Chinese Journal of Sociology

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Traditional Folk Cultures and Constructing “New Rural Areas”: Temple Festivals in the Huabei Pear Region as an Example

Yue Yongyi

  

  • Received:1900-01-01 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:2008-11-20 Published:2008-11-20

Abstract: The Pear Region in the middle of north China (Huabei) used to be known for its status that “every village has its own temple; every temple has its own festival”. The evolution of various temple festivals to express cultures tells us that the ritual practices still follow the same templefestival tradition in the Pear Region, that is, it is the product of the “collusion” of divergent groups, the primary ones being the local officers and villagers. In the context of folkloretourism development and with the temptation of the Utopian illusion, the communal manifestations have made it possible to build local templemuseums, which convenes officers and villagers with varying motives into the same channel toward the same direction. In current times when constructing “New Rural Areas” is being advocated, it is an organismic (and also important) part of constructing “New Rural Areas” to comprehend traditional folk cultures from the life logic of the villagers and to give them appropriate living spaces. Only by taking root in the soil of traditional cultures can new rural areas persist in longevity.

Key words: folk beliefs, folk culture, folklore tourism, legend, New Rural Areas, rural village temple festivals