Liang Zhichun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liang Zhichun, Male, Han, from Chongqing, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Dragon Dance (Ⅲ-4). The tradition is documented in Chongqing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dragon Dance in Chongqing: Dragon dance, also called 'performing the dragon', is known among the people as 'playing the dragon', 'playing the dragon lantern' or 'dragon lantern dance'; it is widely distributed throughout the country and among all ethnic groups, and the diversity of its forms and varieties is beyond comparison with any other folk dance. In terms of colour, dragon dance is divided into yellow, white, azure, red, black and so on, of which the yellow dragon is the most noble. Already in the oracle-bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty there are records of several people collectively sacrificing to the dragon and praying for rain; the record of Dong Zhongshu's 'Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn' in the Han dynasty already contains clear accounts of the various dragon dances used to pray for rain; from that time on, poems and prose of every dynasty recording dragon dancing at court or among the folk are found again and again.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Liang Zhichun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Dragon Dance in Chongqing. Within the documented technical tradition of Dragon Dance in Chongqing: The most basic expressive means of dragon dance are its prop modelling, its compositional variations and its sequences of movement. According to the different materials used in binding the dragon props, dragon dance is divided into cloth dragon, gauze dragon, paper dragon, straw dragon, coin dragon, bamboo dragon, palm-fibre dragon, bench dragon, hundred-leaf dragon, lotus-flower dragon, fire dragon, chicken-feather dragon, flesh dragon and so on; northern dragon dance is generally tall and massive, simple and archaic in style and full of vigour, while southern dragon dance is exquisite and fine, lively and quick. The composition and movement of dragon dance generally have such characteristics as 'rounding', 'rolling', 'twining', 'interlacing' and 'leaping'. The traditional performance procedure of dragon dance is generally: 'inviting the dragon', 'sending the dragon out', 'performing the dragon' and 'seeing the dragon off'. Among the people there is a saying: 'at seven or eight one plays with the straw dragon, at fifteen or sixteen one plays with the small dragon, the young and middle-aged dance the big dragon'. The number of dragon dancers may be as few as one man dancing two dragons, or as many as a hundred men dancing one big dragon. The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation and the ancestor in which it believes; dragon dance is a symbol of the spirit of China. It embodies the spirit of the Chinese nation's unity and cohesion and its pioneering and striving spirit, and contains the cultural meaning of harmony between heaven and humanity and of bringing benefit to humankind. It is the most common form of entertainment for Chinese people on auspicious and celebratory occasions; its atmosphere is ardent and stirring to the heart, and it is an extremely precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. The Tongliang dragon dance is a form of dance art transmitted within the territory of Tongliang County, Chongqing Municipality, which takes the dragon as its principal prop. It rose in the Ming dynasty, flourished in the Qing dynasty, and in the present day blazes anew and enjoys worldwide renown. The Tongliang dragon dance includes two major series, the dragon lantern dance and the coloured lantern dance. The dragon lantern dance mainly includes ten varieties: the great ru dragon, the fire dragon, the straw dragon, the bamboo-shoot-shell dragon, the yellow-berry dragon, the bench dragon, the upright dragon, the small coloured dragon, the bamboo-bang dragon and the lotus-flower dragon, of which the great ru dragon is the most distinctive. The coloured lantern dance mainly includes twelve varieties: 'fish leaping the dragon gate', 'loach eating the sweet dumplings', 'three strips', 'the eighteen scholars', 'the shining lion', 'the hill-clearing tiger', 'the clam spirit', 'the rhinoceros gazing at the moon', 'the pig gnawing the pumpkin', 'the high-platform dragon-and-lion dance', 'inscribing the name on the wild-goose pagoda' and 'the pumpkin trellis'. The Tongliang dragon dance is characterised by its close connection with folk-custom activities, its rich repertoire of routines and the harmony and humour of its movement rhythms; its accompanying music is distinctive, its props ingeniously conceived, its modelling exaggerated, its costumes plain and elegant, its dancers free to join in and easy to withdraw, and public participation is extremely strong. The Tongliang dragon dance embodies the spirit of unity and cohesion, of bringing benefit to humankind, of striving upward and of harmony with heaven; at the same time it has such social functions as amusing the gods and the people and displaying power. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The ten dragon-lantern varieties": One of the two series of Tongliang dragon dance, comprising ten varieties of dragon lantern, of which the great wriggling dragon is the most distinctive. "The twelve coloured-lantern varieties": The other series of Tongliang dragon dance, including Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate, Loach Eating Dumplings, Eighteen Scholars, Bright Lion and Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon. "Competition-standard routines": Routines created by the inheritor Huang Tingyan; when dragon dance entered state sports competition in 1994 these four were adopted as prescribed routines. "Inviting, bringing out, dancing and sending off the dragon": The traditional sequence of Chinese dragon dance, into which Tongliang has absorbed Sichuan opera percussion, operatic postures and martial routines.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Liang Zhichun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Dragon Dance, with Chongqing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Dragon Dance in Chongqing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Chongqing as its declared area, and Chongqing Tongliang District Cultural Center (Chongqing Tongliang District Long Culture Development Research Center, Chongqing Tongliang District Intangible Cultural Heritage Center) as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Liangzhichun (Chongqing) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liangzhichun · China ICH Official Archive