Folk Literati, Contested Tradition, and Heritage in Contemporary China

Incense Is Kept Burning

Ziying You

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780253046376
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Folklore e mitologia

"Ground-breaking... has implications for recognizing the existence and value of local, grass roots intellectual agency elsewhere in China and the globe." —Mark Bender, the Ohio State University In this important ethnography Ziying You explores the role of the "folk literati" in negotiating, defining, and maintaining local cultural heritage. Expanding on the idea of the elite literati—a widely studied pre-modern Chinese social group, influential in cultural production—the folk literati are defined as those who are skilled in classical Chinese, knowledgeable about local traditions, and capable of representing them in writing. The folk literati work to maintain cultural continuity, a concept that is expressed locally through the vernacular phrase: "incense is kept burning." You's research focuses on a few small villages in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province in contemporary China. Through a careful synthesis of oral interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis, You presents the important role the folk literati play in reproducing local traditions and continuing stigmatized beliefs in a community context. She demonstrates how eight folk literati have reconstructed, shifted, and negotiated local worship traditions around the ancient sage-Kings Yao and Shun as well as Ehuang and Nüying, Yao's two daughters and Shun's two wives. You highlights how these individuals' conflictive relationships have shaped and reflected different local beliefs, myths, legends, and history in the course of tradition preservation. She concludes her study by placing these local traditions in the broader context of Chinese cultural policy and UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage program, documenting how national and international discourses impact actual traditions, and the conversations about them, on the ground. "One of the most important and far-reaching books of folklore scholarship today." —Amy Shuman, author of Other People's Stories

1

BACKGROUND

Situating Local Beliefs about Ehuang and Nüying in Hongtong, Shanxi

General Introduction: Hongtong County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province

The northern province of Shanxi in China is known for its long history, its temple architecture, and its rich coal resources (see map 1.1). The province’s name literally means “west of mountains,” a reference to its location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the north, and its landscape primarily consists of a plateau bounded by mountain ranges, along with a central area of valleys where the Fen River runs. Shanxi’s name is abbreviated with the character Jin (晋), after the state of Jin that existed in the region during the Spring and Autumn period (approximately 771–476 BC). During the early Warring States period (475–221 BC), the state of Jin was divided into three parts, known as the Three Jins, and this name has been used in many historical documents up to the present.

Linfen is located in the southwestern part of Shanxi (see map 1.2), on the lower reaches of the Fen River, bounded by Changzhi and Jincheng to the east, the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong and Lüliang to the north, and Yuncheng to the south. Hongtong is a county in the prefecture-level city of Linfen in the southwestern part of the province.¹ The most recent census data from 2010 shows Hongtong as the most populated county in the city of Linfen, occupying an area of 1,563 square kilometers and containing a population of 733,421.² It has 7 townships (xiang) and 9 towns (zhen),³ including 463 villagers’ committees (cunmin weiyuanhui), which govern 902 natural villages (zirancun)⁴ (Zhang and Wang 2005, 19–30).

Map 1.1. Map of China, © Daniel Dalet, https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=11572&lang=en.

Map 1.2. Map of Shanxi, © Daniel Dalet, https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=17817&lang=en.

During the Hongwu (洪武) (1368–98) and Yongle (永乐) (1403–24) periods, the state organized mass migrations to replenish losses of population in other provinces brought about by the continual wars during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and Hongtong was used as a major immigration transfer center. The immigrant experience was traumatic for many people, as they were forced to abandon their old homelands and leave for unknown places. Despite this upheaval, the immigrants continued to remember and feel ties to their hometowns, and they passed these memories on to their descendants. Today a popular Chinese folk song asks: “Where is my old hometown? The big pagoda tree in Hongtong, Shanxi. What is the name of my ancestors’ old home? The stork nest under the pagoda tree” (问我老家在何处，山西洪洞大槐树。祖先故居叫什么，大槐树下老鹳窝。) (Zhang and Lin 1988, 1). The pagoda tree and the stork nest in Hongtong became important symbols of roots for many people of Chinese ancestry all over the world. In 1991 the local government revived the yearly sacrifice to ancestors under the old pagoda tree—a tradition that used to be held only by the common people—making it into an annual “seeking roots and offering sacrifice to ancestors” (xungen jizu) festival (Zhang and Wang 2005, 194–95). This sacrificial festival, held during the traditional Clear Bright Festival (Qingming jie), continues to the present day. This custom was also listed as an element of China’s intangible cultural heritage approved by the State Council on June 7, 2008.

