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Dry‑boat dance is one of the folk performing arts. During festivals and celebrations, this traditional dance is popular in villages throughout Hongtong County; it imitates the motion of a boat gliding across water. The “dry boat” is a wooden frame fashioned to resemble the shape of a vessel. Around this boat-shaped structure, cotton skirts adorned with water‑ripple patterns or sea‑blue cotton skirts are draped. On top of the craft, red silk ribbons and paper flowers are hung, and in some places, colorful lanterns, polished mirrors, and other decorative elements are added, transforming one or even several such boats into dazzling displays. Of course, the “dry boat” is not a real vessel but rather a land‑based performance prop. Typically, only one person rides the “boat,” though occasionally two, four, or even seven performers share the same contraption.
In Hongtong, many folk songs have been passed down since ancient times—some express local customs, some celebrate the region’s delicious cuisine, and others convey people’s cherished hopes. These songs must be sung in the local Hongtong dialect; if recited in Mandarin, they lose their rhyme and with it, their distinct Hongtong flavor. “Da Bo Gao” is a children’s game: a group of kids each extends one leg, linking together to form a circle, while hopping on the other leg and spinning clockwise. They clap their hands to keep time, chanting as they turn. Whoever’s leg slips out of the chain first is eliminated, and the last one standing wins. Their chant goes: “Da, da, da bo gao,”
Guangsheng Temple Ancient Temple Fair
Hongtong’s Guangsheng Temple hosts its annual ancient temple fair on the eighteenth day of the third lunar month, with a five-day duration. Over these five days, the temple is thronged with crowds, creating a festive and bustling atmosphere. During the fair, merchants, tourists, and people of all ages—men, women, and children—from Huo County, Fenxi County, Linfen City, Xiangfen County, Anze County, Gu County, and Houma City stream continuously into Guangsheng Temple from all directions. Throughout the event, in front of the temple, vendors, street‑side stallholders, performers offering equestrian acts, theatrical troupes, and acrobats from every walk of life showcase their talents, drawing large numbers of visitors and passersby. Guangsheng Temple is an ancient monastery, first established during the Eastern Han dynasty…
On the Folk Tradition of Pendants on the Great Locust Tree
I. The Origins of the Hongtong Migrants during the Ming Dynasty After more than twenty years of turmoil at the end of the Yuan dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang unified the realm; yet by then the land lay scarred and desolate, with vast stretches of uninhabited territory in Shandong and Henan. By contrast, Shanxi enjoyed a relatively stable situation; at that time, southern Shanxi was the most densely populated region, and Hongtong was the largest county in southern Shanxi, with the highest population. To revive agricultural production, stimulate economic development, and consolidate the Ming dynasty’s rule, the government implemented a policy of mass migration. Consequently, the area beneath the great locust tree at Guangji Temple in Hongtong became the central hub for organizing and dispatching migrants. According to historical research, from the early Ming period through the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign—over nearly fifty years—there were no fewer than eighteen large-scale migrations, relocating people from the fifty-one prefectures of Shanxi Province.
Traditional Festival — Qingming Festival
Qingming Festival is the most solemn springtime occasion for honoring one’s ancestors, commonly referred to as the “Ghost Festival.” In Shanxi, an old folk rhyme goes: “Fine Qingming rains stir up sorrow; on the desolate mounds, wildflowers bloom; hands hold offerings, shoulders bear hoes—each comes to bring fresh soil to the ancestral graves,” vividly capturing both the mood of the time and the distinctive features of tomb-sweeping. In spring, it is customary among the people to repair houses, guarding against summer leaks. Reflecting from the living to the dead, the graves in the fields, exposed to wind and rain, often collapse and sink. During Qingming, the most characteristic act is clearing away weeds from the grave mound and reinforcing it with fresh earth—a practice known as “tidying up the yin residence,” which expresses the descendants’ grief and reverence for their forebears. In the southern regions of Shanxi, households…
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