Li Jintu

01 · Lineage & Regional School

From the age of thirteen he studied successively under renowned lion dance artists. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lion Dance in Gongyi, Henan: The forms of lion dance differ from place to place across China, and their regional characteristics are very distinct. According to records, the Xiaoxiang lion dance began to be performed in the late Ming dynasty and reached its peak in the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty, when its reputation rose suddenly.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1958, a native of Gongyi City, Henan Province. In 1971 he took Cui Xijin as his master to learn the ground-platform routines of lion dance, in 1977 he took Yang Xixuan as his master to learn the high-platform and aerial routines of the Xiaoxiang lion dance, and in 2002 he became head of the Gongyi Xiaoxiang Lion Dance Art Troupe. By the age of twenty-six he had formed a personal style in aerial lion dance. His performance is known for being high, difficult, dangerous and extraordinary; feats such as the lion's tail kicking into the air and the double jump into an independent stance draw gasps of admiration, while his movements are mischievous and humorous and his performance natural and poised, fully expressing the lion's majesty and agility. He often leads the troupe in charitable performances in communities, on school campuses, in homes for the elderly and in the former revolutionary base areas, teaching his art without charge. Within the documented technical tradition of Lion Dance in Gongyi, Henan: Lion dance, also called “shizi wu” (lion dance), “shi deng” (lion lantern), “wu shi” or “wu shizi”, is an important component of the traditional Chinese hundred-performances and acrobatics repertoire. Lion dance has a long history. It is widely popular in the Han areas of China and appears frequently in festival celebrations such as the Spring Festival, using lively and cheerful performance to express the Chinese people's good wishes for auspiciousness and the warding off of disaster. It is generally divided into two major types, the southern lion and the northern lion. The southern lion is agile and fierce and often performs high-difficulty techniques; the northern lion is playful and naive and usually performs teasing and frolicking movements. Xiaoxiang Village, Gongyi City, Henan Province, lies at the “taiji point” where the Yiluo River meets the Yellow River. It belongs to the central Heluo cultural zone and possesses a rich accumulation of traditional culture. The Xiaoxiang lion dance is a traditional dance programme transmitted in Xiaoxiang Village. The Xiaoxiang lion dance is divided into the civil lion (ground platform, tables), the martial lion (high platform) and the group lion (pillar reaching to the sky). Its performance is free and open-handed, steady and delicate, and carries certain narrative content. It can both use mischievous and humorous movements to represent the supreme state in which human beings and animals live together in harmony, and use bold, rugged, vigorous and powerful dance postures to represent the lion's mighty and brave temperament and its agile and nimble expression. The lion leader is often played by a martial monk, who during the performance holds an embroidered ball, walks upside down, and teases and draws the lion with special feats such as somersaulting, leaping, soaring, vaulting, striking, fighting, pouncing and lying down, achieving excellent artistic effect. The Xiaoxiang lion dance is a representative of lion dance in the Central Plains. In promoting fine national traditional culture, strengthening national confidence and cohesion, and safeguarding national unity and social stability, it plays an irreplaceable and important role. Government departments concerned should take positive and effective measures to help this precious folk art enter the path of development and revitalization as quickly as possible. During the performance [the lion leader] holds an embroidered ball, walks upside down, and teases the lion with special feats such as somersaulting, leaping, soaring, vaulting, striking, fighting, pouncing and lying down, achieving excellent artistic effect. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Civil lion on ground platform and tables": One of the three forms of Xiaoxiang lion dance, danced on ground platform and tables with generous yet delicate movement and a simple plot. "Martial lion on high platform": Its high-altitude form, its bold and forceful postures conveying the lion's ferocity and agility, famed for height, difficulty, danger and strangeness. "The pride and the sky-pillaring pole": Its collective form, represented by the sky-pillaring pole, in which many lions climb and stack together, expanding solo technique into group composition. "The teaser's martial tricks": The teaser, usually a martial monk, holds the embroidered ball and walks on his hands, teasing the lion with rolls, leaps, vaults, feints, pounces and drops.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Lion Dance (Xiaoxiang Lion Dance), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 2008 he won first prize for the opening performance at the tenth Asian Culture and Arts Festival, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the People's Government of Henan Province.

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. Li Jintu · National Representative Bearer Archive