Situating the Ethnographical Case Study in Local History

My historical research has included local gazetteers and annals, along with the text engraved on extant steles. Even though the local people in Hongtong claim that their traditions have an unbroken history of about five thousand years, as old as Chinese cultural history itself, neither their rituals nor their festivals are recorded in the local gazetteers and annals. As Sun Huanlun (1887–1958) notes in his preface to Hongtong County Annals (1917), the introduction of local famous people generally starts from Gao Yao (皋陶) and Shi Kuang (师旷) (572–532 BC)⁵, not from Emperor Yao and Shun (Chen Yongchao 2015, 40) (I will further discuss the stories of Yao and Shun in chap. 3). Gao Yao is believed to be the chief minister of crime during Emperor Yao’s time (traditionally ca. 2356–2255 BC). His birthplace and memorial temple are in Shishi Village, Hongtong. In the 1731 edition of Hongtong County Annals, the name of Yangxie and the Temple of Ehuang and Nüying were listed as follows:

Yangxie Old Relics: Twenty-five li away in the south of the county. It was said that during Yao’s time a goat gave birth to xiezhi, a sacred goat, and the village was thus named after it. Around it, there were plenty of sands; no grass or plants could be grown on it.

The Temple of Emperor Shun, Ehuang, and Nüying: In the second year of the Tianyou period of Emperor Zhao (905), it was deemed to be an Esteemed Integrity Shrine. The shrine was on the Shun Ling, twenty li away in the west of the county. (Yu and Cai 1731, vol. 8: 1)

The first entry introduced how Yangxie Village was named after a sacred xie that was born during Yao’s time. This legend has become a dominant narrative in present-day Yangxie Village, where almost everyone knows this story and takes it seriously. The second entry describes how the Temple of Ehuang and Nüying at the Shun Ling got its imperial title during the late Tang dynasty. If the Shun Ling is in the present-day Lishan area, the worship of Ehuang and Nüying there can be tracked back more than 1,100 years.

The local tradition of worshipping Yao and Shun, as well as Ehuang and Nüying, can primarily be found among people from three places in Hongtong: Yangxie, Wan’an, and Lishan. Yangxie is the name of an old village that now includes three natural villages: North Yangxie, South Yangxie, and Ertai. Wan’an is an old town, a significant market center in the past and today. Lishan, or Li Mountain, is believed to be the place where Emperor Shun plowed during Yao’s time. The current Lishan in Hongtong was originally known as Yingshan (英山, Ying Mountain) or Yingshen Shan (英神山, Ying Sacred Mountain), named after Nüying. Hongtong is believed to be the place where Nüying was born during Yao’s time, and therefore, the memorial temple to Nüying and her older sister, Ehuang, was built in Yingshan.

As an important historical site, Yingshan was marked clearly on the map of Hongtong County in the 1731 edition of Hongtong County Annals. There were also two poems and one essay commemorating the site in the ninth volume, “The Treatise on the Classics and [Ordinary] Writings” (Yiwen zhi) (Yu and Cai 1731). One poem, entitled “Ying Mountain,” was written by Liu Yingshi during the Ming dynasty; the other, entitled “Visiting the Memorial Temple of Shun’s Two Royal Wives” (Ye Shun erfei ci), was written by Liu Chengchong, a native of Hongtong, also during the Ming dynasty.

The poem “Ying Mountain” reflects on Ehuang and Nüying’s tragic tale as follows:

Looking at the mountain of immortals west of Yang City,

It is the place where Nüying and Ehuang were born and grew up.

They went to Xiao and Xiang Rivers, where clouds were misty and dim,

Leaving the Wei and Rui Rivers alone, with the murmuring of flowing water.

Their appearances and statues look familiar, as they were made in their days.

Who knows when their spirits and souls will come back?

Their hearts were broken on the “Stone of Watching for Husband” at Cangwu,

Even up to today, the long bamboos are spotted with their tears.

(Yu and Cai 1731, vol. 9, pt. II: 35)

Liu Yingshi does not narrate Nüying and Ehuang’s stories in detail in the poem. Instead, he expresses sorrow for their deaths and describes how local people in Hongtong later memorialized the two women. According to historical records (Sima 1959 [91 BC]; Liu 2007 [18 BC]), Nüying and Ehuang were wed to Shun by their father, Emperor Yao, near the Wei and Rui Rivers. After occupying the imperial throne for many years, Emperor Shun went on an expedition to the south, where he died at Cangwu, a mountain near the Xiang River. Nüying and Ehuang rushed from their home to find his body and cried by the river for days. Their tears turned into blood, staining the bamboos by the river. Overcome by deep grief, both women threw themselves into the Xiang River and drowned. The first chapter of The Biographies of Exemplary Women (Lienü zhuan)—“The Two Consorts of Youyu” (Youyu erfei)—states: “While making an expedition, Shun died at Cangwu. His honorary title was Chonghua (Double Splendor). The two royal wives died in the region between the Yangtze and the Xiang rivers. Therefore they were commonly called the ‘Ladies of the Xiang,’ or ‘Goddesses of Xiang’” (Liu 2007 [18 BC], 31).

