Hundreds of years of precipitation have established Foshan culture. On April 7, 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, as a national key cultural relic protection unit, the ancestral temple is known as the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”. It not only displays many precious works of art, 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 Archives
One
The Northern Emperor first came before the ancestral temple
The Northern Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawInternet (1078-1Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw085Cinema 1950 witch cloth Draw year), a craftsman set up the first wooden stake in the “ancestral hall”. In the past thousand years, Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw has been renovated and expanded many times and finally became the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”. “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 Babaylan 1990 cloth drawwater god in Taoism. Because Foshan is located in the water network area, it was often affected by typhoons and floods in the past, and farming was greatly affected, making people’s lives miserable. So, BuddhaThe people in the mountain were specially invited to the protector Beidi in the north to pray that the water god would give water (meaning to regulate the water volume) and that the weather would be good 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 rivers such as Dongping River and became a major city for light industry, becoming one of the top economic development areas at that time, 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 of the people at that time.” Liang Guocheng said that at that time, considering that Beidi was the faith passed down from the ancestors of Foshan folk, Babaylan 1990 cloth draw 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, Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw, 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 paying special attention to commercial 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.
Wanfutai 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 built in the 15th year of Shunzhi in the early Qing Dynasty. It was renamed Wanfutai on the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty (all below use “Wanfutai”).
In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the first Cantonese opera guild wasThe Qionghua Hall on the bank of the Fenjiang River in Foshan was established. Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, all Cantonese opera troupes have gone out to perform first every time they go out to perform. Please check whether the Northern Emperor can read it 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, plus the bronze statue pedestal is 1.6 meters. Generally speaking, the performers on the stage just face the eyes of the Northern EmperorKomiks 1960 witch cloth draw, which shows that Babaylan 1990 clothes drawThe 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 all over the world started by stepping onto the stage of Wanfutai. As long as they are engaged in Cantonese opera, everyone 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 Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw. In 2002, a musician from Guangzhou came to Wanfu Station to perform and found that the sound effect without an electronic amplifier was better. Babaylan 1990 cloth draw Subsequently, the professional team found that the architectural design of the entire Wanfu Station was a sound field structure, with the sound ranging 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 wall. 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
Repair and protection of cultural relics is still the focus
“Understanding the history of the ancestral temple is equivalent to understanding most of the history of Foshan.” Ling Babaylan 1990 clothes draw Jian said that the precious culture accumulated over hundreds of years of history must be protected and promoted. Over the years, his work has focused on the renovation and protection of cultural relics, the improvement of cultural connotations, and the development of creative products and the streamlining of management systems.
As an important base for carrying the martial arts lion awakening in Foshan, the Huang Feihong Memorial Hall and the Ip Man Hall were both completed in 2001. In 2018, the Ancestral Temple Museum successfully combined modern science and technology with history and culture, and completed the upgrading and renovation projects of the two venues. Nowadays, tourists can learn the routine of Hongquanwu in the Huang Feihong Kung Fu action sound and photoelectric playroom, play with Lingnan lions in the human-computer interactive game, 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, the Cantonese charm on Wanfu Platform is melodious, the Lingnan lion show is wonderful, the “Foshan has ritual” cultural and creative products make the cultural relics “live”… Ling Jian said that the ancient building complex of the ancestor, 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 profound 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 three years of comprehensive repairs and external environment renovations that cost more than 30 million yuan, the entire ancestral temple ancient building complex was even safer and stable, beautiful, and blooming in the glory of the past. The ancestral temple has been repairedKomiks 1960 witch clothesIn the draw process, Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw, insist on repairing the old as it is, respecting traditional skills, such as replacing the commonly used chemical pigments in modern times with traditional mineral pigments, re-coloring of gray plastics, and restoring a large number of wooden components and ceramic plastics.
In addition, the “Chongzheng Shexue” site display protection project is underway. 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. At the same time, to better pass on the intangible cultural heritage of the Foshan ancestral temple’s long history, “This is also one of our important missions.”