Zhenjun Temple Fair at Ruijin Temple Fair

(1) Scale of Zhenjun Temple

Zhenjun Temple, also known as Zhenjun Pavilion and Wanshou Palace, is located in the west section of Hebei Street in the south of the city. Because of its towering temples and grand scale, it is famous far and wide, and Hebei Street is also called Zhenjun Pavilion Street. This temple was built in Chenghuazhong of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1475-1477). It was built by Liu Fangxiao, a native of Yi, who donated land and county residents raised funds. In the third year of Yongzheng's reign (AD 1725), the pavilion was rebuilt. In the fourth year of Qianlong's reign (AD 1738), a pavilion was built in the front and a wing house was built on the left. In the fifth year (AD 1739), a monk's room was built behind the pavilion. It was burned down by fire in the 11th year of Jiaqing (AD 1806) and rebuilt in 1811. Due to repeated construction and repairs in the past dynasties, the temple is majestic and majestic.

According to legend, Zhenjun’s surname was Xu, his given name was Xun, and his given name was Jingzhi. He was born in the third year of Wei Jingchu in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 239). He was originally from Henan and came to Jiangxi with his father when he was young. In the early Jin Dynasty, he served as magistrate of Jingyang County (in Sichuan Province) and had an outstanding political reputation. Later, he abandoned his official position and learned Taoism from Wu Meng, and also practiced medicine. While living in Xishan, Nanchang, he made great contributions to the management of Ganjiang River and Poyang Lake. He was deeply loved by the people and was later deified as a true king.

(2) Temple fair scale, route and grand occasion

The guild period is from the evening of July 30th to August 1st of the lunar calendar. The temple fair will gradually reach its climax. On the afternoon of July 30, the current prime minister led a group of deacons to the temple fair. At night, according to the chosen auspicious day, the deacons light incense candles, set off firecrackers, and play drums. After fasting and bathing, the then Prime Minister washes the face and body of the True Lord Bodhisattva to remove dust and dirt, and then puts on a new robe hung in red. Silk fabric, embroidered with flowers, gold piping. Finally, a silver collar weighing about 0.5 kilograms and a silver helmet weighing about 1 kilogram were put on the Bodhisattva Zhenjun. After everything was ready, ten kinds of cold fruit pastries made of vegetable oil were placed on the sacred table, and a special sacred incense weighing about 15 kilograms and as thick as a soup bowl was lit. This incense was lit from that night and will continue to burn. The temple fair ends on August 15th. The current Prime Minister led all the deacons to pay homage. That night, all the staff sat in the temple and kept vigil, mainly taking care of the lights and protecting the objects on site. In the future, the on-duty security work will be taken by deacons in turns.

Ruijin Temple Fair

At about nine or ten o'clock in the morning on the first day of August, the temple fair officially opens. A worship ceremony is held first. At this time, the three entrance halls in the temple were full of devotees who came to attend the worship ceremony. The hall was brightly lit with candles, and firecrackers and drums were blasting. After the worship ceremony, the true king went on tour. The True Lord Bodhisattva does not move in the main hall, and there is another small True Lord Bodhisattva that is usually enshrined in the homes of Muen believers. There was an honor guard in front to clear the way. The honor guard consists of two golden gongs, two avoidance cards, two silence cards, two pairs of golden melons, two pairs of crescents (representing the sun and moon), a pair of golden axes, a pair of halberds, iron spears and wooden sticks, and more than a dozen colorful flags. The second level is the drummers. The third echelon is "story meeting". It usually consists of four story stages with boys and girls acting as dramatic characters. Each of the "Story Stages" is about 1.2 meters long, 1 meter high, and is a wooden structure. There are 2-3 boys and girls aged 11 or 2 standing on them, dressed as a certain story scene in history. One that often appears is "Three Brothers in the Taoyuan", in which three boys play Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei respectively. "The Legend of White Snake" stars a boy as Xu Xian and two girls as White Snake and Xiao Qing respectively. In "Farewell My Concubine", a boy plays Xiang Yu and a girl plays Yu Ji. "Lu Bu and Diao Chan", a boy plays Lu Bu and a girl plays Diao Chan. Each child's standing position on this platform is fixed with an iron ring to ensure absolute safety. Their clothing, shoes and hats are all made with precision according to the scale of the costumes, and are particularly beautiful and elegant. Each "story stage" is carried by four young adults, and it is a majestic and splendid performance. At the end of the parade was the large sedan chair carried by the True Lord Bodhisattva. The sedan is surrounded by carved panels, embedded with glass, and painted red. It is also carried by four people. The route of the patrol is to exit Zhenqunge Street, cross Yunlong Bridge, enter Tongdang Street, turn to Xiwai Street and cross Xiajie Street, to Liaowuping, then pass through Yanye Street and finally end at the north end of Yunlong Bridge.

The second to fifteenth day of August is the pilgrimage period.

Devoted men and women (mostly middle-aged and elderly women) in the county and nearby rural areas lead their children, wear clean clothes, and carry small bamboo orchids containing worship items. The bamboo orchid usually contains several pairs of candles of different sizes and a bunch of incense sticks. , a hanging firecracker, a pair of long flags (a letter to Mu En believer XXX to kowtow) and some fruits or fruits. During this period, Zhenjun Pavilion was really crowded with people. Pilgrims pour in from all directions, usually in the hundreds every day, and sometimes in the thousands. The hall was filled with smoke from candles, incense sticks and firecrackers. There is a courtyard in front of the main hall. There is an iron incense burner in the courtyard, which is usually used to light incense and candles. The climax of this period is that sometimes candles, incense or paper money are burned red, and the stage outside the temple is filled with gongs and drums. From the first to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the temple fair invites a theater troupe - Qi Opera (Ninghua Qi Opera) In full swing. The theater troupes that are often invited include the "Gui'e Troupe" and the "Lai Po Troupe". Either invite one of them, or invite them all. There is a performance every afternoon and evening. Pilgrims, county residents, and nearby farmers watch the show for free. There are many people doing business, selling snacks, and even gambling people around the temple and Daping. There was a lot of excitement and excitement. It was not until the last performance ended on August 15th that the temple fair came to an end.