Most notably, around February of the lunar calendar, Guiyu will hold the annual "Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition of Colored Streets" for three days, which is also commonly known as "Street Shed". The roadside shed in Guiyu Street is a distinctive folk cultural activity. It is said that it began in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and it has a history of more than 400 years. It is known as "a must in China". The Qing Dynasty's Chaoyang County Annals has such a vivid portrayal of "street shed":
"Art garden blurred blind, ten thousand goods. The first day was sunny and cloudy, followed by people with narrow roads. " At the peak, thousands of paintings and calligraphy works were exhibited, stretching for two or three miles. It is really dazzling and has a unique charm. Li Zichang's living paintings, as well as those of Tang Bohu, Wen Zhiming, Zhu Zhishan, Yan Suiliang and Zheng Banqiao, have been exhibited in past dynasties. In the late Qing Dynasty, firms from all walks of life even paid a lot of money to buy the handwriting of sages lost from all over the world to show off in exhibitions.
With the progress of the times, the development of science and technology and the improvement of people's living standards, the form and content of "color street shed" have undergone great changes and improvements. Under normal circumstances, this rural literary form with the colorful street shed as the main body, together with memorial service, wandering souls, flower street parade, etc., was held simultaneously in Huamei, Nan 'an, Beilin (Gate) and other places in Guiyu every year until it stopped for various reasons in the early days of liberation, especially during the Cultural Revolution, a large number of paintings and calligraphy works preserved in local people's homes were destroyed and lost, and only 50 or 60 paintings and calligraphy works were preserved.
In order to inherit this long-standing folk culture, Wu Nansheng, then Chairman of CPPCC Committee, personally wrote an inscription for "Caijie", "Developing Chaoshan economy and building a civilized hometown of overseas Chinese", and supported the restoration activities of Caijie. After learning the good news, the local shop repaired the colorful street scene by self-financing and collected 650 paintings and calligraphy works.
1999, in view of the narrow and dilapidated pavement of the old street originally laid out, the local government expanded the east side of the old street by several hundred meters, thus forming a scale of 1.8 km.
The traditional "street shed" was originally exhibited only in Guiyu Old Street, which is about three miles long and spans three natural villages. Because the streets are relatively narrow, and the shops have to continue to operate during the exhibition, people will be more crowded after the exhibition. Nevertheless, the exhibition goes on every year and never stops. 1July, 1998, Huamei East District was added on the original basis. Since then, with the support and help of provinces, cities, towns, districts and other relevant departments, local people and villagers abroad have donated money and materials. At that time, there were more than 640 paintings and handicrafts exhibited in the new district alone, and new exhibits were added every year. Among the many exhibits, there are not only ancient paintings of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, but also masterpieces from 30 provinces and cities across the country, inscriptions by leaders of the central government, provinces and cities, and Mo Bao of other parties and celebrities. There are many professors among the authors of fine arts works, including many national treasure master Dan Qing and members of provincial and municipal painting and calligraphy associations; There are representative works of Northern School, Lingnan School, Western School and Shanghai School with different styles and techniques. There are not only local works by local painters and folk artists, but also fine paintings and calligraphy from Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and Singapore. "Chun Xue" and "Xialiba people" have their own characteristics, each with its own merits. In addition, there are photography, paper-cutting, sculpture, newspaper headlines, stamps, shopping cards, ancient and modern coins, coins from all over the world, various magnetic cards, commemorative medals, embroidery, live scenes, lighting paintings and so on. From this colorful and sparkling world, we can glimpse the imprint left by history and feel the changes of the times; Sometimes you can't help laughing, and sometimes you meditate.
Every year in February of the lunar calendar, the flower street tour held at the same time as the "color street shed" adds a lively and festive scene, marching towards the flower street and watching the "color street shed" at dusk!
Men and women who take part in the flower street parade must make up carefully. After the preparations were completed, I saw the gongs and drums team clear the road and the parade began. Followed by the big gongs and drums is an English song team composed of 36 men, wearing colorful cloth towels and masks. The English Song Team is led by a young man dressed in a yellow gossip costume and holding a yellow gossip flag decorated with the words "Shi Gong". Behind him is a young man dancing with a golden snake decorated with "Moving Time". Other people's clothes are different in color and pattern. The young man danced the golden snake in his hand and walked among his companions. The golden snake in his hand is high and low, or left or right. According to the symbol of the golden snake, the team made a neat and rude cry from time to time. Young people beat the sticks in their hands up or down, forward or backward, and the team gathered or dispersed. Suddenly, the snake moved forward and the dragon went out to sea. It is no exaggeration to describe it as strong, unrestrained and vigorous. What's more, two dwarfs dressed as "uncles" and "grandmothers" waved their dust brushes and sunflower fans, which made the onlookers laugh.
If you rap and dance, a man shocked the audience with his heroic momentum, strength and beauty. So, what does female singing and dancing bring to people? You see, it's not the "time-shifted" position in men's singing and dancing, but a handsome girl jumping the yellow flag. Along with the direction of the flag, the girls dressed in gorgeous costumes also hit the sticks in their hands uniformly, prancing and gathering, sometimes like butterflies picking flowers, and sometimes like proud as a peacock, which dazzled people. Gorgeous costumes, softness with rigidity, and the dance of combining rigidity with softness give the audience a beautiful enjoyment!
After the English Song Team, there are men's and women's gongs and drums teams, bands, and makeup teams composed of girls and children. They carry flags and baskets on their shoulders. Although different clothes, different forms and different ages, everyone can see the same expression on his face: joy and confidence!
At the beginning of 2009, Guiyu Street Shed, recommended by Shantou Intangible Cultural Heritage Appraisal Expert Group and appraised by Shantou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Joint Conference, was selected into the second batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage list with eight items, including Aoyu Dance, Chaozhou Song Book and Ceramic Micro Book. The local government, hipster folk culture experts, scholars and folk artists are working hard to collect and protect the relevant materials and folk culture of "Cai Jie", and strive to apply for inclusion in the provincial and national intangible cultural heritage lists. Guiyu people, like most areas in Chaoshan, are a patriarchal society that attaches great importance to fellow villagers with the same surname. If every family has a red (happiness) incident, they should seek help from relatives in the same ancestral hall (descendants of ancestors with the same surname). Charity and holiday affairs in each township are organized and arranged by the village committee and the township "boss" (the respected male elderly in the township), and the younger generation generally respects their arrangements. This kinship makes the villagers very. I have deep feelings for my hometown. Many old overseas Chinese still care about everything in their hometown when they are abroad. Some elderly people who went to Taiwan Province Province with the army during the Republic of China gave up their hukou in Taiwan Province Province and moved back to their hometown in Guiyu after cross-strait relations eased.
Young people in Guiyu will not be separated from their parents after marriage. Unless there are special circumstances or parents' requirements, they will be accused and rejected by the villagers, which will play a role in supervision and education. Most sons take turns taking care of their parents.