| Within a multiethnic and multicultural country, as one of most popular folklore items, the temple fairs may have different appearance from each other on aspects of content and form due to ethnic group, culture, and area. Furthermore, in terms of social change, the embodying symbols and their meanings of traditional folklores are inevitably changing also over times. Although there is much scholarship in China on this topic has been significantly achieved, the shortcomings are apparent too:first, fail to discuss the embodied function of the temple fair in current China from macro perspective, and lack benign suggestions for playing this role. Second, research methods as well as theoretical points are not so differentiating. Third, fail to explore the different objects of the temple-fair belief from the perspective of culture. And fourth, lack to analyze various ceremony and symbols appeared in temple fair from perspectives of cultural anthropology and folk studies. Most importantly, from perspective of area, current scholarship does not pay attention to the middle area between north and south China, particularly, the folk temple fair culture of the western Anhui. This is regretful, obviously. What folk studies emphasize is to show characteristics of different area. Similar cases of the other places have some referring function, however, that was not able to clearly and comprehensively present the distinguishing of this area. It is worthy a thorough study in western Anhui temple fair culture.This thesis is a case study on the rural temple fair of Zhaoqing Temple at the Sun'gang Town of the western Anhui. Through careful observation, participant interview, this thesis analyze and interpret a series of symbolic signs appeared in the temple fair by adopting knowledge of cultural anthropology, folklore, and religion studies, for the purpose of revealing the cultural meaning of the temple fair, as well as the spiritual value, thinking style, imagination, and cultural sense of local people. What's more, the thesis discusses the modern implications of folklore transmission and the challenge it faces.This thesis has three phases. During the preliminary phase, first, to collect all possible related resources by using archival and documentary methods; second, the author visited related departments and interview the people who in charge in both Lu'an City and Sun'gang Town. Some resources such as locality, history, population, economy, customs, and folk beliefs of the western Anhui are borrowed from them. During the investigation phase, by combining the methods of fieldwork, participant observation, and interview, the author are deeply involved into the community and learn the whole condition as well as details from aspects of preliminary, present, and late stage of the temple fair. During the last phase, after "thick description", the author selects and interprets some representative symbols appeared in the temple fair, such as, the date selection of the temple fair, making a vow-fulfill a vow, sortilege, fruits fumigated by incense for Buddha, and so on. In addition, the thesis interprets some psychological phenomenon of local people appeared in the process of the temple fair from perspectives of folk belief and folk taboo. |
