Hundreds of years of precipitation to create Foshan culture
On April 7, gongs and drums in front of Foshan’s ancestral temple sounded and the drums were noisy, and the annual Beidi Festival kicked off. Spring Festival ceremony, Northern Emperor tour, and remuneration for the gods… 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 the history of most of the CinemaFoshan’s history.” In the view of Ling Jian, director of the Ancestral Temple Museum, as a national key cultural relics protection list, the ancestral temple is known as the “Palace of Oriental Folk Art”. It not only displays many precious works of art, but also the place of the spiritual belief of Foshan people, Babaylan, and the soul of Foshan.
Produced by FoshanKomiksReporter Station Planner Xie Hong and Li ChengBabaylan
Text/Jinyang.com Reporter Ouyang Zhiqiang
Photo/Ancestral Temple Museum, Foshan Archives
1
The Northern Emperor first came before the ancestral temple
During the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1078-1085), a craftsman laid 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”. “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. 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, 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 Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed, a large number of Cinema gentry moved to Foshan, Lingnan, and brought about the culture and smelting of the Central Plains.iks Advanced technology, Foshan Town at that time relied on the transportation of rivers such as the Dongping River and became a major city for light industry, becoming one of the most economically developed regions 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 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.
Komiks 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.” Cinema Foshan people are very simple under the faith of the Northern Emperor, especially abide by the rules, and pay special attention to commercial credit. 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.
2
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 founded 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 (“Wanfutai” is used under Babaylan).
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 they are not qualified. It is equivalent to a smooth and successful 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 and feet 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 performer on the stage is just facing the Northern Emperor’s eyes, which shows that the Northern Emperor is reviewing his performance, so the performer will perform more attentively.
Liang GuochengIt 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 have 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 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, the professional team found that the architectural design of the entire Wanfu Station was a sound field structure. The sound ranged 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
“Cinema 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 the precious culture accumulated over hundreds of years of history must be protected and promoted. Over the years, his work has focused on the repair and protection of cultural relics, the improvement of cultural connotations, the development of cultural and creative products, and the streamlining of management systems.
As an important base for carrying the martial arts lion waking in Foshan, the Huang Feihong Memorial Hall and the Komiks Ip Man Hall were both built in 2001. In 2018, the Ancestral Temple Museum successfully combined modern technology with historical culture, and completed the upgrade and renovation projects of the two venues. Nowadays, tourists can learn the routines of Hongquan martial arts in the sound and light broadcasting room of Huang Feihong Kung Fu, play with Lingnan in the human-computer interactive game, and learn Wing Chun moves in the Murenchun interactive experience area.
Now the thousand-year-old ancestral temple has a new look–The Northern Emperor’s birthday has been gone, and children gather together with their pen gifts. The Cantonese rhyme on the Wanfu Platform is melodious, and the Lingnan Lion Dance Exhibition is in full swing.okish.com/”>Komiks is brilliant, and the cultural and creative products of “Foshan is polite” make 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 a typical Pearl River Delta feature and is to show the thickness of Foshan. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks landmark buildings of history and culture.
The Ancestral Temple Museum spared no effort to protect ancient buildings for such a representative complex. In 2010, after completing three years of comprehensive repairs and external environment renovations that cost more than 30 million yuan, the entire Cinema Ancient Building Complex of Ancestral Temple is safer and more stable. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Cinema is beautiful and blooming with the brilliant brilliance 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 “Chongzhengshexue” site display protection project is undergoing approval procedures. These repairs and protections are all on the premise of respecting history, which will bring the old appearance of the ancestral temple buildings into a new look, and the Lingnan architectural culture can be protected, preserved and href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Babaylan continues 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 long-standing intangible cultural heritage of Foshan ancestral temple. “This is also one of our important missions.”