Hundreds of years of precipitation have created Foshan culture
On April 7, the gongs and drums and music in front of the Foshan Ancestral Temple were roaring, and the annual Beidi Festival kicked off. Spring Festival ceremony, Northern Emperor tour, reciprocating gods and performing operas… This ancient building ancestral temple, which has been passed down for nearly a thousand years, is filled with citizens who come to pray for blessings.
“Understanding the history of the ancestral temple is equivalent to understanding most of the history of Foshan.” In the view of Ling Jian, director of the Ancestral Temple Museum, the ancestral temple, as a national key cultural relic protection unit, is known as the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”. It not only displays many precious artworks, but also the spiritual belief of Foshan people and the soul of Foshan.
Produced by Foshan Press Station Planning Xie Hong and Li Cheng
Text/Jinyang.com Reporter Ouyang Zhiqiang Photo/Ancestral Temple Museum, Foshan BabaylanCity Archives
First there was the Northern Emperor before there was the Ancestral Temple
During the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1078-1085), a craftsman dug the first wooden stake of the “ancestral temple”. In the past thousand years, this building has undergone many renovations and expansions and finally becomes the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”. Komiks “When it comes to the ancestral temple, we have to mention the Northern Emperor. There is the Northern Emperor first and then the ancestral temple.” Liang Guocheng, an expert committee member of the Foshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, said that the Northern Emperor in the ancestral temple is called the Water God in Taoism. By Cinema is located in the water network area in Foshan. In the past, it was often affected by typhoons and floods, and the farming was greatly affected, and people’s lives were miserable. So, the people in Foshan specially invited the protector Beidi to pray that the water god would give water (meaning to regulate the water volume) and make good weather for the year. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, a large number of Central Plains gentry moved to Foshan, Lingnan, and brought advanced technologies such as culture and smelting in the Central Plains. At that time, Foshan Town relied on the transportation of Dongping River and other rivers, and became a major city for light industry and became one of the most at that time.The best economically developed regions are equivalent to Shanghai today.
“Relying on water transportation, Foshan people lived a good life. The folk belief of Beidi made the people taste the sweetness at that time.” Liang Guocheng said that at that time, considering that Beidi was a faith passed down from Foshan folk, a large-scale temple was built on the original basis. The Ancestral Temple in the early Ming Dynasty became the largest Taoist temple in southern China at that time. Liang Guocheng believes that the faith of the Northern Emperor represents the spiritual state of Foshan people. As the saying goes, “There are gods on the head three feet high.” Foshan people are particularly simple, especially abiding by the rules, and pay special attention to business credit under the faith of the Northern Emperor. The faith of the Northern Emperor is the root left by the ancestors of Foshan people from generation to generation. This mental state has produced Foshan culture and has been passed down from generation to generation.
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WanKomiksFutai creates an acoustic miracle
Wanfutai in the ancestral temple is the oldest and best preserved ancient stage in South China. There is a wide stone paving site in front of the platform, and there are two-story long corridors on both sides of the east and west for viewing dramas. Liang Guocheng said that the predecessor of Wanfutai was named Huafengtai. It was founded in the 15th year of Shunzhi in the early Qing Dynasty. It was renamed Wanfutai during the 60th National Congress of Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty (all of which are used as “Wanfutai”).
In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the first Cantonese opera guild was established at the Qionghua Hall on the bank of the Fenjiang River in Foshan. Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, all Cantonese opera troupes have gone to Wanfutai to perform first every time they go out to perform. Please read the Northern Emperor to see if the level is qualified, which is equivalent to a smooth and smooth performance.
