Pingtung's Three Welcome Kings Gather; Nan Zhou Festival Recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Pingtung County Government recently announced the results of its latest intangible cultural asset review, marking an important new chapter in the history of local folk beliefs and traditional craftsmanship. In this review, a total of three significant intangible cultural assets were newly registered, alongside the simultaneous recognition of six skilled preservers and three preservation groups bearing the heavy responsibility of transmission. Among them, the most anticipated and widely discussed highlight locally was the official registration of the long-standing Nanzhou King Boat welcoming festival as an intangible cultural asset of Pingtung County. This resolution is not only the highest recognition of the religious and cultural value of the Nanzhou area, but also brings all three renowned welcoming-the-king festivals in Pingtung County—Donggang, Xiaoliuqiu, and Nanzhou—onto the roster of cultural assets. This holds milestone significance for Taiwan's Wangye belief and religious folklore studies.

Looking back at the welcoming-the-king festival culture in the Pingtung area, it has always held a pivotal position in Taiwan's folk beliefs, with the "Three Great Wang Festivals of Pingtung" being the most celebrated. These are the King Boat welcoming festivals of the Donggang Donglong Temple, the Xiaoliuqiu Sanlong Temple, and the Nanzhou Jiuzhou Daitian Temple. In the past, the Donggang and Xiaoliuqiu festivals had already successively obtained legal status as intangible cultural assets. Although the Nanzhou festival shares an equally long history, rigorous rituals, and massive mobilization scale, its cultural asset registration process had long remained incomplete. The official registration of the Nanzhou festival finally completes the final piece of the puzzle of Pingtung's three major welcoming-the-king festivals. It symbolizes that the local government and civil society have reached a high degree of consensus on the importance of this centennial tradition, laying a more solid legal and administrative foundation for the future preservation, promotion, and resource acquisition of the festival.

The core purpose of the welcoming-the-king festival is to invite the imperial envoys (Qiansuiye) patrolling on behalf of heaven to descend to the mortal realm, expel plagues and ward off evil, and pray for peace throughout the territory. Its ritual procedures are extremely complex and strictly adhere to ancient rites, encompassing core ceremonies such as welcoming the king, processions, walking over fire, warding off and banishing pestilence, and finally sending off the king (burning the king boat). The Nanzhou festival has deep historical roots dating back to the Japanese colonial period, originating from a branched deity of the Pingtung Donggang area. It took root in Nanzhou and gradually developed its own local characteristics and mobilization models. During the festival period held every three years, local believers and temples fully mobilize, displaying astonishing cohesion and centripetal force. With this official registration as an intangible cultural asset, every detail of the religious significance and ritual procedures of the Nanzhou festival will receive stricter protection and systematic recording, ensuring that this precious intangible asset does not wither away with the changes of the times.

In addition to the prominent registration of the Nanzhou festival, the Pingtung County Government's latest intangible cultural asset review also covered traditional cultures and techniques in other fields, demonstrating the county government's comprehensive ambition to preserve diverse cultures. This review newly added three registrations and simultaneously recognized six preservers and three preservation groups. These preservers and groups brought under the umbrella of protection have long cultivated the land of Pingtung in silence. Whether they are artisans of traditional handicrafts, inheritors of performing arts, or practitioners of religious folklore, they are Taiwan's precious cultural assets. Through official recognition and certification, it not only gives the masters who have dedicated their lives to traditional culture the deserved honor and affirmation, but more importantly, establishes an official support system such as an "apprenticeship system" or "transmission plan," allowing techniques on the verge of extinction to be passed down from generation to generation.

The preservation and registration of intangible cultural assets has always been a colossal project combining the local government, academia, and civil society. With the Nanzhou festival fully listed among cultural assets, alongside the recognition of multiple other techniques and groups, Pingtung County's cultural asset landscape has become more complete and profound. However, registration is merely a beginning. How to maintain the essence of traditional festivals and techniques amidst the cracks of rapid modernization, brain drain, and commercial shocks, and strike a balance between heritage and innovation, is a severe challenge that all preservers and related units must jointly face in the future. All sectors also hope that through the announcement of this review's results, more of the younger generation will be awakened to a sense of identity with local culture, actively participating in the ranks of cultural preservation so that Pingtung's profound and charming intangible cultural assets can be passed down sustainably. (Fact source: Central News Agency)