Ren Qiusheng
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Ren Qiusheng, Male, Han, from Liyang, Jiangsu, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Zhuma (Ⅲ-44). The tradition is documented in Liyang, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Zhuma in Liyang, Jiangsu: The Jiangtang horse-lamp dance is centred on Jiangtang Village, Shezhu Town, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province, and it is scattered among the eight natural villages around it. According to legend this dance took shape when Yu Shun, leader of the Jiangtang righteous army, sacrificed to the Yang family generals who had resisted the Liao; it was already in embryo during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, and in later generations teams were organised by village, bringing out the lanterns at the Spring Festival and at temple fairs. Around 1988 the inheritor Ren Qiusheng gathered together the bamboo-horse props lying in the eight separate natural villages, gradually restoring the horse-lamp dance that had been transmitted for more than five hundred years, and in 1992 he founded the Jiangtang Horse-Lamp Dance Association, so that the scattered village troupes merged once more into a single team. The performers wear masks and armour-style costume and play ten divine generals and ten divine horses, while the changes of formation proceed to the sound of the three-barrel matchlock (sanyanchong), the large gong and the suona. The belief in Cishan Mountain around Shezhu and the legends of the Yang family intertwine with each other, together making up an important ritual scene of the local spring season. The Jiangtang horse-lamp dance is a folk dance transmitted in the area of Jiangtang Village, Shezhu Town, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province, and its subject is the way the Yang family warriors of the Northern Song fought bloodily against the enemy and together celebrated their victory. It is handed down among the folk from generation to generation that the Jiangtang horse-lamp dance began in the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, arising from the ritual performed by Yu Shun, leader of the Jiangtang righteous army, when he sacrificed to the Yang family generals, the heroes who had resisted the Liao.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Male, Han ethnic group, born in September 1946, a native of Liyang City, Jiangsu Province. Fond of the Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance since childhood, he has a thorough command of its historical origins, its performance formations, and the crafts of making and decorating the bamboo horses, carving the masks and playing the drum and gong music. After 1988 he brought together the bamboo horses scattered across eight natural villages and gradually restored the Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance, which had been handed down for more than five hundred years. In 1992 he founded the Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance Association and served as its president. The formations he has organized are imposing, their melodies vigorous and their properties sumptuous. As a folk artist charged with transmitting the Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance, he has long devoted himself to its performance, collection and collation, and to training successors. Within the documented technical tradition of Zhuma in Liyang, Jiangsu: The performance of the Jiangtang horse-lamp dance is divided into an upper and a lower half: in the upper half, ten divine generals and ten divine horses continually change their formation, showing the Yang family leading their men in a bloody struggle against the enemy, resisting the enemy and winning victory; in the lower half, the ten divine horses and the ten divine generals are set out one after another into the formation pattern of 'Tian, Xia, Tai, Ping' (heaven, the realm, great peace), showing the shared celebration of victory and blessing the people so that they may settle down and work in happiness. The Jiangtang horse-lamp dance fuses folk sacrifice and entertainment into one, commemorating national heroes in the form of dance and using this to express the people's hope for peace under heaven. It is a traditional folk art combining folk dance, national costume and folk fine art, and it has fairly high artistic and aesthetic value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "First half: ten generals and ten horses in battle": In the first half ten generals and ten divine horses shift formation to depict the Yang family fighting and defeating the enemy. "Second half: the four-character formation": In the second half the horses and generals form the four characters for universal peace to celebrate victory and bless the people. "Bamboo horses, masks and percussion": Ren Qiusheng commands the history, formations, bamboo-horse construction, mask making and percussion of the Jiangtang horse-lantern dance. "The ritual origin in the Yang family cult": Tradition traces the dance to Ming Jiajing-era rites held by the rebel leader Yu Shun in honour of the Yang generals who fought the Liao.
First half: ten generals and ten horses in battle
In the first half ten generals and ten divine horses shift formation to depict the Yang family fighting and defeating the enemy.
Second half: the four-character formation
In the second half the horses and generals form the four characters for universal peace to celebrate victory and bless the people.
Bamboo horses, masks and percussion
Ren Qiusheng commands the history, formations, bamboo-horse construction, mask making and percussion of the Jiangtang horse-lantern dance.
The ritual origin in the Yang family cult
Tradition traces the dance to Ming Jiajing-era rites held by the rebel leader Yu Shun in honour of the Yang generals who fought the Liao.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
A representative bearer of the Zhuma (Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The Jiangtang horse-lamp dance is a folk dance transmitted in the area of Jiangtang Village, Shezhu Town, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province, and its subject is the way the Yang family warriors of the Northern Song fought bloodily against the enemy and together celebrated their victory. It is handed down among the folk from generation to generation that the Jiangtang horse-lamp dance began in the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, arising from the ritual performed by Yu Shun, leader of the Jiangtang righteous army, when he sacrificed to the Yang family generals, the heroes who had resisted the Liao.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tang Yudao | Gaochun, Jiangsu | 03-0929 | Other regional school |
| Qu Shaojin | Pizhou, Jiangsu | 05-2250 | Other regional school |
| Ren Qiusheng | Liyang, Jiangsu | 05-2251 | This page |
| Fang Bingkun | Chunan, Zhejiang | 05-2252 | Other regional school |
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。