The origin of the Guangfu Temple Fair

Temple fair, also known as temple market or festival. These names can be said to be the historical traces left in the formation process of temple fairs. The formation of a social custom has its profound social and historical reasons. The custom of temple fairs is closely related to the religious activities of Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. At the same time, it develops and improves along with folk belief activities. and became popular.

Buddhism began to be introduced into China during the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the same time, Taoism also gradually took shape during this period. They launched a fierce competition for survival with each other, and each gained a firm foothold during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, they both reached their heyday, and various religious activities appeared. Such as Christmas celebrations, altar altars, water and land ashrams, etc. The focus of competition between Buddhism and Taoism is, first, the construction of temples and Taoist temples. The second is to win over believers and attract the masses. For this reason, entertainment content to attract the public was added to their religious ceremonies, such as dance, drama, tours, etc. In this way, not only the faithful men and women flock to it and enjoy it endlessly, but also many ordinary people are willing to join in the fun. In order to win over the masses, Buddhism and Taoism often expand their influence by going out of temples. This was the case with the Buddhist statue activities that were popular in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The so-called walking statues are a religious ceremony in which statues of gods and Buddhas are mounted on floats and paraded in urban and rural areas, so they are also called walking around the city, patrolling the city, etc. After Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang in the 9th year of Taihe (485 AD), Buddhism was greatly promoted. Every year on the birthday of Sakyamuni, a Buddhist statue traveling convention is held. The day before the Buddha statue left for the trip, all the temples in Luoyang City sent the Buddha statue to Jingming Temple. At one time, there were more than a thousand Buddha statues. The procession was led by a lion to ward off evil spirits, followed by flags, flags and flags, followed by music, a variety of plays, and various acrobatics, making it very lively. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the worshiping of gods and patrols in temple fairs were mostly the inheritance and development of the iconographic activities of this period. And gradually spread to Sichuan, Huguang, and Xixia. After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the style of portraiture declined and is rarely seen in records. In addition to the statues of Buddhism and Taoism, they also hold Taoist temples in temples and temples, regularly carry out some rituals or Buddhist activities, and wait for believers and laypeople to come to fast, listen to lectures, and worship.

Activities of rewarding games and rewarding gods, which were originally folk beliefs, have been combined with Buddhism, Taoism and gods. Its activities were gradually transferred from rural communities to Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. When Buddhism and Taoism hold various festivals and celebrations, various civil society organizations also take the initiative to attend gatherings to add to the fun. In this way, temples and Taoist temples have gradually become places for mass gatherings based on religious activities.

And these religious activities are gradually becoming secularized, which means that they are more often held by the people through negotiation. This change not only greatly increases the attractiveness and liveliness of these activities, but also increases the commercial atmosphere of these activities as they become more popular and entertaining. With the full assistance of religious circles and all sectors of society, temple fair activities have been further developed.

Although the number and scale of temple fairs during this period have become very popular across the country, in terms of the content of temple fair activities, they still focus on worshiping gods and competitions, while in terms of folk commerce and trade relatively weak. Temple fairs were truly finalized and perfected in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even in modern times.

In the early days, temple fairs were only a grand sacrificial activity. With the development of the economy and the need for people to communicate, temple fairs gradually integrated into market trading activities while maintaining sacrificial activities. The temple fair at this time was also called the temple market and became an important form of market in China. With people's needs, entertainment activities were added to the temple fairs. Therefore, visiting temple fairs during the Chinese New Year has become an indispensable part of the Chinese New Year. However, the specific contents of temple fairs in various regions are slightly different and each has its own characteristics.