*6.1. The Initial Sai: Morning Session*

The ritual of Inviting the Deities took place very early on the morning of the third day of the fourth month in the Bixia Temple. Before daybreak, hundreds of people gathered in the temple around Du Tonghai, Song Huaizhi and other ritual leaders. Among them were an ensemble of eight wind and percussion musicians from the Assembly of Eight Sounds and an army of Guards of Honour, Carriers of Spirit Tablets and Canopy-Holders, among others.

The ritual started with a formal announcement by Du Tonghai, the Chief Master of Ceremonials: 'I declare open the Jiacun Double-Fourth Temple Festival, celebrating the birthday of the Primordial Sovereign of the Morning Clouds. Sound the golden bell and beat the drum; All be ready to perform their respective duty!' (Figure 26).

**Figure 26.** Du Tonghai Chief Head Community/Chief Master of Ceremonials Announces the Opening of Jiacun Double-Fourth Temple Festival.

No sooner had he finished the opening declaration than came three beats of a big gong and then another three beats of a big drum, followed by 'Open the Door Wide' (*Dakaimen* 大 開 門), a piece of suona 嗩 吶 or shawm music performed by the Entertainers under the direction of Master Bamboo Staff. The ritual leaders circled the Incense Pavilion three times. Also called the 'Offering Pavilion' (*xianting* 獻 亭) and 'Divine Shed' (*shenpeng* 神 棚), the Incense Pavilion was a canopied tabernacle temporarily built in front of the main hall to house a display of 'arranged flowers for the altar' (*chaji* 插 祭/*huaji* 花 祭) with food offerings neatly piled on a large offering table against a floor-to-ceiling framework decorated with seasonal flowers and painted clay figurines of famous characters in traditional drama. The food offerings are made of wheat paste—hence their alternative name of 'flour offerings' (*mianji* 面 祭). They are cut into fine-looking shapes and deep fried until golden brown and put on display in the Incense Pavilion (Figure 23).<sup>41</sup> The Incense Pavilion served as the centre for ritual performance during the temple festival (see Figure 26). In front of the Incense Pavilion stood an altar with sprit tablets and food and fruit offerings (Figure 27).

After the ear-piercing suona music stopped, Du Tonghai, the Chief Master of Ceremonials, invited Feng Chunsheng and Zhang Kaitai, the two Incense Elders, to perform the ritual of offering incense (*shangxiang* 上 香). While Feng walked up to offer incense, Zhang unfolded the 'Writ of Offering Incense' (*shangxiang wen* 上 香 文)<sup>42</sup> (Figure 28), and at the same time, all other ritual participants knelt down to listen to him reciting the text. After he finished reading the text, Wei Qianxiu, the Master of Ceremonials, took a cup of wine from Mapi and poured it on the ground (Figure 29). Next came a long prayer said by Du, the Chief Community Head, of grateful thanks to Bixia yuanjun on behalf of the three worship associations of the village.

After offering the incense, Master Bamboo Staff, Song Huaizhi led the other ritual leaders out of the Bixia Temple to the Earth God Temple, followed in processions by Vanguards, Entertainers, Ceremonial Guards, Banner-Holders, Umbrella-Holders, Rearguards, etc. The grand procession wound its way slowly through the streets and lanes of the village to the Earth God Temple, which was located in the northwestern corner of the village. At the front were two men dressed as yamen runners in premodern times, beating gongs to clear the way for the parade, followed by the ritual leaders, flanked by processional placards and banners (Figure 30) and accompanied by a small wind and percussion band formed by members of the Assembly of Eight Sounds (Figure 31).

When the procession arrived at the Earth God Temple, Du Tonghai took a step forward and made a deep bow, announcing, 'Let sacrifices be offered to the Gate; let incense be lit and presented; let music be performed; let us all kneel to kowtow thrice [to the Earth God].' He then went a few steps up to the door and knocked on it to the suona music of 'Open the Door Wide'. The door opened inward, and the ritual of offering incense, singing prayers, pouring wine, kneeling and kowtowing was performed to the accompaniment of 'Drumming for Offering Incense' (*Shangxiang gu* 上香鼓). Again, each of the actions was repeated three times, and after that, Du chanted the 'Writ of Invitations' (*Qingzhuang wen* 請 狀 文), by which formal invitations were extended on behalf of the Earth God to all gods and spirits of the village to attend the celebration of the birthday of Bixia yuanjun in the Bixia Temple. After finishing reading the writ, he set it alight and placed it in the incense burner. Seeing it burnt to ashes, he signalled the Entertainers to play the 'Melody for Worshipping the Drum' (*Baigu qu* 拜 鼓 曲) to 'conclude the ritual of making offerings' (*zhongxian li* 終 獻 禮) at the Earth God Temple. The procession then returned to the Bixia Temple, retracing the earlier route through the village.

