Duoye
01 · Historical Records
Duoye has a long history, originating in the productive labour of the ancestors of the Dong people.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
"Duoye" is a transliteration of a Dong word rendered into Chinese as "Caigetang"; it is a representative collective song-and-dance of the Dong people, performed without instrumental accompaniment, with singing and dancing going on together. There are relevant records in Lu You's Laoxue'an Biji, in Kuang Lu's Chi Ya and in the Da Qing Yitong Zhi, in the section on Liuzhou Prefecture. According to the occasion for which the dance is performed, Duoye is divided into two kinds, yetang and yediao. Yetang is a dance that praises the ancestors and offers sacrifices and prayers for blessing; it is held mainly on ritual occasions, is led in song by a person of high standing and prestige, and has everyone form a circle, dancing and singing in chorus, so that the atmosphere is solemn and dignified. Yediao is an entertainment dance, performed mainly at gatherings, for welcoming guests, at celebrations and on major festivals, in a relaxed and lively atmosphere. Yediao is generally performed by teams divided into men and women; either the men and women hold hands and form a circle, or each person puts a hand on the shoulder of the person ahead, and facing the centre of the circle they circle round while singing, the swinging of the arms marking the beat; the basic movements are the forward-swinging step, the backward-swinging step and the duo-ye step, and while moving there are such steps as advancing three steps and stopping, advancing three steps and retreating two, and one step forward and one step back. The dance tunes are mostly in 2/4 and 3/4 time; while dancing, either one person leads the singing and all join in, or the women sing and the men answer, and interjections such as "ya luo ye" and "ye ha ye luo ye" are inserted among the lines. The whole dance scene is full of warm enthusiasm and of an atmosphere of solidarity and good will. They have mastered the Dong ancient songs, the rhyming patterns of ye lyrics and the skills of composing ye songs, and the ye songs sung at every Duoye activity are organised and composed by them. The kuan shou (village head) and the zhai lao (members of the elders' association) are the important organisers of Dong Duoye activities. The Dong opera troupes and amateur cultural teams in the villages are the main participants and disseminators of Duoye, and the heads of many troupes and cultural teams are themselves ye masters. The villagers of the Dong stockades and the general public are both participants in and spectators of Duoye. It is characterised by simple dance movements, broad popular participation, universal performing occasions and diverse artistic forms, and it plays a positive role in achieving ethnic cultural identity and promoting social harmony.
Yetang, the solemn circle
The ritual branch of the form praises the ancestors in the sacrificial season, led in song by the village elders in a solemn ring.
Yediao, the festive circle
The entertainment branch, performed at gatherings and festivals, danced in male and female ranks or hand on shoulder towards the centre.
Forward, backward and duoye steps
The swinging forward and backward steps and the duoye step move in three-and-stop or three-and-two-back patterns, hands swinging to the beat.
Yeh masters, kuan heads and elders
The yeh masters compose and lead the songs, the kuan heads and village elders organise, and opera troupes and amateur performers carry the practice.
Yaluoye refrains and antiphonal singing
Sung without instruments, one voice leading and all responding or women answering men, the lines studded with refrains like yaluoye.
Mentions in the Lushu and the Old Xue'an Notes
Lu You's Old Xue'an Notes, Kuang Lu's Chiya and the Qing gazetteer of Liuzhou all record the dance, rooted in early Dong labour.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It is widely distributed in the border zone where Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou meet and in the surrounding Dong areas; thirteen townships and towns such as Laobao Township, Danzhou Town and Liangkou Township in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are its main area of diffusion. Duoye embodies the history and culture of the Dong people and is deeply loved by the local people; men and women, high and low, people of every occupation and members of every ethnic group may all take part, each forgetting self in singing and in dancing, at ease with one another and resolving conflicts.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Dong are a people who love to sing and dance, and Duoye is handed down in Dong villages. The "ye master" (also the opera master or the song master) of the Dong stockades plays an irreplaceable role in transmission and in practice. In recent years the government of Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County and the protecting unit of the project have adopted a series of protective measures, such as identifying inheritors, building a database and setting up exhibition venues, so that the project has been well protected.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。