Temple Fair (Miaofengshan Temple Fair)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Temple Fair (Miaofengshan Temple Fair)

Applicant: Mentougou District, Beijing

Item No.: 991

Project No.: Ⅹ - 84

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Beijing

Type: new item

Applicant: Mentougou District, Beijing

Protected by: Miaofengshan Flower Association, Mentougou District, Beijing

Temple Fair (Miaofengshan Temple Fair)

Applicant: Mentougou District, Beijing

Temple fair, also known as "Temple market", is a kind of folk belief activities held regularly in and around temples, which is popular all over the country. Some large temple fairs had a considerable scale in the Tang Dynasty, and they are still handed down and have a wide influence. All kinds of temple fairs have their own time, most of them are a traditional Lunar Festival or a religious and folk belief day. Temple Fair has the characteristics of concentration, group and fixation. During the temple fair, all kinds of folk activities and technical trade activities can be fully displayed in public, and the activities are rich and colorful. The God greeting competition is also a form of temple fair. In Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, traditional temple fairs, which are popular among believers, are all introduced from the mainland and have a close relationship with the mother. In the overseas Chinese residential areas, many temple fairs brought from the motherland are full of incense, inheriting the cultural blood of the Chinese nation in a special way.

Miaofeng Mountain, known as Miaofeng in ancient times, is located in the western suburb of Beijing, 35 kilometers away from the city center, under the jurisdiction of Mentougou District of Beijing. Miaofengshan traditional temple fair is held twice a year. Spring fragrance is from the first day of April to the 15th of April, and autumn fragrance is from the 25th of July to the first day of August. The activity area of the temple fair is divided into Niangniang Temple and xiangdao tea shed. Niangniang Temple is built on the top of the mountain and consists of Lingguan hall, Huiji temple, Huixiang Pavilion, Yuhuangding and other buildings.

Miaofengshan temple fair is one of the most important temple fairs in North China. It began in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and reached the peak in the Qing Dynasty, with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. There are more than 300 incense clubs in different schools. The headman is the organizer, conductor and main inheritor of the incense club. There are more than 200 headmen in Beijing alone. All kinds of rules, rituals and skills are passed down by the headman in the way of master leading apprentice.

Miaofengshan temple fair retains the traditional folk auspicious culture characterized by folk beliefs in North China temple fair, which is an important basis for studying the world outlook and living conditions of people in North China, and has important reference value in folklore research. Xianghui is a kind of folk cultural activity organization, which inherits and retains a large number of folk arts, folk sports and folk crafts, enriching the cultural life of the masses. The activities of the incense club have a strong mass and self entertainment, which reflects the people's autonomy and the spirit of justice, humility and mutual assistance in the traditional society.