Before they passed through the entrance hall of the temple, a ritual called 'Offering Sacrifices to the Gate' (*Jimen* 祭 門) was performed to the music of 'Open the Door Wide', which was followed by the ritual of offering incense and wine and that of kneeling and kowtowing held in front of the Incense Pavilion to the 'Melody for Worshipping the Drum', hence the end of the ritual of 'Inviting the Deities to Descend'.

**Figure 27.** Altar with Sprit Tablets and Food and Fruit Offerings.

**Figure 28.** Offering Incense.

Next came the ritual of 'Welcoming the Deities'. Also called 'Fetching the Deities' (*jieshen* 接神), 'Welcoming the Deities' was a large-scale *shehuo* performance that involved the parading of the image (*xingixang* 行像) of Bixia yuanjun through the village. The ritual started around 9:30 a.m. with the musical performance of 'Fetching the Deities' presented by the Entertainers in front of the Incense Pavilion (Figure 32) as a prelude to the 'Writ of [Requesting the Deities to] Mount Horses' (*Shangma wen* 上馬文) recited by Du Tonghai, the Chief Master of Ceremonials. The Entertainers followed Du and other ritual leaders out of the temple to the Divine Pool, where a gigantic procession, all dressed in flamboyant costumes, had already formed up. The two men who were dressed as yamen runners walked ahead of all others, and they were the first to emerge from the gateway of the temple, beating the gong to clear the way (Figure 33).

Right adjacent to the Divine Pool was Cundong 村東 Road, the main street in Jiacun that ran from north to south through the village. The procession set off for the Yuhuang miao or the Jade Emperor Temple, which was located approximately seven hundred metres northwest of the Bixia Temple. They walked northwards along the main street until they came to a crossroads where stood the Guanyin Pavilion (Figure 34), through the gateway of which ran a thoroughfare linking the Eastend and Westend of Jiacun. The section of the through road on the eastern (right) side of the Pavilion was Gedong 閣東 Road, and that on the western (left) side was Gexe 閣西 Road, which led to the Jade Emperor Temple about three hundred metres due west of the Guanyin Pavilion (Figure 35).

**Figure 29.** Wei Qianxiu, the Master of Ceremonials, Pours Wine Before the Offering Table.

**Figure 30.** Yamen Runners Beat Gongs to Clear the Way for the Procession Headed by Master Bamboo Staff and Other Ritual Leaders.

**Figure 31.** Entertainers Play Music to Accompany the Procession.

**Figure 32.** Entertainers Perform 'Fetching the Deities'.

When they arrived at the Jade Emperor Temple, there were ritual performances of opening the door, offering incense, pouring wine, praying, kneeling and kowtowing presented in the same way as I had observed earlier at the Earth God Temple (Figure 36).

After that, the Jade Emperor was carried out in a sedan chair with a golden cover on top adorned with a pair of golden dragons (Figure 37) to meet the Primordial Sovereign of the Morning Clouds who was waiting in her sedan chair parked outside at the entrance from the road. The sedan chair for the goddess showed no difference from that of the god except that its top was adorned with a pair of emerald green phoenixes (Figure 38). The dragon stands for yang, the phoenix yin in fengshui, so they make a perfect match.

The procession to the Divine Arena for the Assembly of All Deities (*yuanshen chang* 圓 神場) began when all participants were lined up outside the Jade Emperor Temple along the way they had come from. The procession route was lined four to five deep by thousands of people from neighbouring villages and towns, all eager to ge<sup>t</sup> a good view of the street performance (Figure 39). When they came to the crossroads, they stopped to be joined, first by twenty-four *tingzi*, all female, each carrying a spirit tablet with the name of a god inscribed on it, next by four Divine Carriages (*shenjia* 神駕)<sup>43</sup> carrying the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas (Sihai longwang 四海龍王), and then by gods and goddesses that frequently appear in xiqu such as the Eight Immortals and Lord Guan. These mythological and legendary characters were played by the Entertainers. Some of them were riding horses, some walking on foot, and while proceeding down the north–south avenue to the Divine Arena, they made stylised movements and gestures as if performing drama onstage. One could easily tell what dramatic characters or roles they represented from their props, cosmetics, costumes, movements, gestures and facial expressions. These deities were all invited by Bixia yuanjun to attend the celebration of her birthday. Among them, the most distinguished was the Jade Emperor. In front of each group of divine beings were young men carrying flags bearing the paper cut-outs of 'divine mansions' (*shenou* 神樓)

and 'divine horses' (*shenma* 神馬), followed by a small music troupe with gongs and drums, and at the rear were young women carrying ceremonial parasols and banners.

