Cai Zhanquan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Cai Zhanquan, Male, Han, from Zhongshan, Guangdong, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Dragon Dance (Ⅲ-4). The tradition is documented in Zhongshan, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dragon Dance in Zhongshan, Guangdong: The Liufang cloud dragon dance is transmitted in Liufang Village and other villages of Guzhen Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province; it is a dragon dance that developed out of the traditional Spring Festival custom of 'touring the deities' and has been transmitted for more than 300 years. Around the twentieth day of the first lunar month, after the Spring Festival every year, nearly two hundred young and middle-aged men of the village take the cloud dragon out of the ancestral hall, light candles inside the dragon body after nightfall so that the whole dragon glows, and then, with those carrying banners and lanterns leading the way and the dancer with the dragon pearl at the head, escorted by dancers holding cloud, carp and other props, they set out from the village and tour the neighbouring villages in succession for three nights. This passage describes the scene in which, from the Ming dynasty on, the locality had a Beidi Temple built and residents raised mulberry branches to welcome the cloud dragon to come for its procession. In the 1930s and the 1940s the Liufang cloud dragon dance twice went to Hong Kong, to perform at the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the British monarch and in a performance celebrating the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan, and was warmly welcomed by overseas Chinese and compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Growing up in Liufang Village, Cai Zhanquan was steeped in the traditional customs of the cloud dragon dance, and the influence of his uncle, himself a cloud dragon dancer, proved decisive: he came into contact with the dance at the age of fourteen and was immediately drawn to it. He has taken part without fail in the traditional cloud dragon dance procession held in the village every Spring Festival. From 1959 he began touring with the Liufang cloud dragon dance troupe to perform at various large-scale events in many places. He has assiduously learned dragon dance technique and the craft of binding the cloud dragon's body from the older generation, has taken part in organizing events, daily rehearsals, prop management and the training of young people, and has systematically compiled documentation on the transmission of the Liufang cloud dragon dance. Within the documented technical tradition of Dragon Dance in Zhongshan, Guangdong: In front of the Beidi Temple of the ancient town stands an old stone stele, whose inscription records: 'This ancient temple was built at Lanxi Mouth, while the vermilion stele and stone inscription date from the bingzi year of the Wanli era through the wuxu year of the Daoguang era, the air of the dragon hall, at sight of which people look up at the mulberry and grow reverent.' Around the twentieth day of the first lunar month, after the Spring Festival, Liufang Village holds a 'touring the deities' activity: nearly two hundred young and middle-aged men of the village take the cloud dragon out of the ancestral hall, light candles inside the dragon body after nightfall so that the whole dragon glows, and then, with those carrying banners and lanterns leading the way and the dancer with the dragon pearl at the head, escorted by dancers holding cloud, carp and other props, they set out from the village and tour the neighbouring villages in succession; the procession lasts three nights. The Liufang cloud dragon dance has a rich repertoire of movements and is lifelike in form; and since the dance is generally performed at night, with the dancers' trousers the same colour as the dragon's body, from a distance one sees only the cloud dragon tumbling and no dancer at all, an effect that is quite uncanny. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Three nights of god-parading": Around the twentieth of the first month some two hundred young men parade the dragon for three successive nights through the neighbouring villages. "Lighting candles inside the body": At nightfall the dancers light candles and slip inside the body, making the cloud dragon glow through against the dark. "Trousers matching the dragon skin": Because the performance is at night and the dancers' trousers match the skin, from a distance the dragon writhes alone with no visible dancers. "The old stele at the Beidi temple": A stele before the Beidi temple records events from the Wanli to the Daoguang reigns, describing residents greeting the cloud dragon with mulberry branches.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1934, died in October 2013, a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province. National representative bearer of Dragon Dance (Liufang Cloud Dragon Dance), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Cai Zhanquan · National Representative Bearer Archive