ABSTRACT
August 1992, Meifa village, Anxi county, southern Fujian, just after harvest. People in the village were holding their most important annual celebration, the anniversary of the local cult of Fa Zhu Gong (see Figure 3.1). They took it for granted that outsiders should come to see their festivals. Thus, we were accepted as two people curious about how warm and noisy (renao) their festivals were, and wanting to be entertained with opera performances at their village temple and, later, at feasts in their homes. At other, non-festive times, they were puzzled if pleased that we should take an interest in so ordinary a village. This was a time to make us feel welcome – two people, one a foreigner and the other a stranger who spoke their language with an urban accent, sharing a keen interest in annual festivals and the making of local history. 1 Offerings outside the temple in Meifa on Fa Zhu Gong's autumn festival, August 1992 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315011622/6724cb91-c32d-4520-8f44-6713f42e6729/content/fig3_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Photo Wang Mingming)
