Wu Xiufu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
In his youth he learned the Ni Shen Dao (Clay Idol Daoist) movements from a barber known as Master Mou; while practising he tried to fuse the movements of such folk dances as the yangge, the shuashua, the tiaosang funeral dance and the lianxiang dance, producing rhythmic sounds by slapping his shoulders, arms, forehead, elbows, hips, legs and feet. Within the regional tradition and school record of Roulianxiang in Lichuan, Hubei: Roulianxiang is a local dance of an ethnic minority and is mainly transmitted in the Duting, Wangying and Nanping areas of Lichuan City, Hubei Province. It evolved out of the old-time "mud spirit procession", and originated among the lowest ranks of society.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Through decades of study and exploration he has acquired a repertoire of exceptional skills. He actively teaches and takes apprentices, having trained several thousand students, of whom more than two hundred are core practitioners. Within the documented technical tradition of Roulianxiang in Lichuan, Hubei: Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, beggars smeared thin mud over their bare bodies, danced and gesticulated, and slapped door to door and street by street, forcing householders to give alms; this was colloquially called the "mud spirit procession". It is characterized by distinctive performance with the body: during the performance the palms strike the forehead, shoulders, face, arms, elbows, waist and legs, producing rhythmic sounds, and it is for this reason called "Roulianxiang", meaning that flesh resounds in succession. Roulianxiang is performed mostly by men, and the performance space may be of any size. Its performance style is vivid and humorous, free and lively; in terms of movement it emphasizes rounded, soft beauty and natural coordination, and the dancer must constantly change the angle of the body's tilt as the part being struck shifts. The principal movements of Roulianxiang include more than a dozen such as the "yangge step", "piercing the palm with a leg-sucking jump", "shaking step circling the head and turning", "double strike", "ten-beat", "seven-beat", "four-beat" and "three-beat". In its earliest performances there was neither sung vocal style nor instrumental accompaniment; the performers composed and sang their own songs, at the same time using the sounds of snapping the tongue and flicking the fingers as accompaniment, to add to the festive mood of the dance. In the course of transmission and development, folk dance movements such as yangge and zhulianxiang were blended into Roulianxiang one after another, and the tune "Lianhualuo" was matched to it accordingly. Tujia Roulianxiang, together with the Lichuan dengge and the Lichuan xiaoqu, is hailed as one of the "Three Masterpieces" of the ethnic culture of Lichuan. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The mud-deity begging custom": Before 1949 beggars smeared mud on their bare bodies and danced from door to door to press for alms, a custom called the mud deity from which the dance descends. "Striking forehead, shoulder, face, arm, elbow, waist and leg": The dance's hallmark is striking the forehead, shoulder, face, arm, elbow, waist and leg with the palm to produce rhythm, the body tilting as the target shifts. "The ten-, seven-, four- and three-strike routines": Its dozen or so actions include the yangge step, the palm-through and knee-lift jump, the shaking turn and the ten-, seven-, four- and three-strike sequences. "Adding the lotus-fall tune and drums": Originally unaccompanied, with the dancer singing and clicking tongue and fingers, the form later absorbed yangge and bamboo-lotus steps and the lotus-fall melody.
The mud-deity begging custom
Before 1949 beggars smeared mud on their bare bodies and danced from door to door to press for alms, a custom called the mud deity from which the dance descends.
Striking forehead, shoulder, face, arm, elbow, waist and leg
The dance's hallmark is striking the forehead, shoulder, face, arm, elbow, waist and leg with the palm to produce rhythm, the body tilting as the target shifts.
The ten-, seven-, four- and three-strike routines
Its dozen or so actions include the yangge step, the palm-through and knee-lift jump, the shaking turn and the ten-, seven-, four- and three-strike sequences.
Adding the lotus-fall tune and drums
Originally unaccompanied, with the dancer singing and clicking tongue and fingers, the form later absorbed yangge and bamboo-lotus steps and the lotus-fall melody.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
Male, of Tujia ethnicity, born in October 1928, died on 15 March 2017, a native of Lichuan City, Hubei Province. He is a national representative bearer of Roulianxiang, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 1992 he went with the Hubei provincial team to Nanning, Guangxi, for the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities, where he performed roulianxiang and won an award.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
It evolved out of the old-time "mud spirit procession", and originated among the lowest ranks of society.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wu Xiufu | Lichuan, Hubei | 03-0935 | This page |
| Liu Shouhong | Lichuan, Hubei | — | Same declared area |
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。