Wanniu
01 · Historical Records
Wanniu grew out of the sacrifices at the Ox King Temple and during the Ox King Festival of the Tujia stockades of Shizhu: in the age of farming every household kept cattle, the villages built Ox King temples, the Ox King was sacrificed to at regular intervals each year, Ox King fairs were held with ox-king opera and the wanniu dance, and this continued for more than a century. Its routines refine into dance, one after another, the going and turning at the corners of the water buffalo ploughing the paddy field and the yellow ox ploughing the dry land, the eating of fodder, the cropping of grass and the drinking of water by the draught ox, and such states as scratching itself, wallowing and leaping the ridge when it rests.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Wanniu is a traditional form of dance circulating in Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing, originating in the sacrificial activities of the Ox King Temple and the Ox King Festival. In the age of farming the Tujia ancestors of Shizhu built Ox King temples in many places and sacrificed to the Ox King at regular intervals each year, letting the cattle rest and feeding them good fodder, holding Ox King fairs, singing ox-king opera and dancing the wanniu dance. This has been handed down for more than a century. Wanniu imitates the many states of action of the water buffalo and the yellow ox in their periods of labour, daily life and rest, and weaves them into dance in orderly routines. It brings out the dancing movement of different circumstances such as teasing play, frolicking and keeping the ox company; it hops and jumps, sways, and nods and bends freely. It is full of the affection of the farmers for the draught ox and of their fondling gestures towards it, and the ox in return for the farmers shows a lively, active and endearing appearance. In performance one person plays the elder brother or elder sister who herds the ox, either holding the ox rope or taking the ox stick, or carrying a grass back-basket on the body, or leading the dance empty-handed. Two people share one ox-quilt prop, the one in front raising the ox head and the other swaying the ox tail, so as to take the shape of an ox. At the side there is a person calling the colours, accompanied by a gong-and-drum band, and the audience cheer at will to add momentum. The ox costume prop is made by binding the ox head and ox tail out of split bamboo, pasting them with paper shells, and then using painted cloth to join head and tail as the body of the ox into a yellow or black ox shape; the two performers are hidden inside the ox prop. Wanniu is a composite dance made up of a vocabulary of movements, including the ploughing dance, the feeding dance, the movement dance, the expression dance and the play dance. The ploughing dance shows the slow going, the laborious exertion and the turning at the corners of the water buffalo ploughing the paddy field and the yellow ox ploughing the dry land. The feeding dance shows the eating of fodder, the cropping of grass and the drinking of water by the draught ox when it feeds, as well as the people feeding it. The movement dance shows scenes of the draught ox at rest, such as scratching itself, wallowing and leaping the ridge. The expression dance shows the ox now and then lifting its horns and swaying its tail, displaying a simple and obedient character that people dearly love. The play dance shows people and ox rejoicing together, such as the herdsman piping on his flute, singing while riding on the ox, the ox frisking about and the ox butting at people. Wanniu is distilled and refined from real labour and daily life, born of feeling and of affection. It preserves the circumstances in which people in the age of farming revered the ox god and raised the draught ox, expresses in concrete form the life tastes and the ideals of the local people, enriches their life, and has high folkloric, artistic, cultural and social value.
The five dance groups
The dance combines ploughing, feeding, moving, expression and play: slow turns at the plough, grazing and drinking, scratching and wallowing, head-tossing and tail-swaying, piping and riding.
Making the ox costume
The costume's head and tail are woven from bamboo and pasted with paper shell, joined by painted cloth into a yellow or black ox, two dancers hidden inside.
The herdsman leading the dance
One dancer plays the herdsman, holding a rope or stick or carrying a grass basket, while a caller and a drum-and-gong band back him and the crowd cheers at will.
The ox-king festival
The dance grew from ox-king temple worship, when villagers gave their cattle a rest and good fodder and held fairs with ox-king opera and the playing-the-ox dance.
Jiang Zaishun
Jiang Zaishun, born in 1954, learned the dance from his elders, mimics the ox's habits and ploughing with lifelike detail and has drawn many young people into the tradition.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Wanniu circulates in the various places of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing, and the Cultural Ecology Protection and Management Centre of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County undertakes the protection of the item. The ox costume prop is made by binding the ox head and ox tail out of split bamboo, pasting them with paper shells, and then joining head and tail with painted cloth into a yellow or black ox shape. A person calling the colours and a gong-and-drum band accompany it, and the audience cheer at will to add momentum.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Jiang Zaishun (as recorded in the official file of the linked inheritor): male, of Tujia ethnicity, born in December 1954, a native of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing. He learned the wanniu dance from his father's generation from childhood, and has rich performance experience. The dance imitates and performs the living habits and ploughing scenes of the ox, its movements lifelike, delicate and expressive; he is a well-known wanniu performer in Shizhu County. He has taken part many times in cultural and artistic showcase performances of various kinds and is widely welcomed among the people. Under his influence, villagers of the locality, primary and secondary school pupils and teachers, and even some folk artists and ensembles from other provinces have all become keen on the wanniu dance. Under his lead, a good number of young people have joined the ranks of those transmitting the wanniu dance, which has made this item a folk art activity known to every household in the locality. He is a representative inheritor of wanniu among the national-level intangible cultural heritage items in the fifth batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jiang Zaishun 05-2299
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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