"Tongwei(通渭)" is the name of a county in the eastern mountainous region of what is now Dingxi City in Gansu Province, China.
At the time of the first survey in 2002, we conducted a survey of skin shadow play mainly i n the two districts o f Jichuan and Biyu, where electricity had not been available for less than three years. However, this is the reason why many traditional events such as skin shadow plays have been preserved, especially during the village's annual event "Shah fire" which lasts for two weeks from the first day of the Chinese New Year to the first night of the New Year on the 15th.
The purpose of the February 2008 survey was also to investigate traditional New Year's events, including shadow puppet plays, but especially the central event of the company fire(社火). It is a traditional event in Chinese folklore in which various plays are performed to welcome the gods of the village on days such as the Chinese New Year. In this year's Waning, the New Year's fire was still held according to the traditional method. The characteristic features of this event are that it is held at night, the wearing of animal masks and the sound of torches and whips are used to ward off evil, and a ceremony is held to worship the gods of the land.
This paper is a part of the results of research conducted with the main goal of comparing the traditional events of Tongwei County, Gansu Province, with the customs found in Dunhuang literature, which is the author's main research area. As a result, although it was not easy to compare the customs and manners of Dunhuang, which are separated by 1,000 years, I think I was able to touch a part of the flow of inheritance of Chinese traditional events.