Folk Beliefs and Customs

Ⅹ-85Folk CustomsJinshan, ShanghaiBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The Qianlong edition of the Jinshan County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty records: "On the northern (yin) side of Qin Mountain, during the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty, there was a great storm of thunder and rain; a dragon was seen in the clouds, and a white flood dragon (jiao) rose from a cave into the sky and departed.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Little White Dragon belief is a folk activity formed by the common people of Luxiang Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai, to pray for good weather, abundant harvests, peaceful and contented living, and happiness. It is a major activity that, in the course of its historical transmission, has been combined with local economic and cultural development; through the humanistic integration of folk legends such as that of the Little White Dragon, it has formed a richly expressive set of prayer rituals, and is a distinctive local belief and folk activity. At present, the annual folk activity on the third day of the third lunar month is the complete expression of the Little White Dragon belief. Legend has it that on the third day of the third lunar month of a certain year, the Little White Dragon descended to the "White Dragon Cave" in the Jinshan region to cultivate himself, during which he fought a great battle against the black snake spirit, protecting the farming work and the production and lives of the people in the surrounding area. Making and eating White Dragon cakes, worshipping the Little White Dragon god, parading the deity, and dancing the Little White Dragon have become the principal prayer activities of the people of Luxiang. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, people prepare White Dragon cakes and other offerings and go to the "White Dragon Cave" at Qinwang Mountain to hold a welcoming ceremony, inviting the Little White Dragon to take part in the folk activity and procession. The welcoming procession reaches Xupu Temple, where, singing and dancing, the people hold a grand sacrificial ceremony: the inheritor reads the sacrificial text and respectfully invites the Little White Dragon god to leave his seat, after which the people carry the Little White Dragon god on a procession. The procession includes segments such as fetching water at the ancient bridge (praying for good weather), walking through the streets and lanes (praying for happiness, peace, and settled living), and inspecting the farmland (praying for a good harvest). Finally, the Little White Dragon god returns, and the activity comes to an end. Its transmitting groups and inheritors are concentrated mainly in such technical fields as the making of White Dragon cakes, the sacrificial procession, the dragon dance, and the making of Little White Dragon models. The Little White Dragon belief gathers together the wisdom of the people of Luxiang, comforts their hearts, and carries their longings and hopes for a better life. It has had a positive influence on the lives of the local people and has permeated their daily life and festival customs. Today, eating White Dragon cakes, cutting White Dragon paper patterns, making dragon-head shoes, and dancing the White Dragon at major festivals have become the norm, and the scenic spots and temples of the Luxiang area are also carved with dragon forms of every kind.

Preparing and offering the white dragon cake

Before the third day of the third month the Lvxiang families make white dragon cakes as the first gift to the dragon god.

Welcoming the dragon at the White Dragon Cave

On the third day of the third lunar month people go to the White Dragon Cave on Qinwang Hill to invite the dragon to join the procession.

Reading the rite text and inviting the god out

At the Xupu temple the inheritor reads the rite text and formally invites the dragon god out before the statue is carried in procession.

Drawing water, passing the streets and visiting the fields

The procession has three stages: drawing water at the old bridge for rain, touring the streets for peace, and visiting the fields for a good harvest.

The white dragon tales recorded in the Jinshan volume

The Jinshan volume of the Panorama of Chinese Folk Tales preserves the local dragon legends behind this practice.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

"Works such as the Complete Collection of Chinese Folk Tales: Shanghai Jinshan Volume also record the folk legends circulating locally. From then on, the spirit of the Little White Dragon — "eliminating evil and promoting good, upholding justice, and uniting in progress" — was integrated into the production and daily lives of the local people. In order to pray for a better life and to carry forward the spirit of the Little White Dragon, the local people formed the Little White Dragon belief folk activity, which has been passed down from generation to generation. The Little White Dragon belief is distributed mainly in the administrative villages and communities within Luxiang Town, and is most typical of the area around Xupu Temple in Luxiang, the old street of Luxiang, Ganxiang Community, the Luxiang Fruit Park, and the primary and secondary schools of Luxiang.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The annual third-day-of-the-third-month festival links the White Dragon Cave at Qinwang Mountain, Xupu Temple, and the old street of Luxiang into a fixed route, with offerings, processions, and everyday food interwoven: outside the festival season, White Dragon cakes, dragon-head shoes, and White Dragon patterns still appear in the annual festivals of the people of Luxiang, so the belief does not remain confined to the day of the ritual alone. Books such as the Complete Collection of Chinese Folk Tales: Shanghai Jinshan Volume record the dragon legends circulating locally, so that the narrative basis of this belief has been fixed through the compilation of folk literature and has become part of the foundation of local identity.

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 (Jinshan, Shanghai) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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