**Figure 33.** Yamen Runners Emerge from the Gateway.

**Figure 34.** Gatehouse of Guanyin Pavilion.

**Figure 35.** The Procession Turns Left at the Crossroads, Heading for Jade Emperor Temple.

**Figure 36.** Villagers and Ritual Participants Kneel Down to Wait for Jade Emperor to Be Carried Out of His Temple.

**Figure 37.** Jade Emperor Is Carried Out in His Sedan Chair.

**Figure 38.** The Goddess Sits in Her Sedan Chair, Waiting for the Jade Emperor.

**Figure 39.** Crowds Follow the Procession to the Divine Arena.

While the goddess was paraded alongside other deities in the pantheon of Jiacun, a grand show was put on with gongs, drums and pipes of colourful fans and banners; ceremonial parasols, placards and pennants; mule-drawn drum carts and flower carts; royal crosspieces (*huanggang* 皇 槓); tableaux (*gushi* 故 事);<sup>44</sup> and divine mansions, divine carriages and divine horses that were residences, conveyances and mounts for the invited gods and goddesses. There was also stilt-walking, masked parade (*mianju dui* 面 具 隊), dragon dance, lion dance, land-boat dance, rice-sprout dance (*yangge* 秧 歌), waist-drum (*yaogu* 腰鼓) dance, etc.

Most spectacular of the street performances was the carrying of royal crosspieces (*tai huanggang* 抬 皇 槓) and the carrying of floats on poles (*taige* 抬 閣). Also known as 'flower crosspieces' (*huagang* 花 槓), the royal crosspiece is a pagoda-like majestic golden timber structure consisting in its lower part of a colourfully embellished heavy square wooden box with a long crosspiece placed across it; in its middle is a latticework embellished with brightly coloured ribbons and embroidered balls and wreaths with an oversized mirror fixed at the centre and in its upper part is an antenna-like top decorated with a feather duster (Figure 40). The crosspiece is made of flexible wood to allow easy swaying when carried along, hence the alternative name of the royal crosspiece as the 'swaying crosspiece' (*huanggang* 晃 槓).

The carrying of a float on poles, also known as 'carrying cosmetics on poles' (*kangzhang* 扛 妝) and 'walking stories' (*zou gushi* 走 故 事) in Shangdang, is a popular form of *shehuo* performance, in which a young child, costumed as a famous figure from popular plays, stood on a small platform carried along by a man on two vertical iron poles (Figures 41 and 42).

The procession moved slowly down the avenue from the Pavilion of Guanyin at the crossroads to the Divine Arena at the southern edge of the village. Covering an area of approximately five thousand square metres, the Divine Arena was a public square that featured some recreation and sporting facilities including basketball courts and playgrounds for children. Following the procession all the way, huge crowds of people swarmed into the square (Figure 43). Some of those who lived around the square kindly left their houses open to let in people—whether known or unknown—for a view of the Assembling of the Deities from their balconies, windows and rooftops (Figure 44).

Under the direction of Du Tonghai, the Chief Master of Ceremonials, the divine images, mansions, carriages and horses were lined up in orderly rows. In front of a temporary altar set up at the centre of the Divine Arena stood two sedan chairs, one for the Primordial Sovereign and the other for the Jade Emperor, with the four Divine Carriages for the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas neatly arrayed behind them (Figure 45). The ritual of 'Assembling All the Deities' started off with three shots of ritual muskets. The Chief Master of Ceremonials walked up to the two golden chairs and knelt down, chanting the 'Writ of Assembling All the Deities' (*Yuanshen wen* 圓 神 文), which was followed by *qupo* 曲 破45 performed by the Entertainers.

