Old Beijing Temple Fairs (Dongyue Temple Fair, Pan Tao Gong Temple Fair, Baiyun Guan Temple Fair)

Author: Lin Yan, Fan Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Whenever temple fairs are mentioned, temples inevitably come to mind. The earliest temples in China were places for sacrificing ancestors, while temples dedicated to gods were established after the Zhou Dynasty. Ancient literature shows that temple fairs already existed alongside ancestral temples during the Zhou Dynasty. Beijing is an ancient city with over three thousand years of history and served as the capital and political, economic, and cultural center of the three unified feudal dynasties—Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The construction of temples and monasteries in Beijing was thus remarkable. According to incomplete statistics from Xu Daoling's Comprehensive Catalog of Beijing Temples, Beijing has nearly a thousand temples, making it the city with the most temples in the country. In the past, Beijing had numerous temple fairs throughout the year, with many held within a single month. These fairs were not only destinations for devout followers to offer incense and worship, but also folk commercial markets and entertainment venues for the people of Beijing, becoming important folk activities. Although some temples have since collapsed and their religious activities faded, vendors have continued to follow tradition, attending the fairs even without temples, transforming them into temple fairs without temples—folk activities that combine commercial trade and cultural entertainment.