Gemaciren
01 · Lineage & Regional School
At fifteen he began to learn the Xueqiang dance from his father, and thanks to a deep interest in traditional culture and a natural gift for dance he has remained active in all kinds of local folk festival activities. Within the regional tradition and school record of Derongxueqiang in Derong, Sichuan: For thousands of years Xueqiang has been transmitted in the Derong dialect and melodic modes without attracting attention; the outside world learned of its existence only in modern times. Xueqiang circulates mainly around Zigeng Township, Zishi and Acun in Derong County, and the Derong County Cultural Centre is the protecting unit. Locally it is sung in the Derong dialect, taking the melodic modes of Derong guozhuang as basic music and the Derong guozhuang steps as basic dance steps; it is vigorous and powerful, rustic and unadorned, and clearly differs in dance style from the dances of the Kangding and Batang areas. Derong Xueqiang has a long and remote origin, and accounts of when it began differ. Some hold that it had already appeared more than a thousand years ago, spanning several stages of human social development, and that it has been handed down in the form of song and dance in the Zigeng area of Derong County ever since. Derong County lies in the dry-hot valley on the banks of the Jinsha River and was historically relatively inaccessible, so Xueqiang long circulated only locally and the outside world learned of its existence only in modern times.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in July 1930, a native of Derong County, Sichuan Province. In dancing he keeps a low posture, with small movements of the upper body and variations concentrated mainly in the legs. Over the long term he has collected and organized materials on folk song and dance, promoted folk song and dance culture and actively passed on traditional dance skills; his apprentices are to be found both within and beyond the province. Within the documented technical tradition of Derongxueqiang in Derong, Sichuan: Derong Xueqiang is a form of folk song-and-dance performance for self-entertainment, circulating in the territory of Zigeng Township, Zishi and Acun Village in Derong County in the southwestern part of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. It is performed mainly in the Derong dialect, taking the melodic modes of Derong guozhuang as its basic music and the Derong guozhuang steps as its basic dance steps. Derong Xueqiang is vigorous and powerful, rustic and unadorned; the combination of stamping footwork is the principal feature of its dance movements. In a Xueqiang performance the downward step is forceful and the press of the foot crisp; after the dancer bends the body forward and changes the stamping point, the same movement then turns to display a supple and uninhibited quality. The combination of the stamping foot and the pressing foot gives Xueqiang dance its distinctive flavour. As a folk dance, Derong Xueqiang is closely bound up with local folk activities. According to tradition, when a Derong Xueqiang event was held in the past, it was accompanied by the game of “leaping the bonfire”. On every festival and gathering, the men, women, old and young of every village in Derong County gather joyfully to dance Xueqiang in token of concord and good fortune. On the night of the autumn harvest in particular, people dance Xueqiang around a blazing bonfire while singing at the top of their voice, giving free rein to their joy at the abundant harvest. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Autumn harvest nights by the fire": At gatherings and especially on autumn harvest nights, villagers dance Xueqiang around bonfires singing of the harvest. "Stamping combinations and bowed steps": Stamping combos are the core: firm steps and crisp footwork turning supple once the dancer bows into the changes. "Derong dialect and Guozhuang tunes": Performed in Derong dialect to Derong Guozhuang tunes, the dance was once accompanied by fire-jumping games. "Gema Ciren": Gema Ciren, born in Derong in 1930, dances low with leg-driven variation and formed three performing teams.
Autumn harvest nights by the fire
At gatherings and especially on autumn harvest nights, villagers dance Xueqiang around bonfires singing of the harvest.
Stamping combinations and bowed steps
Stamping combos are the core: firm steps and crisp footwork turning supple once the dancer bows into the changes.
Derong dialect and Guozhuang tunes
Performed in Derong dialect to Derong Guozhuang tunes, the dance was once accompanied by fire-jumping games.
Gema Ciren
Gema Ciren, born in Derong in 1930, dances low with leg-driven variation and formed three performing teams.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
National representative bearer of Derong Xueqiang, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has successively formed three dance teams that took part in various presentation performances and won awards.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Derong Xueqiang has a long and remote origin, and accounts of when it began differ. Some hold that it had already appeared more than a thousand years ago, spanning several stages of human social development, and that it has been handed down in the form of song and dance in the Zigeng area of Derong County ever since. Derong County lies in the dry-hot valley on the banks of the Jinsha River and was historically relatively inaccessible, so Xueqiang long circulated only locally and the outside world learned of its existence only in modern times.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemaciren | Derong, Sichuan | 04-1576 | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。