The Intangible Cultural Heritage Revitalization and Rural Revitalization Practice of Market Folk Art – A Field Study Based on the Huji Book Fair

Abstract

The Huji Book Fair, as a typical representative of the combination of rural markets and folk art performances in North China, originated in the Ming Dynasty, flourished during the Qing Dynasty, and was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. Based on local chronicles, interviews with artists, and field studies, this paper delves into the creation environment and organizational structure of the Huji Book Fair, exploring its cultural implications in terms of folk beliefs, moral education, and community cohesion. The study finds that, in the process of contemporary social development, the Huji Book Fair faces challenges such as generational discontinuity and the disappearance of rituals, with a sharp decline in full-time storytellers and fundamental changes in traditional forms and content. To address these issues, local efforts have included initiatives like "Book Fair into Schools" for cultural reproduction and the integration of culture and tourism to promote industrial exploration. The study suggests that the inheritance of the Huji Book Fair needs to seek a dynamic balance between tradition and innovation, government and grassroots, and tradition and technology, fully leveraging its cultural empowerment role in rural revitalization, achieving its living heritage and the reconstruction of rural cultural ecology in contemporary society.