Gulin Flower Lantern Dance
01 · Historical Records
According to the Gulin County Gazetteer, by the middle of the Qing dynasty Gulin flower lantern was already flourishing among the folk, and was commonly called the "twisting-twisting lantern". From the second to the eighteenth day of the first lunar month each year, lantern booths were raised in every village and hamlet, and performers went from street to street "playing with the flower lanterns to celebrate the New Year".
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Gulin flower lantern is closely bound up with festival custom culture: from "preparing the lanterns" to "choosing the date", from "raising the lanterns" to "dismissing the lanterns", from "paying respects to the gods" and "turning the folded slips" to "taking leave of the gods", each stage interlocks with the next; costumes, props and the band are all indispensable elements of the performance. The performers are chiefly two roles, a man and a woman, namely "Tang Er" and "Yao Mei"; the Yao Mei role is usually played by a man, which the folk call "a boy dressing as the Yao Mei". There is also a humorous clown called the "joking old man", who cuts in with comic passages throughout the lantern play. Performances are usually held in a farm household's main hall or in the courtyard. Before the show, the "lantern-bearers" raise all manner of coloured lanterns and stand in a semicircle at the rear of the ground, while the "lantern head" holds up a rectangular placard lantern inscribed "flower lanterns in homage and congratulation" and stands at the centre of the back of the stage. Musicians holding hall drums, horse gongs, large gongs and cymbals take their seats in front of the lantern placards. When the performance begins, Tang Er and Yao Mei twist and pull as they go, singing as they dance. The basic dance movements include the "shuttle copper disc", the "turning jump step", the "crossing step ten" and the "twin flying swallows", among others. The various tableaux in the dance all bear names, such as "Guanyin seated on the lotus throne", "dragon and phoenix turning over", "toad drying its belly", "interlaced roots", "mandarin ducks spreading their wings", "rhinoceros gazing at the moon", "flowers planted on the knees", "sun and moon in mutual imprint" and "golden dragon embracing the pillar"; the steps are chiefly the "cross step", the "flower-bound step" and the "short fellow's step"; and the formations flow according to the patterns "circling the plate frame" and "three threading the flower". Because of the limited space, Gulin flower lantern is performed mainly by twisting on the spot while singing, or by two dancers brushing past each other and swapping places. Gulin flower lantern has three vocal styles, the "guqin tune", the "gong-and-drum air" and the "flower lantern tune". Most of the melodies follow a single-section structure of upper and lower lines; the lyrics are sung in the Gulin dialect and deal with New Year blessings, praising the diligent and censuring the idle, propagating fairness and public morality, and the plain love between mountain men and women. Accompanying songs include 《Pan Deng Diao》, 《Shu Zhuang Diao》, 《Yang Liu Que》, 《Jin Lan Xiang》, 《Shi Yue Yue Wang Lang》, 《Feng Di Zhu》, 《Zhu Ban Ci》, 《Nao Yuan Xiao》 and 《Dou Yao Mei》, among others. The Gulin area also lies in a zone of cultural fusion, and the annual coming and going of lantern troupes further draws the people of different ethnic groups together, playing a part in building a harmonious society.
Preparing, raising, greeting and dismissing the lanterns
The annual cycle of preparing and dating the lanterns, raising them, worshipping, folding them and finally dismissing them, kept from the second to the eighteenth of the first lunar month.
Tang Er, Yao Mei and the jesting elder
The two central roles, Tang Er and Yao Mei, with the female part played by a boy; a comic elder cuts in with jokes throughout the lantern play.
Shuttle, jump-turn, cross-step and twin-swallow steps
The basic steps of the form: the pair twist and pull, singing and dancing, mostly turning on the spot or crossing past each other because of the cramped farmhouse floor.
Named tableaux and step patterns
The named tableaux of the lantern play, from Guanyin on the lotus to the rhinoceros gazing at the moon, arranged in the coiling-frame and three-cross formations.
Three vocal styles
The three singing styles of Gulin lantern play, strophic two-line tunes sung in local dialect about New Year blessings, praise of diligence and mountain courtship.
Accompanying songs
The accompanying songs of the form; the lantern bearers stand in a half circle behind the placard reading Lantern Greetings while drum, gong and cymbal players sit before it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Gulin flower lantern is a folk traditional song-and-dance art mainly popular in the area of Gulin County, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province. It is also circulated in Luzhou City and Yibin City of Sichuan Province and in Renhuai City, Chishui City, Jinsha County, Bijie City and Xishui City of Guizhou Province. It has a performance style that calls for "jests and laughter, pulling and romping, singing and dancing", and is deeply loved by the local people; Gulin County is accordingly known as the "home of the flower lantern".
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Gulin flower lantern is an aesthetic reflection of the farming culture of the Gulin area; its strong local flavour is highly expressive, and it has considerable artistic value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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