Labaciren
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Labaciren, Male, Tibetan, from Qushui, Tibet, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Kuozi (Ⅲ-89). The tradition is documented in Qushui, Tibet. Within the regional tradition and school record of Kuozi in Qushui, Tibet: Kuozi takes most of its material from the local guoxie dance; it is flexible and varied in form and beats out the rhythm with stamping feet. The first section of the dance is “narrating the proem”, the second is “zhongzi” (the wild yak dance), the third is “lifting the khata” and the fourth is the “song of blessing”. The whole dance is vigorous and forceful, bold and unadorned, and displays a distinctive regional style.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Labaciren is anchored in the documented technical standards of Kuozi in Qushui, Tibet. Within the documented technical tradition of Kuozi in Qushui, Tibet: Kuozi is an entertainment song-and-dance of the Tibetan boatmen, transmitted in Junba Village, Qushui County, on the north bank of the confluence of the Lhasa River and the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the hinterland of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and its history can be traced back at least to the time before the Fifth Dalai Lama. In Tibetan, “kuo” means a yak-hide boat and “zi” means dance, so Kuozi is also called the “yak-hide boat dance”. The yak-hide boat has been the principal water transport of the Tibet region since the Tubo period. More than about two thousand years ago the Tibetan people were already using yak-hide boats to ferry and carry goods; historical records dating from the Tubo period begin to describe yak-hide boat racing on the Yarlung Tsangpo River and the Lhasa River, and the murals of Samye Monastery, the Potala Palace and Norbulingka also depict it. Whenever traditional festivals such as the Shoton Festival and the Wangguo Festival arrive, the boatmen shoulder their yak-hide boats and perform Kuozi. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The hide boat": The hide boat was Tibet's chief water transport since the Tubo period, shown in the murals of Samye, the Potala and Norbulingka; kuo means hide boat and tse dance. "Four sections of the hide-boat dance": Drawn from local gorshe, it runs through a spoken prologue, a yak dance, the offering of a scarf and a blessing song, crisp and plainly rustic. "Dancing with the boat on the back": The boatmen shoulder the heavy hide boat as they step and turn; the weight, difficulty and long apprenticeship discourage younger learners. "The are, or lead dancer": Born in Qushui in 1937, Zasang was the dance's lead, mastered song and movement, fused farming and religious culture and founded a performing group.
The hide boat
The hide boat was Tibet's chief water transport since the Tubo period, shown in the murals of Samye, the Potala and Norbulingka; kuo means hide boat and tse dance.
Four sections of the hide-boat dance
Drawn from local gorshe, it runs through a spoken prologue, a yak dance, the offering of a scarf and a blessing song, crisp and plainly rustic.
Dancing with the boat on the back
The boatmen shoulder the heavy hide boat as they step and turn; the weight, difficulty and long apprenticeship discourage younger learners.
The are, or lead dancer
Born in Qushui in 1937, Zasang was the dance's lead, mastered song and movement, fused farming and religious culture and founded a performing group.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Labaciren was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Kuozi, with Qushui, Tibet as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Kuozi in Qushui, Tibet: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Qushui, Tibet as its declared area, and Qushui County Culture and Tourism Bureau (Qushui County Cultural Relics Bureau) 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
Historical origin
The yak-hide boat has been the principal water transport of the Tibet region since the Tubo period. More than two thousand years ago the Tibetan people were already using yak-hide boats to ferry and carry goods, and historical records dating from the Tubo period describe yak-hide boat racing on the Yarlung Tsangpo River and the Lhasa River; the murals of Samye Monastery, the Potala Palace and Norbulingka also depict it. Junba Village in Qushui County lies on the north bank at the confluence of the Lhasa River and the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and its villagers have made a living by ferrying on yak-hide boats for generations. According to the project file and the account of the inheritor Zhasang, the history of Kuozi can be traced back at least to the time before the Fifth Dalai Lama; the boatmen would shoulder their yak-hide boats and dance at festivals such as the Shoton Festival and the Wangguo Festival, both for their own amusement and with a sense of sacrificing to the waters and praying for peace.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhasang | Qushui, Tibet | 03-0950 | Same declared area |
| Labaciren | Qushui, Tibet | — | This page |
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。