Daanxiaoshuigui Customs
01 · Historical Records
The Pingnan Da'an water-cabinet inspection custom is a traditional, spontaneous, periodic mass activity that took shape in Da'an Town, Pingnan County, Guangxi, centered on servicing firefighting equipment and holding firefighting parades and drills. It originated during the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty and has a history of more than a century; it is a representative township-level firefighting folk custom. In the sixteenth year of Daoguang (1836), Da'an suffered a catastrophic fire with heavy losses. On the twentieth day of the eighth lunar month of 1916, Da'an held a large-scale firefighting drill. After 1949, the methods and content of the firefighting drills were continually improved, and the organizers of the activity changed from the leading merchants of each street to the local firefighting work committee; voluntary fire prevention and collective rescue efforts became the prevailing practice in Da'an. In 2018, the Da'an Yong'an Fire Station took part in the Second ASEAN Regional Forum Urban Emergency Rescue Seminar, presenting the "water-cabinet inspection" custom and further showcasing the appeal of China's traditional firefighting wisdom. The Pingnan Da'an water-cabinet inspection custom began with commerce; it has distinctive features, well-established organization, and a highly spontaneous character.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Da'an Town was formerly known as "Dawu Market." Since the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing dynasty, as large numbers of Guangdong merchants traveled west up the river into Guangxi to trade, a succession of rural market towns rose up. At that time Da'an was dense with shops, its streets and lanes crisscrossed and its temples and shrines numerous; by the Daoguang period the saying "First Rong, Second Wu, Third Jiangkou" was already current, which shows its historic standing among the market towns of Guangxi. After the fire, enlightened townspeople, above all the major Guangdong merchants, recognized the importance of fire prevention and mobilized the shops and residents to establish a volunteer firefighting organization at the Yuedong Guild Hall. Residents donated funds to buy firefighting equipment, and seven fire stations, including the Delong Society, were formed on a street-by-street basis; the five ponds within the town were used as water sources for firefighting, and a firefighting convention was drawn up. Thereafter the townspeople held firefighting drills spontaneously every year. From then on, this day became an established folk occasion for servicing firefighting equipment (commonly known as "inspecting the water cabinets") and for raising awareness of fire prevention. On the day of the water-cabinet inspection activity, the whole town, organized by folk fire stations (brigades), carries out equipment servicing, firefighting parades, and grand firefighting competitions. The fronts of the fire stations and the street intersections are decked with lanterns and colorful decorations. Residents carry water cabinets and other equipment out of the fire stations and their homes, refurbish them, put on firefighting uniforms, and hold firefighting banners high; they first parade through all the streets of Da'an, then gather at the drill ground for the grand firefighting competition. In the fireball-shooting drills the crowd is in high spirits and works in concert, often producing the spectacular scene of a thousand people passing water along a human chain. Lion dances of all kinds and martial arts troupes thread through the proceedings, making for a scene of great liveliness. This mass activity has continued to the present day, drawing tens of thousands of spectators every year. This custom combines instruction with competition, has a strong festive character, involves the participation of the whole town, and enjoys wide influence.
Inspecting the water cabinets on the twentieth
Once a year the whole town lifts out its cabinets, hooks and sandbags to inspect them, a date inherited from the large drill of 1916.
Servicing the firefighting gear
Each of the seven brigades keeps its own gear; on inspection day the pieces are oiled, tested and re-roped, then freshly painted and carried out.
The firefighting parade
The parade sets out from the brigade house and moves street by street with flags raised, while music and lion dances squeeze into the procession.
Fireball throwing and relay passing of water
Contests test aim with fireballs and, above all, relay speed as hundreds pass water overhead without breaking the line.
Music, lion dance and martial arts interleaved
Lion dancers, wind-and-percussion bands and martial teams move between parade and contest, giving a sober fire drill a festive tone.
From great merchants to the fire committee
After 1949 organisers shifted from leading merchants to the local fire committee; the volunteer method survived, and in recent years has been demonstrated abroad.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This custom reflects the course of market-town development in the Xijiang River basin; with its rich historical and cultural character, broad popular spontaneity, and positive social educational value, it leads the locality toward unity and harmonious development. It is of positive practical significance for transmitting folk firefighting knowledge, promoting fire prevention by the whole public and small-scale firefighting units, fostering the public's conscientious love of hometown and community, and building a civilized and harmonious society.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
On the day of the water-cabinet inspection, the whole town assembles in detachments by fire station, carrying the water cabinets and hook lances they have kept over the past year out to the street corners for a check. Whether a cabinet leaks or a rope holds fast is something no one can say on an ordinary day; only when it is tried by hand on that day does it count. Year after year, fire-prevention knowledge thus becomes not a posted slogan but a skill in everyone's body. In recent years the Da'an Yong'an Fire Station has taken this set of practices beyond the town and presented it at the ASEAN Regional Forum urban emergency rescue seminar; it remains a rustic local method, yet it puts the idea of fire prevention by the whole public into real practice.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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