Folk Beliefs and Customs

Ⅹ-85Folk CustomsMin, GansuBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Legend has it that the two goddesses were born during the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty (1465) and received additional titles during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty (1573).

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Minxian Qingmiao Festival is a deity-worship activity popular in certain village communities of Suolong Township, Minxian County, Gansu Province. The temple enshrines two benevolent deities: Lady Jinghua, Holy Mother of the Ninth Heaven, and Lady Jinghuang, Holy Mother of the Ninth Heaven. When they reached marriageable age, dissatisfied with the marriages arranged by their families, they left home, and ultimately manifested their divine power at the Combing Hair Terrace (Shufatai) in Suolong, becoming the benevolent deities venerated by the Five Great Associations of Suolong. The Minxian Qingmiao Festival is composed mainly of the segments "seating the bed" (zuochuang), "fetching water" (qushui), and "sitting in the temple" (zuomiao). The "seating the bed" segment is held from the sixth to the twelfth day of the sixth lunar month each year. From among the villagers of the ten village communities under the jurisdiction of the Five Great Associations of Suolong, the personnel who will serve the two goddesses are chosen: the First Lord (dalaoye), the Second Lord (erye), gong players (luoke), umbrella bearers (sanke), and old friends (laoyou). The process is presided over by the "old friends" (laoyou). Those selected must set up a bridal chamber in their own homes, establish a shrine to the goddesses within it, and prepare wedding banquets. At that time, the whole village comes bearing gifts to offer congratulations; all those selected dress as bridegrooms and attend upon the two goddesses in the bridal chamber. The "fetching water" segment begins after the "seating the bed" activities conclude. The First Lord, Second Lord, gong players, umbrella bearers, and old friends who serve the two goddesses, together with the entire village, carry the statues of the two goddesses on a procession along a fixed route through the territory and the horse-walking roads (zoumalu), after which water is fetched at the Goddess Shrine. In the "sitting in the temple" segment, after the First Lord and Second Lord have fetched the sacred water for the two goddesses, a new bed is set up in the temple, and they sit in quiet attendance in the temple for three days, keeping the two goddesses company and watching opera for their entertainment. According to the regulations of the temple fair, all personnel participating in the Minxian Qingmiao Festival, such as the First Lord and Second Lord, must be selected through strict procedures. As an ancient form of deity worship, the Qingmiao Festival selects for the two goddesses roles that can conduct affairs on their behalf and attend upon them, adding a note of human comedy, making the originally mysterious form of deity worship more humane, and fully embodying the collective wisdom of the people of Suolong Township.

Selecting the attendants in the sixth month

Attendants for the two goddess are chosen from ten villages, judged by strength and stamina rather than wealth.

The bridal chamber prepared in the home

The chosen man sets up a bridal chamber with an altar, dresses as a groom and holds a feast while attending the goddesses.

Walking the round for the water

The image is carried along a fixed route and water is drawn at the goddesses' shrine into red-lacquer basins.

Three days seated in the temple

Having drawn the water, the attendants sit in the temple for three days watching opera played before the shrine.

The two goddesses and the combing platform

Two goddesses who left unwanted marriages and manifested on the combing platform are honoured by the five temples of Suolong.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The general temple of the Five Great Associations is located at Zhaojiazhuang in Suolong Township, and the local people call it the "Yueloutan Temple" (Moon-Tower Beach Temple). The Minxian Qingmiao Festival reflects the worship of water by people in an agricultural civilization. It features wide participation and strong entertainment value, has a pronounced local character, reflects the aspirations of people in the region for a safe, prosperous, and happy life, and is a cultural phenomenon that enlivens community life and fosters social harmony in the countryside.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

What is precious about the Qingmiao Festival is that it dresses abstract deity worship in the garments of a human wedding: the selected First Lord and Second Lord must set up a bridal chamber, prepare wedding banquets, and wear bridegrooms' clothes, sitting in the shrine for three days watching opera on behalf of the goddesses, while the surrounding villagers send gifts in the name of offering congratulations. The deities thereby gain agents with whom one can deal, and the temples lend one another staff on the basis of the teams of First Lord, Second Lord, gong players, umbrella bearers, and old friends, so that the temple fairs of the Suolong area do not each need to maintain a full complement of personnel. On the water-fetching procession the whole village travels together, and along the horse-walking road over which the statues are carried, anyone encountered is given wedding candy, spreading blessings across the field ridges as they go. Wide participation and strong entertainment value are the marked features of the Suolong Township area, and it is precisely for this reason that this ancient form of worship did not come to an end at the threshold of the old rites. The Minxian Qingmiao Festival reflects the worship of water by people in an agricultural civilization, reflects the aspirations of people in the region for a safe, prosperous, and happy life, and is a cultural phenomenon that enlivens community life and fosters social harmony in the countryside.

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 (Min, Gansu) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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