Mao Mingkang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Mao Mingkang, Male, Han, from Jingzhou, Hubei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Lantern Dance (Ⅲ-45). The tradition is documented in Jingzhou, Hubei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lantern Dance in Jingzhou, Hubei: After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the range of transmission of Wu Xia Nao Nian expanded to the broad masses of the local people. Before 1949, the principal group of transmitters of Wu Xia Nao Nian in the urban districts of Jingzhou was the shoemaking workers who had moved into the city from the lake region.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Mao Mingkang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Lantern Dance in Jingzhou, Hubei. Within the documented technical tradition of Lantern Dance in Jingzhou, Hubei: Wu Xia Nao Nian, also called "five shrimps clamouring for the new year", is popularly known as the "shrimp lantern". It is a traditional lantern dance originating in water-town scenes of life, and it flourishes in the central urban area of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, and in Honghu City, Jiangling County, Shishou City, Jianli County and other places. Jingzhou has a well-developed water system, with large and small rivers running across and intersecting one another, and lakes, reservoirs, ponds and weirs scattered everywhere; it has long been known as a "land of fish and rice", and this created the conditions for the emergence and development of Wu Xia Nao Nian. Wu Xia Nao Nian combines the lantern craftsmanship of Jingchu with wind-and-percussion folk music, and forms an organic part of the local water-town year-festival activities. Its principal props, the shrimp lantern and the catfish lantern, are made by binding bamboo strips into a frame and covering it with silk cloth which is then painted. The shrimp body is joined section by section with flexible joints so that it can bend and twist, and a number of small bronze bells are fitted inside, which ring when the lantern is danced. The head, tail and fins of the catfish can all be made to move, and the images are lifelike, fully expressing the exquisite skill of the folk craftsmen. The Wu Xia Nao Nian lantern dance consists of dancing the shrimp and dancing the catfish, and is performed by eleven people, who imitate the state of fish and shrimp through dance movements and present the scene of fish and shrimp playing happily in the water. The basic set of moves is: above, strike the snowflake to cover the top; below, strike the withered tree clasping its roots; left, strike left and insert the flower; right, strike right and insert the flower; one conceals the heavens to cross the sea, one wraps the waist with a jade belt. The shrimp-dancing movements can be summed up in five kinds: "frontal flower", "withered tree clasping its roots", "shoulder flower", "jade belt round the waist" and "snowflake covering the top". The catfish-dancing movements include "short-steps", "ground leap" and "shoulder stacking". The dance formations include "great square", "double gate", "double wings", "saddle", "brush rest", "chrysanthemum blooming" and others. In performance it is accompanied by percussion, with a variety of gong-and-drum patterns used to set off the atmosphere. Wu Xia Nao Nian takes the shrimp and the catfish as its objects of imitation and is a vivid portrayal of the people of the Jingchu water town praying for fish and shrimp to fill their boats and welcoming a good harvest; it has a strong flavour of everyday life and a broad popular base. It is active above all during the annual cycle of festivals and seasons, creating atmosphere and bringing the performance to its climax, and bringing good wishes to thousands of households. According to documentary records, Wu Xia Nao Nian was already flourishing in Jingzhou as late as the late Qing dynasty. At that time there was a rule in the shoemakers' shops of Jingzhou that an apprentice had to learn the craft of making shoes from his master as well as the Wu Xia Nao Nian lantern dance. Wu Xia Nao Nian artistically presents the scene of shrimp and catfish living together in harmony, and embodies the Confucian philosophical idea of harmony without uniformity. It is performed at traditional year-festivals such as the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival, it is welcome and enjoyable to the masses, it is the bond that links the feelings of the local people and an important carrier of cultural identity, and it plays a positive role in enriching the cultural life of the people and in promoting social harmony. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Making the shrimp and catfish lanterns": The shrimp and catfish lanterns are bamboo frames covered in painted silk; the catfish's head, tail and fins all move, showing the makers' skill. "Segmented shrimp body and bronze bells": The shrimp body is jointed so that it bends and twists, with small bronze bells inside that ring as it moves in time with the drums. "The five shrimp movements": The shrimp movements come down to five: frontal flower, dead tree coiling roots, shoulder flower, jade belt round the waist and snowflake overhead. "The catfish movements": Eleven performers make up the shrimp and catfish sections; the catfish dances the dwarf step, the ground flop and the shoulder stack.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Mao Mingkang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Lantern Dance, with Jingzhou, Hubei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Lantern Dance in Jingzhou, Hubei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Jingzhou, Hubei as its declared area, and Jingzhou Mass Art Center (Jingzhou Art Research Institute) 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. Maomingkang (Jingzhou, Hubei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Maomingkang · China ICH Official Archive