Danchengyixi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

From childhood he practiced and performed the Guerzi dance in the fields together with the local elders, and later he studied under the Guerzi dancer Qimei Yongzhong. He maintains a strict master-disciple lineage and trains apprentices, actively promoting the Guerzi dance; he is an indispensable talent for the Guerzi dance and is recognized by the people of Pulan County as an influential performer of the Guerzi dance. Within the regional tradition and school record of Pulanguoerzi in Alidi, Tibet: Pulan Guoerzi takes Pulan County of the Ali Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, as its centre of transmission; protection is undertaken by the Ali Prefecture Mass Art Centre, and the performances are organised around the two "Cijie" festivals held by Xide Monastery in the second Tibetan month of each year. Pulan County lies in the Kongque (Peacock) River valley in southern Ali and was the passage between ancient Ali and Nepal and India; the props such as armour, shields and swords in Guoerzi and the lyrics praising soldiers still preserve the appearance of the ancient Tibetan military song and dance. Most of the performers are Tibetan men from around Xide Monastery; the lyrics are transmitted in Tibetan, and the lead singer sets the opening of each piece. Dancheng Yixi has been the lead singer of the local Guoerzi dance since 2000. Guoerzi is transmitted in Pulan County of the Ali Prefecture. It is a song-and-dance form depicting the battles of ancient Tibetan soldiers, and the time of its performance is fixed to the two religious festivals of Xide Monastery in Pulan County: the eighth day of the waning moon of the second Tibetan month each year is called the small "Cijie" and the ninth day the great "Cijie". The small "Cijie" is a rehearsal, presenting only six sections to an audience of at most thirty or forty, most of them the performers' families; the great "Cijie" is the formal performance, with an audience of more than three hundred and twenty sections presented in all, the programme content revolving around the founding history of Xide Monastery, with Guoerzi placed in the eleventh section. The song and dance itself has four levels: the opening is slow in tempo, accompanied mainly by drums; it is followed by a slow-tempo song and dance whose lyrics praise the images of the sun, moon, stars, eagles and soldiers; then the tempo quickens and the lyrics explain the origin and use of the armour worn by the dancers and the shields and swords they hold; the ending is a supple, fast-tempo song and dance praising the soldiers.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Tibetan, born in March 1959, a native of Pulan County, Tibet Autonomous Region. Since 2000 he has served as the lead singer of the local Guerzi dance. His memory of the lyrics is clear, his melodies are proficient and his singing is deeply accomplished; he has a thorough command of the religious ceremonies and forms of prayer embodied in the dance, and his steps are skilled. Within the documented technical tradition of Pulanguoerzi in Alidi, Tibet: Guoerzi is transmitted in Pulan County of the Ali Prefecture; it is a song-and-dance form depicting the battles of ancient Tibetan soldiers. The eighth and ninth days of the waning moon of the second Tibetan month each year (called the small "Cijie" and the great "Cijie") are two important religious festivals of Xide Monastery in Pulan County, and Guoerzi is performed during this period. At the small "Cijie" there is one rehearsal presenting six sections, with Guoerzi as the last section. At the rehearsal the audience numbers at most only thirty or forty, and most of them are the performers' family members. The great "Cijie" is the formal performance, with an audience of more than three hundred. On that occasion twenty sections are performed, and the programme content unfolds around the founding history of Xide Monastery. Of these, Guoerzi is the eleventh section. The song-and-dance performance of Guoerzi has four levels: 1. at the opening the tempo is slow, accompanied mainly by drums; 2. a slow-tempo song and dance whose lyrics mainly praise such images as the sun, moon, stars, eagles and soldiers; 3. a faster song-and-dance section whose lyrics mainly explain the origin and use of the armour worn by the dancers and the shields and swords they hold, displaying and praising weapons; 4. the ending, a fast-tempo song and dance with nimble dance movements, mainly expressing praise of the soldiers. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The lesser and greater Tseje": The eighth day of the waning second lunar month is the lesser Tseje, a rehearsal of six sections, and the ninth the greater Tseje, a full performance of twenty sections. "The four layers of the dance": It unfolds in four layers: a slow drum-led opening, a slow section praising sun, moon, stars and eagles, a faster passage on armour and weapons, and a brisk closing in praise of soldiers. "The monastery's founding history": The twenty sections of the greater Tseje recount the founding of Xide monastery, and the Guerzi dance forms its eleventh and most martial passage. "Armour, shield and sword": Dancers wear armour and carry shield and sword while the lyrics explain the origin and use of each item, keeping the image of the ancient warrior alive.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Pulanguoerzi, 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. Danchengyixi · National Representative Bearer Archive