Temple Fair
01 · Historical Records
Since the Ming dynasty, every year from the 19th to the 25th of the sixth lunar month, the people of Zhoutun Village and Liutun Village have carried the Erlang God, worshipped at the Erlang Temple of Zhoutun, and the God of Literature, worshipped at the Wenchang Temple of Liutun, out of their shrines and into their god-sedan chairs, carrying out activities such as visiting villages and circulating through temples, and have formed a set of established procedures, including sacrificing to the gods, inviting the gods, treading for the gods, the mounted procession of the gods, worshipping the Mountain God of Zhihai, the five-gate procession of the gods, and closing with fulfilled vows. The Guide June Temple Fair is connected to the great population migration of the early Ming dynasty. According to the Guide County Gazetteer, the Guide city walls were completed in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign (1380). In the third month, the Ming court relocated 48 peasant households from Hezhou to Guide, exempting them from taxes so that they would guard the city. The origins of the Guide June Temple Fair are tied to the early-Ming migrants. According to the Guide County Gazetteer, the Guide city walls were completed in the 13th year of Hongwu, and in the third month the Ming court relocated 48 peasant households from Hezhou to Guide, exempting them from taxes to guard the city; the Hezhou centurions (baihu) Wang You, Liu Qing, and Zhou Jian then came to Guide with their families to defend the city, establishing the Wang, Liu, and Zhou tun (military colonies). Gathering into villages on the new land and building temples, the migrants brought the Daoist deities they worshipped with them to Guide. Since the Ming dynasty, every year from the 19th to the 25th of the sixth lunar month, the people of Zhoutun and Liutun villages have carried the Erlang God of the Zhoutun Erlang Temple and the God of Literature of the Liutun Wenchang Temple out of their shrines and into their god-sedan chairs, carrying out activities such as visiting villages and circulating through temples. From this grew a set of established procedures: sacrificing to the gods, inviting the gods, treading for the gods, the mounted procession of the gods, worshipping the Mountain God of Zhihai, the five-gate procession of the gods, and closing with fulfilled vows. That so many gods must each be visited in turn shows this is a rite that puts many relationships in order. The God of Literature and Erlang God brought by the migrants were accepted and took root through long co-existence with the local Tibetan people; the God of Literature even changed from a deity governing literary fortune to an all-powerful god protecting people's safety and lives. In Tibetan the fair is called Zhoukala Shize, meaning the grand gathering of the two gods; the two migrant gods ultimately appeared together on the plateau fairgrounds in the form of a meeting.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Guide June Temple Fair is a traditional folk cultural activity centered on belief in Erlang Shen and Wenchang (the God of Literature); in Tibetan it is called Zhoukala Shize, meaning "the grand gathering where the two gods meet". Organized by Guide County and jointly held by Zhoutun Village of Changmu Town and Liutun Village of Hexi Town, it draws large crowds on a grand scale, with the main activity site at the Riverside Park of Guide County today. The Guide June Temple Fair has distinct ethnic characteristics. First, rites are held to consecrate the deities, sacrifice to them, and worship them. Then the ceremonial procession carries them out of the temples in good order, making the rounds of the temples. The several-hundred-strong procession, everyone wearing long robes of ancient style (the Zhoutun team wears Tibetan dress), some raising banners and flags and yellow umbrellas, some carrying sedan chairs, some beating gongs and drums, escorts a single god-sedan chair on its circuit, while the crowds who hurry over vie to offer khata scarves, money, and goods to the god-chair. Finally, at the main fairground of Riverside Park, two kilometers from the county seat, the two gods are brought together and perform back and forth. After the performance, the people pray for blessing and the averting of disaster, for heirs, for the relief of illness, and for auspicious peace and abundant harvests, and then each god returns to its own temple. Besides the performance of divine plays, the fair period also sees goods-exchange fairs, Tibetan LaYi love songs, and hua'er singing, with seas of people and a tremendous bustle. The Hezhou centurions (baihu) Wang You, Liu Qing, and Zhou Jian were subsequently transferred to Guide with their dependents to defend the city walls, and the Wang, Liu, and Zhou tun (military colonies) were established. The migrants then formed villages here and built temples, bringing the Daoist deities they worshipped into the Guide region as well.
The two-village term
For seven days in the sixth lunar month two villages unite, their deities meeting as much as the people do.
Consecration and worship
The rite opens with consecration, then sacrifice and worship, before the deities set out for their rounds.
The procession leaves the shrine
Hundreds in period robes carry banners, umbrellas and gongs around the palanquin as it leaves the shrine.
Worship at the mountain and the five gates
The rite at Mount Zhihe and the passage through five gates are locally distinctive, and no step may be skipped.
The two deities meet at Hebin Park
In the park two kilometres from town the two deities meet and perform, as crowds offer khadags and prayers.
Layi and Huaher singing
Alongside the deity's plays come a goods market, Tibetan layi and Huaher songs, sacred and social life side by side.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Over long days and months of co-existence, the God of Literature and Erlang God brought by the migrants were accepted and worshipped by the local Tibetan people.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The God of Literature changed from a deity who simply governed literary fortune into an all-powerful god protecting people's safety and lives. The Guide June Temple Fair has a long history and grand scale; it preserves the folk beliefs of the Qinghai region and is one of Qinghai's most famous temple fairs. Carrying a great body of folk phenomena, it testifies to the westward advance of Central Plains culture, and is a distinctive traditional form of cultural expression formed within Guide's unique natural environment and cultural-historical setting, amid long-standing farming life and pastoral customs. It has broad popular and folk-transmission character, records much major historical and cultural information, and has important scholarly value.
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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