Folk Beliefs and Customs

Ⅹ-85Folk CustomsHong Kong, ChinaBatch 3 (2011)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Since 2004, when the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Tai Ping Ching Chiu Board of Directors was established as a permanent organization for the activity, the Hong Kong SAR Government has given it its support.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Cheung Chau Tai Ping Ching Chiu is a traditional folk belief custom venerating the Supreme Lord of the Dark Heaven (Xuantian Shangdi), held at regular intervals at the Pak Tai Temple on Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong. Tai Ping Ching Chiu, also called the "Pure Jiao", "Da Jiao", or "Praying for Peace Jiao", is a folk belief activity evolved from traditional Daoist rites. The Tai Ping Ching Chiu is held in the fourth lunar month every year; the bun-scrambling contest and the floating-colors parade are its two main activities. During the festival, three bamboo towers over ten meters high — the "bun mountains" — are erected in front of the Pak Tai Temple, each hung with about sixteen thousand lotus-seed paste buns printed with a red "longevity" character, also called "peace buns". The bun-scrambling contest is usually held on the last night of the Tai Ping Ching Chiu. At the village head's command, the contestants climb the bun mountains one after another and scramble for the buns. It is said that the more buns one gets, the more good fortune one receives, so the scramble is fierce. The buns won in the scramble are then distributed to other residents so that they "share in the good fortune". The floating-colors parade draws crowds that block the streets; the lion and unicorn dances add to the jubilant excitement. More than a hundred years ago, the activity was organized by a board of residents enthusiastic about participating in the affairs of the jiao rite. This project is of great significance for carrying forward the fine traditions of the Chinese nation and strengthening identification with Chinese culture.

The calendar of the jiao month

Held each fourth lunar month, the whole island joins: notice posted, preparations made, deities installed, then bun-scrambling and the float parade.

Building the bun tower

Three bamboo sheds are lashed into a tower over ten metres high and hung with about sixteen thousand longevity buns printed in red.

Scrambling for the buns and sharing the luck

On the final night villagers scramble up the tower for buns and then distribute them so the whole island shares the fortune.

The float parade and its staging

Table-top floats carrying children or figures, several metres high, move slowly through the narrow lanes while lions follow behind.

The rotating committee and its funding

Members are chosen by street segment and rotate duties for accounts, carpenters, the tower, theatre and the communal meal, with published books.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Cheung Chau Tai Ping Ching Chiu forms on Hong Kong's Cheung Chau Island a belief circle with the island as a single unit: when the jiao period arrives, the neighborhood associations and ancestral halls of every section of the island send teams to join the procession; the Pak Tai Temple on Cheung Chau is the site of the jiao altar, and the open ground before the temple is ringed in layers by bamboo scaffolding, stages, and incense tables. Cheung Chau once lived by fishing, so the offerings before the altar are mostly dried fish, dried oysters, and grain, and the dishes of the jiao banquet have spread from these seafood flavors into every household's kitchen. The floating-colors parade relies on the street layout of Cheung Chau: the color pavilions rise above head height, and the craftsmen use the differences in level at the narrow streets' turns to bring the static tableaux to life, which requires the coordination of the supporting men on both sides and of the weather; the bun-scrambling, meanwhile, builds the bun mountains in front of the temple, letting the island's residents scramble in one place and pressing the barriers of geography into the joy of dividing the buns afterward. More than a hundred years ago the activity was organized by a board of residents enthusiastic about jiao affairs; the board established in 2004 became a standing institution, with the support of the SAR government.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Tai Ping Ching Chiu is one of the few popular beliefs in Hong Kong where residents still nominate the list of altar officiants: board members are elected by section and are responsible for raising funds, erecting the bamboo scaffolding, carrying the bun mountains, writing the ritual petitions, and engaging opera troupes; the four-odd months of preparation mobilize the funds and manpower of the whole island. The peace buns distributed after the bun scramble follow the rule of scrambling first and distributing afterward; whether one scrambles many or few is not judged, for what matters is sharing in the same excitement. This egalitarian mode of distribution is akin to the old custom of mutual aid in the local fishing society. In recent years the ritual protocol of the jiao period has been joined by recreational, cultural, and tourist activities: the floating colors and the lion dances have been written into the festival program, and while the worship of the gods remains, the spectacle side has gradually grown heavier; young people now come to know the colors first and the jiao altar afterward, which has become the new point of entry for this belief in the present day.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

Wu Jishan 05-3019
Xu Shunwei 05-3020
Huang Guanghui 05-3021
Chen Jikun 05-3022
Sinapinchu 05-3023
Liu Shimei 05-3024
Zhang Qingming 05-3025
Zheng Quanguang 05-3026
Ye Da 05-3027
Li Yaohui
Luo Shengzong

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Folk Beliefs and Customs (Hong Kong, China) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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