their teachers; the circuit procession (25th to 27th) proceeds through the villages in the order of the bodhisattva procession (the Eastern Peak Emperor and Lord Guan), the civil-and-military patrol, the dragon-lion-auspicious-beast troupe, and the children's story troupe, with the dragon-lion-auspicious-beast troupe performed by village arts enthusiasts and transmitted mainly through master-apprentice training; during the fair each night features wooden-man puppet shows and grand Cantonese opera, also transmitted mainly through master-apprentice training. Centered on the villages of Chashan Town, the Chayuan fair radiates to the whole city of Dongguan and the Pearl River Delta region, and even to Hong Kong and Macau; migrant workers from across the country working in Dongguan also take part. This heritage project upholds the principles of "carrying on tradition, returning to folk custom, universal participation, and integration and inclusiveness", preserving the etiquette and customs of the traditional procession to the greatest extent possible. During the four days of festival practice and in daily practice, the council, the Eastern Peak temple, the village communities, the arts associations, and the people each have their own division of labor, ensuring the smooth practice of this folk custom. Through generations of practice, the Chayuan fair has become an important way of sustaining community identity and an important component of the humanistic spirit of the Greater Bay Area. Rooted in the lived world and practical experience of rural folk society, in the interaction of people with nature, environment, and history, it has long played the social functions of sustaining community identity, spreading humanistic spirit, and strengthening social cohesion.

Marshalling the procession

On the first day officials assign each troupe its place and order of departure in front of the clan ancestral hall.

Costumed procession

Young performers enact characters and stories — youths as civil and martial guards, girls with flower baskets, children as historical figures.

Processions through the villages

For three days the statue, civil, lion and children troops walk village after village, stitching the four days into one route.

Running with the god's palanquin

Devotees run with six palanquins for blessing, pace forced by the gongs as bodies and devotion peak together.

The final feast and shared banquet

The last day closes with rites led by temple officers and village stewards, ending in a communal feast.

Nightly puppetry and opera

Every night brings puppetry and Cantonese opera, making the square before the shrine the village's common hall.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Centered on Chashan Town, the Chayuan fair spreads to the whole city of Dongguan and the Pearl River Delta, and extends to Hong Kong and Macau; migrant workers from other provinces working in Dongguan also join the procession during the four days — outsiders walking the same streets as the local villages is the most modern face of this temple fair. The fair's scale is held up by several troupes: the bodhisattva procession, honoring the Eastern Peak Emperor and Lord Guan, comes first, followed in order by the civil-and-military patrol, the dragon-lion-auspicious-beast troupe, and the children's story troupe. At the Costuming, boys play the civil-and-military patrols, girls carry flower baskets, and young children play historical figures, with the young mostly taking elders as their teachers; each night's wooden-man shows and opera are likewise transmitted mainly through master-apprentice training. The master-apprentice system and the village-community system run in parallel, giving this craft of ancestral halls and streets people to carry it on.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

New generations of inheritors are being cultivated through multiple models such as bringing inheritors into communities and schools, advancing intergenerational transmission. The Chayuan fair is a product of exchange between Central Plains culture and maritime culture, and holds multidisciplinary value in history, culture, science and technology, and the arts. This heritage project is an important bridge sustaining ties between the people of Chashan and their compatriots in Hong Kong and Macau, and has important value in promoting multicultural dialogue and strengthening cultural exchange.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Temple Fair (Dongguan, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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