Studies On Zhangxian Salt And Its Culture

The salt produced in Zhangxian County is among the earliest well salt found in Chinese history.And the craft of obtaining salt by manual boiling had been listed as a representative of provincial intangible cultural heritage.The course of Zhangxian’s history is accompanied by development of the well salt.And the well salt culture has been part of the foundation of the Zhangxian’s existence.Therefore,to explore the culture of Zhangxian well salt featuring long history and rich content has great implications for inheriting and revitalizing traditional culture as well as cultivating industries with regional characteristics.A relatively mature early civilization had emerged in Zhangxian County in the Neolithic Age.Zhangxian well salt was tapped and exploited in the original way along with the development of human society.The exploit and management of Zhangxian well salt was not specified in official history books before the Tang Dynasty,and can be occasionally seen in some county annals and folklores.Official salt management institute was set up in Zhangxian since the Tang Dynasty.Despite the frequent setting up and canceling of the county,the Zhangxian salt has always been kept under official management.However,the specific management rights in terms of the production,transportation and sale of Zhangxian salt varies with the change of era.Before and at the early period of the People’s Republic of China,Zhangxian salt was still produced in the original manual way,which has a history as long as the Zhangxian County.During the history when original way of producing salt was applied,the tools used for boiling changed significantly with the development of era.And the way of obtaining and boiling brine manually with natural fuel still exist until the end of the 1980 s when modern salt plants emerged.The long history of Zhangxian salt production and development provides not only the physical basis on which Zhangxian salt culture was produced,also the spirit core of many legends,folk beliefs and folk culture which play an important role in the inheritance and prospering of Zhangxian salt culture.During the long course of history,worship and belief of god of salt emerged and came into being gradually in Zhangxian County.And people worship the god of salt in Yanchang Temple.The worship of the god of salt in Zhangxian County,belonging to the trade god worship of traditional folkbeliefs,has some common features of folk beliefs such as ancestor worship and saint worship.Both the worship of the god of salt and the ritual activities,temple fairs and folk songs based on the salt indicate Zhangxian People treasure and rely on the Zhangxian well salt as well as their love and proud of their culture,which fuels the inheritance and development of Zhangxian salt culture.In the new ear,continuing to inherit and develop Zhangxian salt culture is not only a response to the national policy which calls for protection and upgrading of intangible cultural heritage,but also a move to revitalize traditional culture,build up cultural confidence and enrich people’s spiritual and cultural life.Moreover,inheriting and developing Zhangxian salt culture,being able to produce actual social benefits,can attribute to forging local cultural brand and thus facilitate the innovation and growth of local industries.Over the past years,the conservation and development of Zhangxian salt culture has come a long way with the emphasis and plans from government of Dingxi City and Zhangxian County.In the coming future,we should explore fresh ways to carry forward Zhangxian salt culture by keeping pace with the times and updating the idea of the conservation and development of intangible cultural heritage such as putting more emphasis on the influence of education on culture promotion and striving to develop industries with cultural innovation.