Wang Youchun
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Wang Youchun, Male, Li, from Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Laogu Dance (Ⅲ-101). The tradition is documented in Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Laogu Dance in Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan: The Laogu Dance is divided into four steps: In the Baisha Li language the Laogu Dance is called “chuang kan” and is also called “kui dong long”; the surviving place of transmission is concentrated in the Li villages around Xishui Township, Baisha Li Autonomous County, Hainan Province, and together with the Li villages of neighbouring townships it belongs to the same cultural area in terms of ancestor sacrifice. The ritual is held on a village basis, the site usually being an open space at the edge of the village, marked by the mortars holding the spirit tablets and the array of bamboo poles stuck into the ground; as soon as the gong-and-drum music starts the “gou ta” leads the team onto the ground. Because the Li have no script of their own, the procedure, the sung lines and the dance steps of the Laogu Dance are handed down entirely through oral instruction and personal transmission from master to disciple, and the villages differ slightly in the routes they take through the “walking the great enclosure” and in the order of cutting the cords, producing several recognisable local ways of dancing it. Besides, whenever someone in the village falls ill, has a nightmare, or something inauspicious occurs, a “telling the ancestors” activity may also be held, asking the ancestral spirits to dispel disaster and remove misfortune; and even when all is peaceful, the whole village holds a “telling the ancestors” Laogu Dance once every three years, in the form of mourning for and sacrificing to the ancestors, to pray that the ancestors will protect their descendants.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Wang Youchun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Laogu Dance in Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan. Within the documented technical tradition of Laogu Dance in Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan: The Laogu Dance (a rendering into Chinese of the Li expression “chuang kan”, meaning “telling the ancestors”) is an ancient Li folk sacrificial dance. The dance is also called “kui dong long”, meaning “paying respect to the ancients”, that is, sacrificing to the old people who have passed away. The Laogu Dance is performed on occasions of funerals and rites of sacrifice. As a rule the “calling back of the wandering soul” (meaning “summoning the soul”) is carried out by day, and the Laogu Dance is danced at night. 1. Raising the master (welcoming the soul of the deceased); 2. Opening the gate (circling the mortars, further divided into walking four and walking six), by which the sound of gong and drum summons the dead back in pairs; 3. Circling and chanting (the dance troupe, carrying the spirit tablet of the deceased, circles around the twelve mortars); 4. Walking the great enclosure: on the ground, in rows of two, are planted no fewer than 1,200 thin bamboo poles about two metres high with burning incense sticks inserted at the top, and the poles are joined in pairs by grass rope (or red string). The “gou ta” (leader of the dance) holds scissors in his hand and, as he cuts the cords, leads the dance troupe weaving through among them, until all the cords have been cut and the troupe walks out of the great enclosure. At the same time, other dancers perform ploughing, hunting, fishing and the like among the several mortars holding spirit tablets that have been set out on the ground. The Laogu Dance represents in dance form the modes of production and of life of the Li people in the stage of primitive society, such as slash-and-burn cultivation, hunting, fishing, and ancestor worship. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The four sections of the old-drum dance": The four sections: welcoming the soul, turning the pestles to summon the dead in pairs, carrying the memorial tablet around twelve pestles, and threading the rope enclosure. "The rope enclosure of twelve hundred poles": The field is set with 1,200 slender bamboo poles about two metres tall topped with burning incense, linked in pairs by straw or red thread ropes. "The lead dancer cutting the ropes": The lead dancer cuts the ropes linking the poles while leading the troupe through the web until every rope is severed and the dancers emerge. "Farming, hunting and fishing between the pestles": While the enclosure is threaded, other dancers perform ploughing, hunting and fishing between the pestles that hold the memorial tablets, recalling slash-and-burn farming and hunting.
The four sections of the old-drum dance
The four sections: welcoming the soul, turning the pestles to summon the dead in pairs, carrying the memorial tablet around twelve pestles, and threading the rope enclosure.
The rope enclosure of twelve hundred poles
The field is set with 1,200 slender bamboo poles about two metres tall topped with burning incense, linked in pairs by straw or red thread ropes.
The lead dancer cutting the ropes
The lead dancer cuts the ropes linking the poles while leading the troupe through the web until every rope is severed and the dancers emerge.
Farming, hunting and fishing between the pestles
While the enclosure is threaded, other dancers perform ploughing, hunting and fishing between the pestles that hold the memorial tablets, recalling slash-and-burn farming and hunting.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Wang Youchun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Laogu Dance, with Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Laogu Dance in Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan as its declared area, and Hainan Baisha Li Autonomous County Cultural 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
Historical origin
Besides, whenever someone in the village falls ill, has a nightmare, or something inauspicious occurs, a “telling the ancestors” activity may also be held, asking the ancestral spirits to dispel disaster and remove misfortune; and even when all is peaceful, the whole village holds a “telling the ancestors” Laogu Dance once every three years, in the form of mourning for and sacrificing to the ancestors, to pray that the ancestors will protect their descendants.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhong Chaoliang | Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan | 04-1585 | Same declared area |
| Wang Youchun | Baishalizuzizhi, Hainan | — | 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。