**Figure 40.** Carrying the Royal Crosspiece in Procession.

**Figure 41.** Walking Stories in Procession.

**Figure 42.** A Girl Dressed Up as Xiqu Character in Walking Stories.

**Figure 43.** Crowded Divine Arena.

**Figure 44.** Watching Parade from Balconies.

**Figure 45.** Assembling the Deities in the Divine Arena.

Next came the ritual of 'Dismounting the Horses', which started with the Chief Community Head reciting the 'Writ of [Requesting the Deities to] Dismount Horses' (*Xiama wen* 下 馬 文). While he was reciting the text, divine images, carriages, mansions and horses were carried, doing a route around the altar called 'Circling the Arena' (*yuanchang* 圓 場). The carriers of divine images, carriages and spirit tablets would stop to bow to the Primordial Sovereign and the Jade Emperor seated in their sedan chairs, which was understood by all present as a sign of the god or goddess they carried dismounting from their horse to pay homage to the two paramount deities of Jiacun.

What followed was *Crossing Five Passes and Decapitating Six Generals* performed by the Entertainers in the local style of group skit (*duixi*). This play is about Lord Guan escorting Lady Gan and Lady Mi in search of their husband Liu Bei 劉 備—a famous Three-Kingdom story that finds expression in almost all genres of traditional Chinese performance literature and performing arts. Like Emperor Guan (Guandi 關 帝), Lord Guan (Guangong 關 公) was a posthumous title conferred on Guan Yu 關 羽 (?–AD 220). A native of Hedong 河 東 in present-day southern Shanxi, Guan Yu was a powerful military general under Liu Bei (AD 161–223) the founder of the Kingdom of Shu 蜀 during the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280). He was deified after death and has since been widely worshipped as a god of war, a god of wealth, a rain-maker and a divine protector against demons, devils, diseases and bandits.<sup>46</sup> The Lord Guan play (*Guangong xi* 關 公 戲) consists of a series of highlight scenes enacting Lord Guan 'Hanging Up the Seal and Packing Up the Silver' (*Guayin fengjin* 掛 印 封 金), 'Bidding Farewell to Cao Cao' (*Guangong ci Cao* 關 公 辭 曹), 'Crossing Through Five Passes and Decapitating Six Generals', 'Travelling One Thousand *Li* Alone on Horseback' (*Qianli zou danji* 千 里 走 單 騎), 'Searching for [Liu Bei, His Sworn] Elder Brother for One Thousand *Li* (*Qianli xunxiong* 千 里 尋 兄), 'Meeting [Zhang Fei 張 飛, His Sworn Younger Brother] at Old City' (*Gucheng hui* 古 城 會) and 'Decapitating Cai Yang' (*Zhan Cai Yang* 斬 蔡 陽). Best known for its martial arts combat scenes, *Crossing Five Passes and Decapitating Six Generals* ranks among the most popular plays to stage and makes up the central core of Three-Kingdom plays (*Sanguo xi* 三 國 戲) in xiqu.

This play is listed in the *Lijie chuanbu* in the category of main group skit (*zheng duixi*), and as such, it is meant for stage performance after offering the seventh cup (Du 2011b, pp. 250, 253, 257). Clearly, its performance in the Divine Arena after the ritual of 'Circling the Arena' was not held as specified in the liturgical manual. It was not performed on stage in the temple, nor was there any area designated for its performance in the public square. Actors simply performed on the level ground, moving from one place to another as the story unfolded, thus turning the whole square into a huge open-air theatre. Spectators followed them, closely watching. Among them were some young children play-fighting at their heels, setting off a ripple of laughter and applause from time to time across the square. Lord Guan figured prominently as the central character in the play. Riding his Red-Hare Horse (Chutuma 赤 兔 馬) and wielding his Azure-Dragon Sword (Qinglongdao 青 龍 刀) and followed by ten or more armed foot soldiers escorting Lady Gan and Lady Mi seated in their sedan chairs, Lord Guan fought all along until he arrived at Old City, where he met his long-lost sworn brother Zhang Fei, hence a grand reunion (*da tuanyuan* 大團圓)—a happy ending typical of xiqu.

The Shangdang group skit manifests itself as a form of verse drama known as *shizan* 詩 讚, albeit still at a fairly rudimentary level on the whole. Composed in alternating segments of prose and verse using plain, colloquial language, the Shangdang group skit displays some affinity with Tang transformation texts (*bianwen* 變 文) and Song-Yuan precious scrolls (*baojuan* 寶 卷). Although its verse section contains occasional decasyllabic lines, the predominant form is pentasyllabic and heptasyllabic, with rhyme occurring on the last syllable in even-numbered lines, as in the verse section of transformation texts and precious scrolls. This is also the case with the sung parts of the beat-based form (*banqiang ti* 板 腔 體) of xiqu, such as Jingju 京劇 or Beijing Opera and Clapper Opera (*bangzi* 梆 子), including Shangdang Clapper Opera (*Shangdang bangzi* 上 黨 梆 子).

