Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday

120.Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday

Nominating Unit: Shipai Town, City of Dongguan

Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday is an important and grand folk activity in Tangwei Village of Shipai Town, Dongguan. It was initiated to commemorate the birthday of Kangwang (Kang Baoyi), a famous patriotic general of the Northern Song Dynasty. The activity enjoys a history of nearly 300 years, which is held on July 1st to 7th of the lunar calendar. There’re detailed records of it in Tangwei Li Clan’s Family Tree.

According to the memories of the seniors in village, Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday had its heydays in the late Qing Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty when commerce sprang up in Tangwei Village, people of Tangwei and nearby villages all looked forward to the days from July 1st to 7th. Nowadays, Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday still keeps its authentic flavor, which embodies the intentions of a solemn memorial, birthday congratulations, praying and worshipping. The main activities include: getting rid of filth, Chuwei, taking a bath, changing clothes, cruise held on Jan. 1st of the lunar calendar; worshipping held form Jan. 2nd to 6th of the lunar calendar; Zanshou, processions, Daditou, Anzuo held on Jan. 7th of the lunar calendar. With the development of the times, there’re some new activities involved, such as the Feast for a Thousand People and the Bidding of the “Magic Lamp”. Among all the activities, Kangwang Procession which is made up of hundreds of people, is the most unique one. With a Drums and Gongs band leading the way, the procession starts from the Mei’an Ancestral Hall where the Kang Wang statue is placed, going along Zhengxiang, reaching the Big Ancestral Temple, going out of the west door, arriving at the West Village. After that, the procession goes around every new village of Tangwei respectively and finally returns from the east door. While the procession held on July 7th of the lunar calendar starts at twelve o’clock with the similar route and procedures.(https://www.daowen.com)

Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday is not unique in Tangwei. There is another Kangwang procession held in Baotan, Dongguan, which is said to enjoy a history of 500 years. It is held once every three years, on Oct. 1st to 10th of the lunar calendar. During the procession, different villages organize their team spontaneously. People start their procession from the Kangwang Temple of Baotan, process along the planned route and at last hold the handover ceremony at the fixed place. The procession will go through the villages of Hengshan, Tianbian, Yanwo, Zhongkeng, Tangwei, Puxin and so on, and at last return to Kangwang Temple.

During the Cultural Revolution, the activities of Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday were once stopped. It is until 1994 that the custom resumed, which still kept its authentic flavor. As a unique folk activity in the village, it has played an irreplaceable role in Dongguan or even Guangdong Province. Known as a “living fossil” of Lingnan customs in the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, Kang Wang’s Holy Birthday is of great values for academic researches.

However, the political turmoil and social changes of the past century inevitably changed the traditional practices. A lot of customs contracted, deformed or even disappeared, resulting in the lack of historical data. Thus a number of folk activities cannot be traced and are unable to resume. The Kangwang Procession of the Kangwang Temple is one case of them. Besides, as some seniors passed away one after one, memory of the folk activities is breaking off and difficult to restore. Therefore, it is an urgent need to intensify protective and supportive measures.