Yang Maochun
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yang Maochun, Male, Han, from Min, Gansu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Badang Dance (Ⅲ-108). The tradition is documented in Min, Gansu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Badang Dance in Min, Gansu: The Badang dance, anciently called "Bo tao wu", originates in the "Mountain Sacrifice Festival" of the ancient Qiang people and is a traditional dance for the worship of the mountain god, popular in Zhongzhai town of Min County, Gansu Province. The Badang dance carries the cultural genes of Chinese civilisation and is a living fossil of the historical development, cultural blending and evolution of the ethnic groups on China's frontier.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yang Maochun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Badang Dance in Min, Gansu. Within the documented technical tradition of Badang Dance in Min, Gansu: In the past, peasants of villages and hamlets such as Zhongzhai and Weixin in the northern part of Min County would dance the Badang every year in the first lunar month to perform the mountain god sacrifice, praying to the mountain god in song and dance for good weather and abundant harvests. The Badang dance consists mainly of three sections: 1. Anchang. Men of the village, under the direction of the "chunba", shake the long-handled "Badang drum" by hand and dance in a line, with nine passages of sung text set to nine kinds of dance steps; 2. Worshipping the mountain god. This is the most important part of the Badang dance; in this section the "chunba" lights the bonfire and leads all the dancers in the "worship of the five directions", and then they sing and dance to their hearts' content beneath the newly erected swing; this process has twelve passages of sung text; 3. Chejiele. All the dancers begin to eat, drink and taste tea, joining in a great collective chorus. (In all the above sections, all the songs are sung in Tibetan. ) Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Anchang: nine verses, nine steps": In the first section the village men, led by the Chunba, shake the long-handled Badang drum and dance in file through nine verses matched to nine steps. "Worshipping the mountain god": The central section: the Chunba lights a bonfire and leads the dancers in saluting the five directions before they dance beneath a newly raised swing through twelve verses. "Chejiele: feasting and chorus": The closing section, in which all the dancers eat, drink and take tea before joining a collective chorus, every song sung in Tibetan. "The Badang drum and the Chunba": The Chunba leads while shaking the long-handled drum, at once instrument and prop; Yang Jingyan, Chunba of seven villages, was trained strictly in the Tibetan notation of the dance.
Anchang: nine verses, nine steps
In the first section the village men, led by the Chunba, shake the long-handled Badang drum and dance in file through nine verses matched to nine steps.
Worshipping the mountain god
The central section: the Chunba lights a bonfire and leads the dancers in saluting the five directions before they dance beneath a newly raised swing through twelve verses.
Chejiele: feasting and chorus
The closing section, in which all the dancers eat, drink and take tea before joining a collective chorus, every song sung in Tibetan.
The Badang drum and the Chunba
The Chunba leads while shaking the long-handled drum, at once instrument and prop; Yang Jingyan, Chunba of seven villages, was trained strictly in the Tibetan notation of the dance.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yang Maochun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Badang Dance, with Min, Gansu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Badang Dance in Min, Gansu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Min, Gansu as its declared area, and Min 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
The Badang dance, anciently called "Bo tao wu", originates in the "Mountain Sacrifice Festival" of the ancient Qiang people and is a traditional dance for the worship of the mountain god, popular in Zhongzhai town of Min County, Gansu Province. The Badang dance carries the cultural genes of Chinese civilisation and is a living fossil of the historical development, cultural blending and evolution of the ethnic groups on China's frontier.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yang Jingyan | Min, Gansu | 04-1588 | Same declared area |
| Yang Maochun | Min, Gansu | — | 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。