The poem “Visiting the Memorial Temple of Shun’s Two Royal Wives,” written by Liu Chengchong, is translated as follows:

With the turnings of mountains and the twists of peaks, green and luxuriant are trees,

People all said that it was the palace of Yu Shun in old times.

In the past the miraculous queens frequently made rain,

and occasionally girls made wind by themselves.

Waves are still green in Xiang River in late autumn,

Flowers are still red in Gui and Rui River in late spring.

For thousands of years, the building is magnificent,

[I] worship Chongtong by burning incense and offering jade.

(Yu and Cai 1731, vol. 9, pt. II: 48)

The poet Liu Chengchong was named “Shao yin” (少尹) when composing this poem, and he once served as civil official, or “zhu bu” (主簿), in Feng County, Shaanxi Province, in late Ming dynasty (Chang 2010, 126). During his time, the Liu family in Hongtong boomed and grew into a renowned one. Besides recording his own family’s genealogy, Liu Chengchong also worked to preserve local history through his writings (Chang 2010, 128). In this poem, written during the late Ming dynasty, he recorded local beliefs and practices, including people apparently praying to Ehuang and Nüying for rain.

The essay in the 1731 edition of Hongtong County Annals was written by Xing Dadao (邢大道), a native of Hongtong, for County Magistrate Luo Renzhong (駱任重) during the Ming dynasty. Entitled “Record of the Sacred Ancestral Temple in Ying Mountain” (Yingshan shenci ji), it introduces local people’s beliefs toward Ehuang and Nüying in Hongtong at that time, recorded from Luo’s perspective. Luo, Hongtong County magistrate from 1610 to 1611, visited the temple in the winter of 1610, and his son was born in June 1611. He participated in the ritual of thanking the deities on the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1611 and provided his account sometime after the ritual. The full text is as follows:

To the west of Fen River, there stands the tall Ying Mountain; on the top of Ying Mountain, there stands the tall Temple of Ehuang and Nüying, who were Yao’s two daughters and had been married by Yao to his chosen successor, and eventual emperor, Shun. The historians said that Emperor Shun went on an expedition to the south and died in the desert of Cangwu. His two wives wept by the Xiang River, their tears staining bamboo permanently with their spots. They became deities after they drowned themselves in the river, and up to today their souls and spirits, which went to heaven, still exist. I am a native of Sichuan. The memorial temple was built on Ying Mountain; why did Hongtong become the place of worship? Yao established Pingyang as his capital, and Pingyang was less than one hundred li away from Hongtong, while nearby is the place where Ehuang and Nüying were born. Therefore, the natives called the two deities “aunties,” just as if they were the offspring of the maternal family of the two ladies.

In the winter of the Gengxu year of the Wanli reign (1610), I went through the western part of the county to disperse bills and dropped by this place. I paid my respects and visited the temple. The memorial temple was built during the past dynasties, and it had been a long time. The wood and the stone were not ruined, but the golden statues were peeled off, and it was not caused in one day. I felt compassion for it; then I made my promise and said: “As a humble official my salary is not high, but I will make some donations to decorate the statues of the deities.” Soon a Daoist priest invited me to sit in a guest room and drink tea, as he continuously said how miraculous the deities were. People prayed because of droughts, prayed for rain, prayed for children; none of them was not responded to and blessed. I thus rinsed my hands, burned incense, and asked for blessings. I said I was more than forty years old but still had no children. If I got blessings from the deities, and my Luo family lineage was continued without ceasing, I would not forget their great virtues! The next year, in the June of that summer, I really did have a son, so wasn’t it a reward from the deities? What the Daoist priest said was not a lie.

In the December of that winter, the decoration of the statues was complete, and the statues were clearly and brightly new. Two days before the fifteenth full-moon day, I killed sacrificial animals and brought alcohol, to genuflect a hundred times in the temple, in order to repay the blessings of the deities. Therefore, I recorded it in written words here. (Yu and Cai 1731, vol. 9, pt. I: 74)

The beliefs and practices recorded in this text are very similar to what I have observed from my own fieldwork in Hongtong. Ordinary people often visit the temple to pray for good luck and ask for blessings from the deities. What they usually pray for are healthy children, followed by health, fortune, and high status. When their wishes come true, they take gifts to the temple and perform rituals to repay the blessings from the deities. Their offerings include food, alcohol, and decorations for the statues or the temple.

Based on records from the Hongtong County Annals, the Temple of Yao in Yangxie can be traced back to 1354, and the Temple o...