Yanshui Beehive Fireworks: How a City of Fireworks Preserves the Memory of Plague on Yanshui Streets

[Image: Yanshui Beehive Fireworks unfolding toward the crowd in the night, with participants wearing protective gear visible in the foreground. Embedded in the Markdown file]

Figure: Yanshui Beehive Fireworks scene. Image source: Tainan City Yanshui District Office Festival Activity Page, taken from official activity materials¹.

[Image: Safety promotion and protective configurations for Yanshui Beehive Fireworks structures. Embedded in the Markdown file]

Figure: Firework structures and protective configurations. Image source: Tainan City Yanshui District Office official festival promotional materials.

30-Second Overview: Yanshui Beehive Fireworks bind the worship of Guan Di, the craftsmanship of firework structures, and the Lantern Festival procession onto the same street. The widely accepted local origin story of dispelling plague is only one layer; today’s Beehive Fireworks must also confront the transmission of craftsmanship, commercialization, crowd safety, and air pollution. Thus, it is neither a simple fireworks display nor an ancient ritual that must be preserved in its original form.

In 1885, the crisis in Yanshui local legend was not a fireworks show, but the fear left by cholera and long-term epidemics. On June 27, 2008, Yanshui Beehive Fireworks were registered as a folk tradition by the Cultural Heritage Bureau of the Ministry of Culture. Today, around the Lantern Festival, firework structures are still pushed before the divine sedan chairs, causing thousands of skyrockets to be launched simultaneously. ^{2 3}

That scene is easily captured as a blur of orange-red: people wearing helmets, sedan chair bearers pushing the divine sedan into the flames, and bee fireworks bursting from all directions of the wooden frames. But what makes Yanshui Beehive Fireworks truly special is precisely that it is not "come watch the fireworks." For Yanshui residents, the firework structure is an offering to Lord Guan (Guan Di), the explosions are part of the ritual, and the street is a place where the local society reassembles.

The most counter-intuitive aspect of Yanshui Beehive Fireworks: Tourists see firepower, while residents guard the rules.

A Firework Structure Is Not a Fireworks Stand, But a Temporary Local Craft

A firework structure is also called a "firework nest." It first uses wooden strips or angle iron to build a base frame, then secures skyrockets with cotton rope, wire mesh, or plastic mesh, arranging bidirectional, four-way, six-way, or even eight-way launch angles. A fire core is set in the center, and finally, exterior decorations are added. It looks like a building prepared for burning, but it is actually a synthesis of structure, angle, material, and ignition sequence. ³

Early firework structures were smaller, usually made by mobilizing families. As occupational division of labor changed, ordering or purchasing ready-made firework structures gradually increased. The firework structure thus transformed from a household craft into a technology requiring professional work crews and local transmission programs to maintain. The Cultural Heritage Bureau still lists firework structure construction training and transmission programs in recent years, because the disappearance of a firework structure is not just the loss of a shaped firework, but potentially the loss of a local way of knowing how to cooperate. ²

The character "city" (cheng) is accurate. A firework structure has a skeleton, a facade, a fire core, and a moment that must be waited for. It does not complete its meaning alone in an open space; only when the divine sedan arrives, the red paper cover is lifted, and the gold paper burns, does this temporary building enter the ritual.

📝 Curator's Note: The core craftsmanship of Yanshui Beehive Fireworks is not making the fireworks bigger, but placing a group of people in the same ignition moment.

Four Origin Theories, No Official Seal for Legends

Regarding the origin of the bee fireworks, the National Cultural Heritage Network has compiled four local theories: anti-Qing restoration, inheriting the "fighting fire" traditions of the Zhang and Quan hometowns, welcoming Emperor Jiaqing with firecrackers, and the most commonly accepted theory of dispelling plague. ²

The Ministry of Interior's Taiwan Religious Cultural Map also lists 1885, the 11th year of the Guangxu era, as the speculative time of origin, describing how Yanshui merchants and gentry invited Lord Guan Shengdi (Guan Di) to patrol the streets, praying for peace through processions and firecrackers. The key word here is "speculative": it acknowledges the importance of local memory and does not present a legend as the only answer proven by all historical materials. ³

The plague-dispelling theory has power not just because it sounds good, but because it connects local experiences. Immigrant settlements facing the uncertainty of sea conditions, soil and water, disease, and livelihoods gradually saw their hometown deities become local guardians. Lord Guan's procession thus simultaneously carries faith, social order, and imagination of disaster. Ministry of Interior data also places the settlement development of Yanshui Port, the worship of Guan Di, and the origin of bee fireworks in the same local context. ³

This does not mean that sulfur smoke actually destroys cholera. It means that a community once responded to uncontrollable dangers in a way they could understand and accomplish together. After the epidemic passed, the action was preserved and reenacted every Lantern Festival.

From Continuous Fire to Bee: The Form Changed, Making the Ritual Like Today

The familiar appearance of "releasing bees" (fang feng zai) that people know today gradually formed after 1936, during the Japanese colonial period. Early processions mainly used firecrackers and fireworks. Post-war development of bee fireworks based on skyrockets began, with firework structures appearing from 1980, and further stylization occurring after 1984. ³

This history shows that tradition is not a box brought unchanged from ancient times to today. Materials changed, firework structures grew larger, shapes became more complex, and the audience for bee fireworks expanded from local residents to out-of-town visitors. Folk traditions are still called tradition, but they grow new shapes through repeated technical choices and social negotiation.

