In order to conscientiously implement the spirit of the “Opinions of the General Office of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province on Strengthening the Management of Folk Belief Affairs”, “Measures for the Registration and Numbering Management of Folk Belief Activity Places in Zhejiang Province” and other relevant documents, Taizhou City actively innovated the management methods of folk belief affairs, explored the “Hehe” folk belief place creation activities as a starting point, effectively promoted the standardized management of folk belief affairs, and achieved phased results.
(1) Initiate the creation of “Hehe” folk belief sites around the “Eight Haves” standard. In 2016, in order to consolidate the achievements of the registration and numbering of folk belief activity venues, solve the problem of “rushing in before numbering, and no one supervising after numbering”, and effectively improve the management level of folk belief venues, Taizhou City carried out pilot activities in some counties (cities, districts), achieving the expected results. In June 2017, the on-site meeting for the management of folk belief affairs in the city was held in the Road and Bridge District, promoting the “Eight Haves” standard for the management of folk belief affairs in the city, and comprehensively carrying out activities to create “Hehe” folk belief places. The “Hehe” venue creation activity has put forward new requirements for the “eight haves” of the evaluated folk belief venues, namely, “cultural flavor, strong organization, organized management, orderly activities, safe and thorough construction, regulated construction, promising environment, and professional service.” The creation activity is divided into county and city levels, focusing on creating a number of high-quality folk belief venues around the “Hehe” culture. The municipal “Hehe” site is selected based on the county level “Hehe” site. The city has formulated creation standards and incentive measures, strengthened assessment guidance, changed “I want to create” to “I want to create”, and focused on building a long-term mechanism for the creation of places of folk belief. Focusing on improving the management level of folk belief activity venues through the creation of activities, urging them to demand themselves according to high standards, achieving the goal of self management, changing passive management into active management, and changing no one to manage for themselves, which is conducive to the long-term safety and survival of the venue, and effectively alleviating the problem of insufficient regulatory personnel in government departments.
(2) Carry out the “Eight Festivals” activity to endow folk belief activities with new connotations. Folk belief is an important carrier for the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, which contains rich cultural connotations and has a certain moral enlightenment and guiding role for society, especially for the masses of folk belief. The folk belief activities in our city have a long history and a wide range of activities. Many activities have been included in the list of intangible cultural heritage at all levels, including Wenling “Qixi Festival”, Tiantai “Jigong Cultural Festival”, etc., which are included in the national list of intangible cultural heritage. The three “Winter Festival” are also included in the UN list of intangible cultural heritage. There are also a large number of provincial and municipal intangible cultural heritage projects, such as “Sending the Great Heat Festival”, “Celebrating on the eighth day of the first month”, “February Second Lantern Festival”, “Chenghuang Temple Festival”, and “Aolong Fish Lantern Dance”. These activities have a profound impact on the folk and have an important role and significance in the inheritance of traditional culture. We believe that the management of folk belief affairs should focus on giving full play to the positive role of folk belief, promoting the development of Chinese culture, and maintaining social harmony and stability. Adhering to the principles of creative transformation and innovative development, our city encourages counties (cities, districts) to actively and deeply explore the cultural value of folk beliefs, especially through the promotion, inheritance, transformation, and innovation of large-scale folk activities. We strive to extract virtues that are close to the needs of modern society from traditional folk culture, cultivate good customs, and constantly endow folk beliefs with new era connotations and modern expressions, so as to adapt them to contemporary culture Coordinate with modern society. To enable belief activities not only to enrich the cultural life of the masses, but also to bring into play the moral enlightenment role of folk beliefs such as advocating morality, compassion, and tolerance, forming a moral and ethical force that is upward and good, promoting social integrity, and harmonizing rural relations.
(3) Refine the core concept of “Eight Characters”, enrich and inherit the “Harmony” culture. Folk beliefs contain rich traditional Chinese virtues. Most places of folk belief mainly offer sacrifices to ancient heroes or mythological and legendary figures, such as Dayu, Mazu, Yang Jiajiang, Qi Jiguang, and other heroes. These figures either have a sense of responsibility for the rise and fall of the world, or have a patriotic feeling of serving the country faithfully and revitalizing China, or have a social trend of advocating morality and kindness, and thinking in unison with sages, or have a sense of honor and disgrace such as filial piety, loyalty, and integrity, These standards subtly affect the way people behave. The management of folk belief affairs should bear the responsibility of inheriting and developing the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and focus on promoting traditional Chinese virtues such as continuous self-improvement, dedication to the community, helping the needy, acting bravely for the righteous, filial piety and love for the elderly. In order to give full play to the rich moral concepts and norms in folk beliefs, our city has launched a “one temple, one story” activity in the city, and has mobilized towns (streets) and folk belief sites to explore the positive energy stories of worshipping gods in places, centering on the eight concepts of “harmony, goodness, loyalty, righteousness, filial piety, honesty, courage, and trust.”. Select some stories with national cultural characteristics and promote integrity, and focus on refining and compiling them. The above walls, brochures or comic strips, and small videos are made for extensive publicity. Through practice, folk belief activity venues around Taizhou have become a more positive and harmonious social atmosphere.