Taibo Temple Fair, the first temple fair in Jiangnan during the Spring Festival, is held on the ninth day of the first lunar month and is said to be Taibo's birthday. At the end of the Shang Dynasty, Taibo, the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou, and his younger brother Zhongyong gave up their thrones and fled to Wu, settled in Meili, and called themselves "Gou Wu", and were revered as the ancestors of the Wu family. In the second year of Yongxing in the Eastern Han Dynasty (154), Taibo Temple was built in Meili, also known as Zhide Temple and Rangwang Temple. "Sacrifices were offered every year and have never been abolished in successive dynasties." Since then, it has gradually evolved into a folk custom for Wu clan members at home and abroad to trace their roots and worship their ancestors, attend farmers' markets, visit relatives and friends, and have cultural entertainment. The number of people at its peak can reach hundreds of thousands. The contents of the temple fair include sacrificial ceremonies, folk art performances, folk handicraft displays, small commodities and local specialty markets, economic and trade activities, etc. It is one of the folk activities with the greatest influence overseas among the temple fairs in Jiangnan. Introduction: Taibo is Wu Taibo. It is said that the ninth day of the first lunar month is Taibo's birthday. Taibo gave up the throne for the third time and fled to Meili, Wuxi to establish the Wu Kingdom and create Wu culture. In order to commemorate Taibo's achievements in benefiting the south of the Yangtze River, people built a Taibo Temple in Meili (now Meicun), Wuxi. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Taibo's birthday, there is a Meili Taibo Temple Fair. This is the first temple fair in Wuxi in a year. People from both urban and rural areas come here to worship, and the grand occasion has never declined. With a pious mood, people pray for Taibo's protection, so there is a folk song in the countryside that "worship Taibo on the ninth day of the first lunar month, and the rice harvest will increase by one or two hundred." Historical Origin: Taibo Temple Fair originated from the sacrificial beliefs of the ancient ancestors of Wudi, and is directly related to Taibo, a well-known and documented person in historical books. More than 3,200 years ago, the Shang Dynasty declined and the Zhou kings rose and fell. In order to avoid the throne of the Zhou Dynasty, Taibo, the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou, went all the way south from Qishan, Shaanxi, and finally settled in Meili (now Meicun) in the south of the Yangtze River. He introduced the etiquette system and agricultural civilization of the Central Plains to the south of the Yangtze River, and created the foundation of the Wu Kingdom for more than 500 years. The long-standing Wu civilization began from this. Taibo was revered as "the most virtuous" by Confucius for "giving up the world three times", and the people respected him as "the King of Give-up". Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian" listed him as "the first of the aristocratic families". Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty built a temple and a tomb for him. In order to commemorate Taibo's "three giving-up" and his great achievements in developing the south of the Yangtze River, every year on the ninth day of the first lunar month, people from all over the country come to visit Taibo Temple, burn incense and worship "Lord Give-up", and the descendants of the twelve surnames of the world's most virtuous relatives go to Meicun to return to their ancestors and worship their ancestors in various forms. More than 100,000 people participate in the Taibo Temple Fair every year, and the streets and alleys are packed with people. Historical legends: According to legend, the ninth day of the first lunar month is Taibo's birthday, which is also the birthday of the Jade Emperor in folk legends; the third day of the third lunar month is Taibo's memorial day, and it is also the day when the Jade Emperor ascends to heaven; folk legends also say that Jiang Ziya was taken in by Taibo and recognized as his godson, and took Taibo's wife's surname Jiang. Later, when Jiang Ziya was deified, he did not dare to deify the Jade Emperor. As a result, the people later recognized Taibo as the Jade Emperor with a high status in Taoism, and the people also called the ninth day of the first lunar month "the birthday of heaven". The folk belief that heaven is respected also made Taibo Temple Fair the first temple fair in spring. Inheritance and development: During the Spring Festival in 2003, Meicun Street, with the support of the New District Management Committee, innovatively held the Taibo Economic and Trade Cultural Festival. With the Taibo Temple Fair as a link, it added new contents such as the opening ceremony of the Economic and Trade Cultural Festival, economic and trade negotiations, high-tech product achievements exhibition, economic and trade cultural festival literary evening, and overseas clan relatives and family ties. From 2003 to 2009, for seven consecutive years, the popularity and reputation of the "Taibo Temple Fair" were improved through cultural platforms. Starting from 2010, the street changed the theme of "promoting business with culture" that had lasted for many years, and renamed the original "Taibo Economic and Trade Cultural Festival" to "Taibo Cultural Festival" and added cultural elements. The cultural festival activities are centered on the "Tai Bo Temple Fair", focusing on the "traditional culture" card, adding folk parades, lantern riddles and other activities with a strong Wu culture flavor. At the same time, cultural activities such as the annual street development achievement exhibition and the Spring Festival Film Week are held to advocate the return and revitalization of traditional culture and local customs. The Tai Bo Economic and Trade Cultural Festival holds activities such as the signing of economic and trade cultural festival projects, the high-tech product achievement exhibition, and the Meili New City real estate exhibition. There are large-scale square art performances during the day, art evenings performed by professional song and dance troupes at night, and star-studded fireworks evenings. Since 2010, the Tai Bo Cultural Festival, with the "Tai Bo Temple Fair" as its core, has been based on the pursuit of inheriting the spirit of Zhide, displaying Wu culture, promoting the ancient capital of Meili, and enhancing the image of Meicun. It insists on being people-oriented, focusing on expanding the "participation surface", and highlighting the "interactivity" between citizens and activities. Other related: Temple fairs, also known as "temple markets" or "festival venues". These names can be said to be the historical "trajectory" left in the process of the formation of temple fairs. As a kind of social custom, the formation has its profound social and historical reasons. The temple fair custom is closely related to the religious activities of Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. At the same time, it is developed, improved and popularized along with folk belief activities. In terms of the content of temple fair activities, it focuses on worshipping gods and competitions, but is relatively weak in folk commercial trade. The real finalization and perfection of temple fairs was in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even in modern times. In the early days, temple fairs were only a grand sacrificial activity. With the development of the economy and the need for people to communicate, temple fairs gradually integrated market trading activities while maintaining sacrificial activities. At this time, the temple fair was also named "temple market" and became an important form of Chinese market. With the needs of people, entertainment activities were added to the temple fair. Therefore, visiting temple fairs during the Spring Festival has become an indispensable part of people's Spring Festival. However, the specific content of temple fairs in different regions is slightly different and has its own characteristics.