Around the year 2000, super-large firework structures appeared successively. In 2007, themed structures such as King Boat and Teapot firework structures appeared. These objects pushed Yanshui's firecracker ritual to more prominent public performances, making the boundary between "folk tradition" and "tourist activity" thinner. ³

📝 Curator's Note: Tradition is not refusing change. Tradition is recognizing oneself after change.

Divine Sedan Entering the Fire, Not Performers Challenging the Audience

The highlight of the bee fireworks usually falls on the Lantern Festival night's Lord Guan procession. When the divine sedan team approaches shops or residences, firework structures are quickly lifted to the road. The ritual first lifts the red paper cover written with "Ten Thousand Years of the Sage Emperor of Literary Balance" (Wen Heng Sheng Di), burning it along with the gold paper, then ignites the fire core. The firework structure instantly launches skyrockets in all directions, turning the street into a temporary fireground with sound and smoke. ³

Sedan chairbers wear helmets and thick clothing, pushing and pulling the divine sedan into the fire, causing the sedan to tumble and move back and forth in front of and behind the firework structure. This action is called "plowing bee fireworks" (li feng pao) or "charging bee fireworks" (chong feng pao). "Plowing" refers to a farming tool that turns soil, linking to the local symbolism of using plowheads to ward off evil. The successful ignition of bee fireworks is understood as Lord Guan accepting the offerings presented by believers. ³

Therefore, viewing position is not the only issue. Who can touch the firework nest, when to lift the firework structure, who can participate, and whether outsiders can independently release scattered bee fireworks all involve the integrity of the ritual. Ministry of Interior data specifically records the local emphasis on these rules and taboos, as well as residents' disagreement with tourists arbitrarily interfering with the ritual. ³

Describing sedan chairbers merely as "brave people" misses a more important part: they are not proving to the audience that they are not afraid, but assuming a role between the divine sedan and the locality. That fully armored clothing is both protective gear and the appearance of ritual identity.

When Local Faith Becomes a Large-Scale Event, Who Is Responsible for Its Continuation?

Yanshui Beehive Fireworks were promoted as a large-scale tourist activity around 2000, gaining wider visibility. The Cultural Heritage registration reasons emphasize its locality, periodic holding, and internalization into residents' lives. These two descriptions do not necessarily conflict, but they push the activity in different directions: tourism needs watchable climaxes, while local rituals need respected order. ²

Public safety is therefore not an appendix added at the end of the article. Tainan City Government's guidance points require the Yanshui District Office to guide Wumiao (Temple of Guan Di) to apply for permits from competent authorities 30 days before the activity, in accordance with safety management regulations for large-scale gatherings. This means today's bee fireworks must simultaneously face gods, residents, tourists, fire departments, traffic, and administrative managers. ⁴

Environmental costs cannot be obscured by orange flames. Research abstracts from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University record that during specific bee fireworks periods, the 5-hour average concentration of total ground dust was 443.9 μg/m³, and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were 33.9 ng/m³. The total dust exposure for participants over 3.5 hours was 2865.9 μg/m³. These are specific time periods and samples from the study and should not be directly inferred as health outcomes for all years or all people, but they are sufficient to show that "excitement" is simultaneously exposure. ⁵

Another study from National Cheng Kung University analyzed the composition of air pollutants released by bee fireworks, pointing out that potassium ions, magnesium ions, and nitrate can serve as tracking components, and observed that suspended particulate matter concentrations during bee fireworks were approximately twice the normal level. Past monitoring reports from the Environmental Protection Administration also indicated that the hourly instantaneous values of suspended particulate matter during the peak of bee fireworks were far higher than the daily average background. ^{6 7}

📝 Curator's Note: Preserving folk traditions is not defending against risks, but enabling people to decide how to continue after knowing the cost.

[Image: Main firework structure of Yanshui Beehive Fireworks being launched at night. Embedded in the Markdown file]

Figure: Scene of the main firework structure being launched. Image source: Tainan City Government official Yanshui Beehive Fireworks activity materials.

What Yanshui People Want to Preserve May Be More Than Just That Night

The Cultural Heritage Bureau lists Yanshui Beehive Fireworks as a folk tradition in the category of rituals, festivals, and celebrations. The preserver is the Management Committee of Yanshui Wumiao, and the cycle is annual. This registration method reminds us that the object of preservation is not a photo of fireworks, but an entire set of relationships: how firework structures are built, who transmits the craft, how the divine sedan patrols, how residents offer fireworks, and how the locality maintains order within modern safety regulations. ²

The Great Tainan Cultural Heritage Series 02—Yanshui Beehive Fireworks, published by the Tainan City Cultural Assets Management Office, written by Huang Wenbo, published in 2015, has 183 pages. Its existence itself shows that Yanshui Beehive Fireworks need not only be photographed, but also studied, recorded, and repeatedly interpreted by the locality. ⁸

When tourists stand behind helmets and lenses, what is truly worth taking away is not the battle cry of "I was bombed by fireworks," but another question: Why is a locality willing to rebuild a city that will disappear in a few minutes every year? The answer lies not only in gunpowder, but also in residents handing over memory, faith, and responsibility to the next year's people.

The 1885 epidemic story may not be reducible to a single historical truth. But the 2008 cultural heritage registration, continuous firework structure transmission, activity safety regulations, and environmental monitoring give this local memory today's weight. Yanshui Beehive Fireworks do not preserve the past as a still life, but instead let a firework structure burn briefly on the street every year, then require the living to reconnect the rules.

Further Reading

To read further, you can start with Huang Wenbo's The Great Tainan Cultural Heritage Series 02—Yanshui Beehive Fireworks; to understand how folk traditions enter modern governance, you can compare Tainan City Government's activity guidance points and environmental research measurements of bee fireworks exposure. ^{8 4 5}

References