Three generations of old, middle, and young people have carried up the "Chinese Superb Art" Fujian Jianou Banner has been passed down for more than 300 years

Jianou, Fujian, August 8 (Ye Qiuyun) Shoulders, back arches, heads, teeth... On the 3nd, the long flag, which is more than 2 meters tall and weighs about 10 kilograms, was constantly changed places under the performance of the members of the Jianou City Banner Art Troupe in Fujian Province. This scene was staged in the Tiejinglan-Zizhi Street Historical and Cultural District of Jianou City, and the citizens and tourists watching were directly addicted.

The Jianou City Banner Art Troupe in Fujian Province is performing an ancient folk tradition - Jianou Banner. Photo by Zhang Bin

"When I first started learning Jianou Banner in the third grade of elementary school, it was initially fun and exciting." Born in 2006, Dong Mingxuan has been practicing Jianou Banner for more than seven years, and he is calm and calm when performing live. He said that after really starting to contact Jian Ou Banner, he was moved by its profound cultural connotation, and his body became stronger and stronger.

Jianou Banner is a unique folk skill in northern Fujian. According to legend, the Jianou soldiers who followed Zheng Chenggong to regain Taiwan and waved them freely on bamboo poles to commemorate the martyrs, which gradually evolved into the custom of Jianou picking flags, which has been passed down to this day.

Since its birth at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Jianou Banner has a history of more than 300 years and is known as the "Chinese Superb Art". In 2008, the Banner (Jianou Banner) of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Extension Project was included in the first batch of representative items of national intangible cultural heritage.

Like other ancient folk skills, the inheritance of this ancient skill condenses the folk customs of Jianou and the wisdom of local folk organizations and a large group of flag-picking artists. Chen Xiaoling, 54, has been practicing Jianou Banner since 2006, and during the performance, the Jianou Banner rotates in her hand and moves freely.

The Jianou Banner operates freely in the hands of the members of the Jianou City Banner Art Troupe in Fujian Province. Photo by Zhang Bin

Chen Xiaoling said that she is mainly engaged in the food processing industry, and she practices Jianou Banner with her friends in her spare time, although it is very hard and tiring, but she can exercise her body during the practice and inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture.

Zhu Shiliang, the representative inheritor of the Jianou Banner (Jianou Banner) in the representative items of national intangible cultural heritage, also has a soft spot for the Jianou Banner. More than 30 years ago, Zhu Shiliang and Jian Ou formed an indissoluble bond. Since then, he has spent almost all his spare time and energy on contacting Jianou and insisting on studying and practicing hard. "As long as I have time, I practice for an hour every morning and evening, and I still do."

"You must have perseverance and the spirit of contribution, and you must not be afraid of hardship and fatigue in order to practice." Zhu Shiliang, 67 years old this year, told reporters that Jian Ou's performance requires both strength and skill, and one of the most important points is to master balance, most of the team members have practiced for more than ten years, skills and movements will be proficient.

Zhu Shiliang is now the head of the Jianou City Banner Art Troupe. According to his introduction, the banner picked by Jianou is referred to as "Jianou Banner", which is very different from the "Zhong Flag" performed in Beijing, Hebei, Henan and other places, and its appearance is unique and quaint, requiring the use of local abundant hairy bamboo. After hundreds of years of evolution, Jianou Banner has developed its own characteristics.

In recent years, Jianou has also frequently appeared as a "people's ambassador" throughout the country and even in Southeast Asian countries and regions such as Thailand and Malaysia. "Show the best side to everyone, so as to enhance the exchange of folk traditional culture." Zhu Shiliang said that in the performance, there is collision, communication and integration, which will resonate.

Jianou ancient known as Jianzhou, has a history of more than 1800,2021 years of county building, and still preserves the atmospheric ancient city pattern. Since <>, Jianou City has aimed to create a national-level historical and cultural city, anchored the positioning of "Millennium Jianzhou and Science Famous City", and planned to generate the Jianou City Historical and Cultural City Protection and Improvement Project, and the Tiejinglan-Zizhi Street Historical and Cultural District Protection and Revitalization Project is one of its important subprojects.

It is reported that Jianou City will complete the renovation and upgrading of the Tiejinglan-Zizhi Street Historical and Cultural District by the end of September 2023, and implant the format to open to the public.

The picture shows the Tiejinglan-Zizhi Street Historical and Cultural District in Jianou City, Nanping, Fujian Province. Photo by Zhang Bin

Li Jintong, chairman of Fujian Millennium Jianzhou Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., said that in order to revitalize the historical and cultural district, businesses will be introduced one after another, and cultural connotations will also be implanted, such as intangible cultural heritage snacks and intangible cultural heritage skills displays. (End)