Temple Fair (Jinci Temple Fair)

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

Applicant: Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province

Item No.: 991

Project No.: Ⅹ - 84

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Shanxi Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province

Protection unit: joint stock economic cooperative of Jinci community, Jinci Town, Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City

Temple Fair (Jinci Temple Fair)

Applicant: Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province

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.

Jinci temple is located in the southwest suburb of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. The Notre Dame hall in the temple was built in the ninth year of Taiping Xingguo (984) of the Northern Song Dynasty to worship the wife of King Wu of Zhou, the daughter of Jiang Taigong and the mother of Shuyu. In the second year of Hongwu (1369) of Ming Dynasty, the title of the Virgin Mary was added, which formed a grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the Virgin Mary on the second day of July. Later, it gradually evolved into a traditional temple fair of Jinci, which was called "Saishen fair" in ancient times. It has been prosperous since Ming and Qing Dynasties and has continued to this day.

At the beginning of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the competition God Association of Jinci performed in shuijingtai to reward the gods. On the second day of July, which is the first day of the birth of the Virgin Mary, county, township and village officials, squires and community leaders fast and bathe and pay homage to the Jinci temple. First in front of the Notre Dame hall, the sacrificial table was set up, and then the incense was put on the bell, and the county magistrate read the congratulatory message and saluted like an instrument. Since the first day, shuijingtai has been performing for five days, and at the same time, a race God meeting has been held throughout the county, with the activity gradually reaching its climax.

Jinci Temple Fair has a long history, which vividly reflects the local ancient folk customs of Taiyuan, and has important research value of Ethnology and history.