The Shangdang group skit specialises in historical drama and martial drama, particularly Three-Kingdom plays. Its performance is not confined to a fixed stage or space, which is a distinctive feature of folk temple theatre. Actors may play on the stage or on the street and may even play while riding horses, brandishing weapons or carrying sedan chairs along the street if need be. They perform primarily through speech and action, and singing is secondary and occasional. They speak in prose, but when it comes to the verse part, they intone (*nian* 念) or recite and chant (*yinsong* 吟 誦). Intonation and recitation are thus the dominant mode of delivery. No string or wind instruments are played but percussion instruments such as drums, gongs and cymbals. When actors finish reciting one verse line, there will be two beats of gongs and drums altogether; when they finish reciting four verse lines, they will perform an action to the rhythmic beat of gongs and drums. Speech in prose is usually delivered without any instrumental accompaniment.

The Shangdang group skit arguably retains features and functions of a Song dynasty court group skit and group dance (*duiwu* 隊 舞). Derived from Tang dynasty court group dance and dance skit (*wuxi* 舞 戲) (*Jiaofang ji* 1.11–12; *Gongci* 1.11b; *Yuefu zalu* 1.42, 1.45), the Song court group skit was a major form of the royal command performance alongside group dance and sketch comedy (*zaju* 雜 劇) presented to accompany the ritual of offering cups (*Dongjing menhua lu* 9.832–835; *Wenxian tongkao* 146.12a–12b, 14b–15a). The Song court group dance skit featured a court music officer called 'Adjutant' (*canjun* 參軍),<sup>47</sup> who is also referred to in Song dynasty sources as Master Bamboo Staff (*zhuganzi*) because he held a bamboo staff or bamboo-staff whisk (*zhugan fuzi* 竹 竿 拂 子) when directing court performances (*Maofeng zhenyin manlu* 48.3b–10a; *Dongjing Menghua lu* 9.833).

The group skit and the bamboo staff as described in the Song sources appear still extant—though not in their entirety or originality—in Shangdang temple festivals. While there is no evidence of a direct link between Song court theatre and Shangdang folk temple theatre, historical records are abundant, with a considerable number of Song court musicians and entertainers breaking free of their Jurchen escorts and escaping into mountains in Hedong and Shangdang after being taken across the Yellow River at Gongxian 鞏 縣 in the wake of the Humiliation of Jingkang (*Jingkang zhi chi* 靖 康 之 恥)—the fall in early 1127 of Bianliang 汴 梁, the capital of the Northern Song dynasty to the Jurchens, who ransacked Bianliang, capturing both Emperor Qinzong 欽 宗 (r. 1126–1127) and his father, Emperor Huizong 徽 宗 (1100–1126), and escorting them along with hundreds of members of imperial and aristocratic families and thousands of court officials, attendants, artists, artisans and entertainers via Shanxi to Shangjing 上 京48 (*Sanchao beimeng huibian* 77.12b– 16a, 78.3b–5b; *Jingkang baishi* 6.201, 7.223–224; *Songshi* 23.436, 129.3027; *Jinshi* 28.691, 39.882; and *Nanzheng luhui*, cited in *Jingkang baishi* 4.173–174). Some of those who had successfully escaped the clutches of Jurchen soldiers settled down in the Shangdang area. They drew on their performance skills and first-hand knowledge of court rituals, performances and celebrations, making a living as ritualists, musicians and entertainers—hence the reason traces still remain in Shangdang temple festivals of ritual and theatrical performances from the Song and Jin eras (Yang 1997a). Thus, it would not seem to be far-fetched or fanciful to think of the Shangdang group skit as a surviving remnant of the Song court theatre.

With the grand reunition of Lord Guan and Zhang Fei at Old City, the morning session of the Initial *Sai* came to an end. Minutes later, all participants gathered up behind the ritual leaders and marched in procession from the Divine Arena to the Bixia Temple. Between the morning session and afternoon session, there was a two-hour lunch break. I was invited to have lunch with Du Tonghai in his home. Among his guests was Li Tiansheng, a renowned local scholar on Shangdang temple festival and temple theatre. I had a very fruitful conversation with them at the table.
