Deng Yaming

01 · Lineage & Regional School

At the age of sixteen he began learning the white lion dance from his father Deng Chunsheng, and came to master all its movements, with good spring, graceful bearing and full strength. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lion Dance in Lichuan, Jiangxi: The Lichuan white lion dance is transmitted at Xiaqiao Village and Dongqiao Village of Rifeng Town, Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, and in the county town area, with the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and the City God temple fair on the ninth day of the fifth month as its main performance occasions; locally there is a custom that festive occasions must set off firecrackers and dance the white lion. The appearance of the lions is convened and presided over by the pearl-holder, the troupe generally numbers twenty people, sets out from Dongqiao Village, begins dancing at the City God temple, makes a circuit of the town, and finally performs the lion-killing ceremony and invites the lion up into the hall. According to records, the white lion dance of Lichuan had already begun to take shape as early as the Yuan dynasty, and by the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty it had developed to maturity and become a major cultural event of the locality.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1958, a native of Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province. As the organizer of the Lichuan white lion dance, he holds the role of pearl handler in the team, directing and instructing all the lion dancers and the musicians. He has repeatedly organized teams to take part in folk art events held by the province and the city, enabling more people to understand the characteristics and historical origins of the Lichuan white lion dance. Besides his mastery of lion dance technique, he has creatively improved some of the movements, and has studied and refined the gong and drum patterns that accompany the dance. He has since passed all his skills to his son Deng Xianguo and his nephew Deng Junjie. Within the documented technical tradition of Lion Dance in Lichuan, Jiangxi: The Lichuan white lion dance is a traditional dance form transmitted at Xiaqiao Village of Rifeng Town, Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province. Lichuan County has a custom that festive occasions must set off firecrackers and dance the white lion. The lion is usually danced at the Spring Festival, at the City God temple fair on the ninth day of the fifth month, and at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Generally it starts out from Dongqiao Village, begins dancing at the City God temple, and travels around the edge of Lichuan county town while dancing as it goes, making a circuit of the town. Finally, after the lion-killing ceremony the lion is invited up into the hall and returned to its original place. The white lion dance activity is convened and presided over by the pearl-holder, and the lion troupe generally consists of 20 people. Male and female appear in pairs. Under the guidance of the pearl-holder the two lions take four formations: surrounding the spectators, side by side, rising in the east and falling in the west, and advancing in front while retreating behind. The male and female pair chase and snatch the pearl, and vividly imitate the movements of the lion such as looking, standing, holding firm, running, jumping, scratching itself and shaking its coat. The white lion dance begins with the highly entertaining lion play, and requires one male and one female white lion, one pearl, and a percussion ensemble in attendance. There are eleven basic movements, such as the lion rolling the ball and the two lions presenting auspiciousness. The music includes the 'passage section', the 'flowing water' and the 'fiery head'. The lion dancers tie white towels round their heads, wear Chinese-style front-buttoned wide-bordered yellow jackets and wide lantern trousers. People use iron wire to make a ball shape, cover it with red silk, set a horizontal axle in its centre, and support the ball in the air on a horseshoe-shaped wooden handle below; the slightest tremor makes the ball turn continuously. Lion lanterns are fitted at the head and tail of the lion and at the centre of the ball, so that it glows with shifting colour as it dances. When the 'fiery head' music begins, the drum leader, judging from the mood of the performers, gradually quickens the rhythm and pushes it to a climax. Finally it ends with a lion-killing performance by a person wearing a nuo dance mask. The white lion of the Lichuan dance weighs about 70 jin in total, which requires the dancer of the lion's head to be powerfully built and to have tremendous endurance. The dancer of the lion's tail, on the other hand, must have strong bouncing power and agile movements. In former times Lichuan lion dancing belonged to the category of the martial lion and honoured the white lion as a queen; it was not distinguished by martial combat but centred on civil play, with implications of harmony, auspiciousness, the welcoming of blessings and nobility. The white lion is finely made, with a grand and burly shape and expansive, graceful movements that combine strength and gentleness; accompanied by varied percussion music and dancing up and down, it has a truly majestic momentum and offers a great deal to look at. Every movement of the white lion dance is plain, concise and unadorned, with the purpose of bringing good fortune and blessings; its meaning is deep, and it is of positive significance for building a harmonious society. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The pearl bearer and the four formations": The pearl bearer convenes and leads the dance; the paired lions take up four formations and chase the pearl. "The eleven basic movements": Beginning with playful lion handling, the dance has eleven basic movements imitating the lion's watching, standing, freezing, running, jumping, scratching and shaking. "The accompanying tunes: guo duan, liu shui and huo bao tou": The suite of percussion pieces; once huo bao tou begins the drummer accelerates with the dancers' mood until the climax, ending in a lion-slaying scene danced in a Nuo mask. "Making the white lion and the pearl": The pearl is wire-framed, covered in red silk and hung on a horseshoe handle so that it spins at the slightest tremor; lamps fitted in head, tail and pearl make the dance shimmer.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of Lion Dance (Lichuan White Lion Dance), a fifth-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. Deng Yaming · National Representative Bearer Archive