Taige
01 · Historical Records
Taige (raised pavilions) originated from deity-welcoming festival gatherings in the Central Plains region, and later spread to the southeastern coast and the northwestern region; it was highly popular for a time during the Qing dynasty, and in the course of its transmission it combined with local conditions in different places, developing distinct characteristics. According to the recollections of old artists, Kuancheng beigan (back-carrying poles) began in the Qing dynasty and flourished during the Republican period.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Taige — also called 'taijiao' (raised corners), 'taige' (raised songs), 'gaotai' (high raises), 'naoge' (挠阁), 'naoge' (脑阁, head-borne pavilions), and 'gaozhuang' (high displays) — is a folk procession performance form in traditional festival activities. In a taige performance, several children dressed as ancient-costumed opera figures are arranged into elaborate tableaux according to the plot, fixed to iron pillars and brackets on a square pavilion, which bearers carry as they walk. Traditional taige tableaux are mostly drawn from plays such as The Butterfly Lovers, The Marriage of the Heavenly Fairy (Tianxian pei), The Legend of the White Snake, Journey to the West, Zhaojun Goes Beyond the Frontier, The Blue Bridge Meeting, The Yellow Crane Tower, and The Fisherman's Revenge (Daiyu sha jia). The tableaux stand about 3 to 5 meters high, and the pavilions have three to five tiers, generally with one person per tier; some have four on the bottom tier, five or six in the middle tier, and one on the top tier. In a taige procession, four pavilions are generally used, and at most six or even eight may be used, each carried forward by four or eight bearers. Taige fuses painting, opera, colored paper craft, and paper sculpture into one, with elegant forms and spectacular scenes; it is loved by the broad masses and has long remained prevalent among the people. Kuancheng beigan, commonly called 'beige' (back songs), is mainly transmitted in Beicun (North Village) of Kuancheng Town, Kuancheng Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province. Kuancheng beigan has numerous performers and a large troupe. Traditionally, beigan required that the performance setups not repeat within three days, with the child performers changed daily. Historically, beigan performances at temple fairs were mostly jointly organized by officials, merchants, and the common people; in difficult times, funds were raised through chamber-of-commerce collections and individual contributions to support the activities. Kuancheng beigan props are made with great refinement, and the bindings at the upper and lower corners are extremely meticulous: the abacus in Suan Liang Deng Dian, the Wind-Fire Wheels that Nezha treads in Huo Dong Tian, and the bright red longevity peaches in Magu Offers Birthday Wishes (Magu xian shou) are all made extremely lifelike — a triumph of superb craftsmanship. The weight of a Kuancheng beigan setup averages about 26.5 to 27 kilograms; a skilled pole carrier can support three or four child performers on one frame at most, bearing a load of more than one hundred kilograms. During performances, several fork-carriers (escorts) and stool-carriers follow closely behind, each fulfilling their duties with clearly divided responsibilities. Kuancheng beigan has a long history and a distinctive style.
The carrier and the child rider
A single frame, weighing some twenty-seven kilograms, can carry three or four child riders totalling over a hundred kilograms.
Three days of unrepeated rigs
No two frames may repeat within three days and the child riders change daily, forcing constant refreshment.
Attendants with forks and stools
Attendants with forks and stools follow the frame, each guarding a stress point so it can be steadied at once.
Abacus, fire wheels and longevity peaches
Props are exquisitely tied on, from the abacus in the grain-counting scene to the fire wheels and red longevity peaches.
Joint funding by officials, merchants and people
Temple-fair performances were jointly financed by officials, merchants and the public, later by guild subscriptions and personal collections.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Kuancheng beigan is most securely rooted in the Beicun area of Kuancheng Town. The troupe is assembled from artists of all tiers in the village: one frame with one skilled pole carrier, plus fork-carriers and stool-carriers as escorts — only then is a beigan setup considered properly organized. Historically, temple-fair beigan performances were often jointly run by officials, merchants, and common people; although their channels for contributing money or labor differed, all had to deliver the frames to the front of the temple on the same day, and this organizational method has been followed ever since. After the poles were changed to iron, the bindings at the upper and lower corners were premised on free movement while avoiding friction and squeezing; the knot-and-clasp methods handed down by the elders remain crucial. The thirteenth-generation old artists have passed away one after another; today only one, now nearly eighty, still transmits the art, and rescue is urgently needed.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige · Taige.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
With the acceleration of modernization, taige activities are gradually declining, and a situation has arisen in rural areas in which the craft of making taige has no successors; related rescue and protection work is extremely urgent. The frames now in use are all iron; the upper and lower corners are premised on free movement and safety, and the binding of the upper and lower poles demands extreme care, with friction and squeezing to be avoided as far as possible. At present, most of the thirteenth-generation old artists have passed away one after another; only one, now nearly eighty years old, still transmits the beigan craft, and protection is urgently needed.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhao Yunshan 03-1478
- Zhang Genzhi 03-1479
- Liu Wenchang 03-1480
- Zhong Yuwen 03-1481
- Fu Hengyu 03-1482
- Deng Junchao 03-1483
- Liu Duanfu 03-1484
- Li Ming 03-1485
- Peng Niangyao 03-1486
- Chen Fanxing 04-1976
- Tan Haobin 04-1977
- Gongsun Xin 04-1978
- Li Fuxian 04-1979
- Gao Yumin 05-3029
- Hao Laixi 05-3030
- Yao Ruming 05-3031
- Li Yangbo 05-3032
- Liu Qiyue 05-3033
- Liang Erdun 05-3034
- Hu Liangang
- Chen Wenshan
- Sun Kangfu
- Zhou Xingguang
- Huang Xuejun
- Zhang Guoqin
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。