Folk Beliefs and Customs

Ⅹ-85Folk CustomsPinghe, FujianBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The thousand-year-old Sanping Temple of southern Fujian stands in Wenfeng Town, Pinghe County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province; it was founded in the fifth year of the Huichang era of the Tang dynasty (845) by the eminent monk Master Yizhong of the late Tang, and has a history of more than one thousand years to this day. Master Yizhong's ancestral home was Gaoling, Shaanxi, and he was born in Futang (present-day Fuqing City); after his passing he gradually evolved into a Buddhist folk deity, belonging to the worship of Buddhist masters within popular belief, and many miraculous folk legends about him are widely circulated. Every year millions of believers go on pilgrimage to Sanping Temple, which has become an important window for folk cultural exchange between Zhangzhou in southern Fujian and the Taiwan region of China. This custom is not only devoutly believed by tens of millions of faithful men and women on the mainland of the motherland; with the prosperity of the ancient Yuegang Harbor of Zhangzhou, a principal departure port of the Maritime Silk Road, the export of "Kraak porcelain" from the Pinghe kilns, and the migration of many people of Zhangzhou to Taiwan to open up land and start businesses in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has also spread far to Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, with believers in many countries and regions around the world.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The temple is built against the mountain, rising from lower in front to higher in back, with a well-proportioned overall structure; its "three halls and a half" layout is quite rare throughout the country. The temple enshrines Master Yizhong, who was granted the title Master of Universal Aid (Guangji Dashi) by imperial edict and is popularly called "Lord Sanping Patriarch". Sanping Temple, founded by him, has flourishing incense offerings to this day; it is not only a household name in southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong, but also well known in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. The Sanping Patriarch belief is a spiritual bond linking the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and historical testimony to the continuity of Fujian-Taiwan culture. Among its practices, the "borrowing money custom" covers the steps of washing the hands, supervising the fast, making a vow, borrowing money, and repaying the money and donating the promised profit. In Taiwan alone there are more than fifty branch temples. Branch temples in places such as Tainan City, Talou of Pingdong, Xinguangli of Kaohsiung, and Lantan of Chiayi hold Sanping Patriarch belief activities every year, with participating believers numbering more than one million, fully demonstrating the common roots of the Sanping Patriarch cultural belief across the Strait. The Sanping Patriarch belief is deeply rooted in the popular life of both sides of the Taiwan Strait and is historical testimony to the continuity of Fujian-Taiwan culture.

The five steps of the borrowing rite

Washing hands, keeping the fast, stating the vow, borrowing with a receipt, and repaying the sum together with an offering of the promised profit.

The pilgrimage season at Sanping temple

Pilgrims climb the hillside temple, burn paper at the outer altar, and enter the great hall during seasonal incense weeks.

Annual rites at the Taiwan branch temples

Over fifty branch temples in Taiwan hold their own annual rites for the founder, with over a million participants sharing one deity's birthday.

The hall layout of three and a half halls

The temple rises with the hillside in a rare layout of three and a half halls, with the statue of the founder set high in the innermost hall.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Sanping Patriarch is a Buddhist folk deity worshipped in the popular belief of Zhangzhou and Taiwan; he did many good deeds for the local people and is a historical figure who made outstanding contributions to the history of the development of Zhangzhou and Taiwan.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Protecting and transmitting the Sanping Patriarch belief helps to arouse the feelings of love for country and hometown among compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan and among overseas Chinese, to strengthen cohesion, and plays a positive role in promoting national unity and the reunification of the country.

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 (Pinghe, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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