Yi Dance
01 · Historical Records
The earliest ties between yiwu dance and Fuqing can be traced back to Liu Shi of the Northern Song. In the fourth year of the Zhenghe reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song (1114 CE), Liu Shi of Fuqing, the music master of the Court of the Grand Music, was ordered to preside over the compilation of the Great Music Chapters of Dashi (including the forms of yiwu dance), establishing a model for later ritual and music systems. It was recorded in the History of Song and has been handed down to the present. According to the Qianlong edition of the Fuqing County Gazetteer, yiwu dance has been transmitted in Fuqing for a long time: “From the former Ming dynasty it was studied in the Court of Ceremonial Music and promulgated throughout the realm; in the present dynasty the losses and lapses were again examined, the tones and pitches were appraised, musicians and dancers were summoned, and they rehearsed in advance.” Since 1893, yiwu dance in Fuqing has had a clear line of transmission recorded in historical documents and has survived in contemporary practice on both sides of the Fujian–Taiwan Strait, passing through eight generations.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yiwu dance is a musical dance used in sacrificial rituals in ancient times, originating in the yayue, the elegant music of the Western Zhou period. The term yi means a row or rank, and refers specifically to the ranks of the musical dance. According to the Western Zhou system of ritual music, the Son of Heaven used eight, feudal lords six, great officers four and junior officers two. It was later used for sacrifices to Confucius, as the musical dance within the “shidian music” of the sacrifice-presentation ceremony. Fuqing City lies on the eastern coast of Fujian Province, under Fuzhou City, and is a thousand-year-old county town with a history of county establishment exceeding 1,300 years. The young performers of yiwu dance are called “yisheng” and are divided into an east group and a west group: eight rows have 64 people, six rows 48 or 36, four rows 16 or 32, and two rows 4 or 16. There are also two “jisheng” who lead the lines. The implement held by the yisheng is called the “diyue”. Fuqing yiwu dance has the first, second and third presentations of offering, each with 32 movements; the raising of the hands and the movement of the feet take a circular arc as the baseline of their line of movement, symbolising encouragement of students to act with circumspection and to set their ambitions high; its symmetrical square formations, arranged left and right, symbolise uprightness, evenness and breadth of mind. In performance poetry, ritual and music rise together: the three presentations chant lyrics of three stanzas in four lines and eight sentences, matched with 96 ritual postures, so as to attain unity between heaven and humanity and to manifest the ritual and music spirit of harmony and coexistence between people and nature.
First, second and final offerings
Each of the three offerings contains thirty-two movements traced along arcs, urging students towards roundness of conduct and high resolve.
The di and yue dance implements
The dancers hold the di and yue implements in symmetrical squares, in which poetry, rite and music sound together.
Eight, six, four and two rows
Rows were graded by rank, from sixty-four dancers for the sovereign to four for a knight, with two ushers preceding.
Liu Shen and the Dasheng chapters
In 1114 the Fujing musician Liu Shen compiled the Dasheng ritual chapters including the yi dance programme, recorded in the Song History.
Three chapters of four-character verses
Three chapters of four-character verses in eight lines accompany ninety-six postures, aligning the human with heaven.
Dancers, ushers and the two rows
The young dancers, called yisheng, are divided into eastern and western rows with two ushers, a line traced over eight generations since 1893.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yiwu dance in Fujian takes Fuqing City as its central transmission area, extending its influence to Fuzhou, Zhangzhou and Longyan, and it continues in the Confucian-temple shidian occasions in Taiwan through folk exchange across the Fujian–Taiwan Strait. Since Liu Shi of the Northern Song took part in compiling the Great Music Chapters of Dashi, Fuqing has valued the transmission of ritual and music. The dance notation, movements, verbal formulas and accompaniment of yiwu dance have all been recorded and archived, and demonstration teaching by representative inheritors has been digitally captured, forming a systematic teaching plan for transmission.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Yiwu dance in Fujian takes Fuqing City of Fujian Province as its central transmission area, with influence extending to Fuzhou, Zhangzhou and Longyan. Fuqing has long been known as “Zou Lu by the sea, a state famed for its written culture”, places great emphasis on the transmission of Confucian culture and possesses a fairly rich heritage of ritual and music. At present, besides holding concentrated ritual activities such as yiwu dance during the Lantern Festival every year, Fuqing City also incorporates the relevant knowledge and skills into the formal and non-formal education systems. Through recording and archiving the dance notation, movements, verbal formulas and accompaniment of yiwu dance, and through the digital capture of demonstration teaching by representative inheritors, a systematic teaching plan for transmission has been formed, ensuring transmission from one generation to the next. At the same time, transmission and dissemination of this heritage item have been further strengthened through folk exchange across the Fujian–Taiwan Strait and through Chinese-foreign yiwu dance exchange activities. Yiwu dance carries the far-reaching achievements of Chinese civilisation such as the ritual and music system, Confucian thought, traditional philosophy, literature and art, and astronomy and calendrical science. It reflects traditional ethics centred on benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, and embodies the humanistic values of following the way of nature and attaining unity between heaven and humanity. It plays a positive role in building a harmonious society, promoting green ways of life, carrying forward the excellent traditional culture of China and strengthening cultural exchange.
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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