Qin Mengyu

01 · Lineage & Regional School

From childhood he learned to dance yangge with his great-grandfather Qin Lai, and at the age of twelve he formally began studying the chou (clown) role, gradually forming his own performing style and school. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yangge Dance in Changli, Hebei: Changli ground yangge is one of the most representative folk dance genres of Hebei Province, distributed in Changli, Lulong, Funing, Laoting and Luan County of Hebei. In form it divides into "paijie yangge" (processional street yangge) and "changzi yangge" (arena yangge); in content, apart from "ping yangge", which has no fixed plot, most items are "yangge chuzi" — short inserted pieces. Changli ground yangge is closely bound up with the local folk song-and-dance and little plays. Its performance forms are lively and its content rich, showing artistic features of role characterization and role typing; it expresses the character and feelings of characters with depth and conveys the intention of the movements in a rich, delicate way, which makes it stand out among folk dances. Several stylistic schools of ground yangge each have their own charm and are known in every household: the Zhou school represented by the famous folk artist Zhou Guobao, the Zhang school represented by Zhang Qian, and the Lu school represented by Lu Fengchun. Yangge has a long history. Among the folk dance troupes described by Zhou Mi of the Southern Song in his Wulin Jiushi (Old Events of the Wulin) there is already a record of cuntian le ("village field music"); the Xinnian Zayong Chao (Selected New Year Verses) by Wu Xilin of the Qing dynasty states explicitly the lineage between the yangge that survives today and the Song-dynasty cuntian le. It first arose in the Yuan dynasty and has been transmitted down to the present. In 1996, Changli County was named a "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art" by the Ministry of Culture.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in October 1938 in Changli County, Hebei Province. From head to shoulder, shoulder to waist and waist to legs his movement is as fluent as drifting clouds and flowing water; his signature poses are humorous, witty and natural; he handles the three props, the balled hat, the handkerchief and the fan, with complete ease; and his bodily movements are crisp and clean, endlessly varied, combining strength with suppleness and knowing when to release and when to hold back. His representative pieces include Running Donkey (Pao Lü), Sawing the Vat (Ju Gang) and The Joy of Pushing the Cart (Tuiche Le). To ensure that Changli ground yangge is handed down through the generations, he has long devoted himself to teaching the tradition. Within the documented technical tradition of Yangge Dance in Changli, Hebei: Yangge is a collective term for a highly popular and representative genre of Chinese folk dance (chiefly in the north); different regions have their own names, styles and forms. In folk usage the term divides into two: the version performed on stilts is called "gaqiao yangge" (stilt yangge), and the version performed without stilts is called "di yangge" (ground yangge). The term "yangge" as used in modern times usually refers to "di yangge". In most places today yangge takes the form of a yangge troupe; a troupe numbers at least a dozen or so people and at times as many as a hundred. There are group dances as well as two-person and three-person dances and many other performance formats; according to the needs of the role the performers hold the appropriate props — handkerchief, umbrella, sticks, drum, coin-whip and the like — and dance freely to the accompaniment of gongs, drums, suona and other wind and percussion instruments. The dancing methods, movements and styles of yangge differ from place to place: some are imposing and heroic, others gentle and charming — a dazzling variety that never fails to delight. Yangge is one of the most representative folk dance genres in northern China. It is at once performative and self-amusing, entertaining the performers as much as the audience, and is deeply loved by ordinary people. Every region has produced some representative folk yangge artists, and many folk artists have played an important part in building the dance undertaking of the People's Republic of China. Changli ground yangge has a sharply distinctive character, from its outward form to its content. The role types of Changli ground yangge are niu (girl), chou (clown), a further type whose name is blank in the source text, and gongzi (young master); each is distinctive in performance. In its earliest days all the role types of Changli ground yangge were played by men. The best-known little plays within Changli ground yangge include "Pu Hudie" (Catching Butterflies), "Ju Gang" (Repairing the Crock), "Wang Erxiao Ganjiao" (Wang Erxiao Trudges His Pack), "Shazhuzi Jie Xifu" (Silly Pillar Takes a Wife) and "Pao Lu" (Donkey Run). The dance of Changli ground yangge stresses the coordination of all parts of the body; the shoulders, hips, knees and wrists twist freely, and the effect is humorous and amusing. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Changli ground yangge number "Pao Lu" (Donkey Run) took part in the World Festival of Youth and Students and won a silver medal. Changli ground yangge is a form of yangge that expresses the peasant's zest for life and has a distinctly original dance style; it reflects certain features of agricultural society and rural life, and the optimistic, humorous outlook of the peasantry. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Pao Lü (Riding the Donkey)": One of the most influential Changli Yangge playlets; after 1949 it was performed at the World Festival of Youth and Students and won a silver prize. "Pu Hudie (Catching Butterflies)": A well-known Changli Yangge playlet performed by the clown and young-woman role types, combining comic movement with fan and body technique. "Ju Gang (Mending the Vat)": A Changli Yangge playlet built on the banter between a travelling vat-mender and a village woman, a standard vehicle for the clown's patter and body work. "Sha Zhuzi Jie Xifu": A Changli Yangge playlet whose simple-minded protagonist carries a domestic comedy, among the most widely performed items at local New Year entertainments.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Yangge Dance (Changli Ground Yangge), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 1994 he joined the Changli Ground Yangge performance troupe at the Fourth China Shenyang International Folk Dance (Yangge) Festival, where he won the Golden Rose Award. In the same year he joined the Changli Yangge troupe at the National Fitness Dance Festival for Middle-aged and Older Adults, jointly organised by the National Working Committee on Ageing, the China Dancers Association and the China Nationalities Culture City, and received the Orchid Award.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Qin Mengyu · National Representative Bearer Archive