“After the years of precipitation, Wanfutai has become an authoritative and sacred stage for Cantonese opera. Only after withstanding the censorship of the Northern Emperor can the troupe make a living, otherwise there will be no qualification.” Liang Guocheng found that the stage of Wanfutai faces the bronze statue of the Northern Emperor, with a stage of 2.07 meters high, and the distance between the eyes from the foot in the bronze statue of the Northern Emperor is also 2.07 meters, and the bronze statue is pedestal 1.6 meters. Generally speaking, the performers on the stage are just facing the Northern Emperor’s eyes, which shows that the Northern Emperor is reviewing his performance, so the performers will perform more attentively. Liang Guocheng said that some people would think this is superstition, but in modern times, not only Guangdong, but also the most popular Cantonese opera masters from Babaylan to WanfutaiAt the beginning of the stage, anyone who is engaged in Cantonese opera wants to perform at Wanfutai. When it comes to Wanfutai, no one dares to blaspheme.
Wanfutai, which has a history of more than 300 years and is decorated with brilliant wood carvings, stands majestic. In Liang Guocheng’s view, its architectural art is also very sophisticated. Liang Guocheng said that in 2002, a musician from Guangzhou came to Wanfu Station to perform and found that the sound effect without an electronic amplifier was better. Later, a professional team found that the architectural design of the entire Wanfu Station was a sound field structure. The sound went from Wanfu Station to the two corridors on both sides, and then to the Lingying Archway, forming a natural overall three-dimensional surround sound echo. Even the people in the last row could clearly listen to the sound, ensuring excellent performance sound effects. Liang Guocheng pointed out that without modern technological means, Wanfutai created an acoustic miracle. Unfortunately, people nowadays like to use loudspeakers to bury the advanced nature of Wanfutai.
Three cultural relics repair and protection are still the key point
” Understanding the history of the ancestral temple is equivalent to understanding most of the history of Foshan.” Ling Jian, director of the Ancestral Temple Museum, said that hundreds of years of history of Komiks must be protected and promoted. Over the years, his work has focused on the protection of cultural relics repair, the improvement of cultural connotations, the development of cultural and creative products, and the streamlining of management systems.
As an important base for the martial arts lion waking in Foshan, the Huang Feihong Memorial Hall and the Ip Man Hall were both in 2001.After completion, in 2018, the Ancestral Temple Museum successfully combined modern science and technology with history and culture, and completed the upgrade and renovation projects of the two venues. Nowadays, tourists can learn the routines of Hongquan martial arts in the Huang Feihong Kung Fu action sound and photoelectric playroom, play with Lingnan lions in human-computer interactive games, and learn Wing Chun moves in the Mu Renchun interactive experience area.
Now the thousand-year-old ancestral temple has a new look – the Northern Emperor’s birthday is empty alleys, the children gather together with their pen gifts, the Cantonese rhyme on Wanfu Platform is melodious, the Lingnan lion show is wonderful, the “Foshan Youyou” cultural and creative products make the cultural relics “live”… Ling Jian said that the ancient building complex of the Ancestral Temple Museum, known as the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”, has the typical characteristics of the Pearl River Delta and is a landmark building that shows Foshan’s rich historical and cultural heritage.
For such a representative building complex, the Ancestral Temple Museum spares no effort to protect ancient buildings. In 2010, after completing the entire face repair and external environment renovation of Cinema for three years and spending more than 30 million yuan, the entire ancestral temple ancient building complex was safer and more stable, beautiful and beautiful, blooming in the glory of the past. During the renovation process, the ancestral temple insists on repairing the old as it is, respecting traditional techniques, such as replacing the commonly used chemical pigments in modern times with traditional mineral pigments, re-coloring the gray plastic, and restoring a large number of wooden components and ceramic plastics.
In addition, the exhibition and protection project of the “Chongzheng Society” site is undergoing approval procedures. These repairs and protections are all about replacing the old appearance of the ancestral temple buildings on the premise of respecting history, and also allowing Lingnan architectural culture to be protected, preserved and continued to develop. Ling Jian said that the museum’s primary task is not only to repair and protect the ancient building complex of the ancestral temple, but also to deeply explore, organize, research and publicize the profound historical culture of the ancestral temple, and at the same time better pass on the intangible cultural heritage of the Foshan ancestral temple. “This is also one of our important missions.”