Huangyangqianbian
01 · Historical Records
Huangyang qianbian originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and has a history of more than 500 years. Red symbolises the rising sun and a lively prosperity; green symbolises the plants of the earth, full of vigorous life.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Huangyang qianbian is a form of folk dance art that combines martial arts with dance, strengthening the body and training the mind. In ancient times this place was at once a rich pasture for nomadic peoples, a strategic military site of clashes and arms, and a transshipment station on the long-established Silk Road culture. Huangyang qianbian has a bright rhythm and bold, uninhibited movements. Its prop, the whip, is made mainly of hard coarse wood, in the form of a straight rod nearly one metre long and about three centimetres in diameter; at each of the two ends two vertical hollow holes three centimetres long are cut in different directions, symbolising the four seasons of the year. Old coins are hung free within the holes, standing for the twenty-four solar terms of the year and expressing a longing for a good life. At each of the two ends of the whip is tied a doubled tassel sixty centimetres long, dyed with madder in red and green, which signifies the countless trivial matters dealt with during the year like so many threads of hemp. When Huangyang qianbian is danced, a joyful sound of "rang rang" is produced. The dance steps are based mainly on the "cross step", and the dancing is free-flowing and open. There is no restriction on the number of participants, who are mostly in even numbers and generally half men and half women. The costume of Huangyang qianbian chiefly displays a heroic bearing. The men wear old-style dress with a belt and soft shoes; the women wear bright coloured clothes and matching shoes. In performance the movements mainly use the end of the whip to strike the four limbs, repeating over and over over, and are majestic and mighty; there are twenty-five kinds of pattern and twenty-four sets of whip-striking. When young men and women dance it as partners, their movements are strong and graceful, seeking to express a heroic spirit. The Huangyang qianbian dance pursues the harmonious unity of deity, human beings and animals; it embodies the thought that heaven, earth and human beings are one, and expresses the wishes of the common people to pray for blessings and ward off disaster, to hope for favourable weather and to wish for a bumper harvest. At the climax, the big gongs and drums strike out an effect that lifts the heart and spurs people on. The artistry is interwoven throughout, combining hardness with gentleness in a way that transcends the ordinary; it makes high demands on the physical strength, the endurance, the technique, the artistic foundation and the mutual coordination of the performers, so as to achieve a vividly lifelike, lively and humorous artistic effect that leaves the audience amazed.
The metre-long hardwood whip
The whip is a hardwood rod almost a metre long and three centimetres thick, pierced at each end with two hollow slots standing for the four seasons.
Coins hung for the twenty-four solar terms
Old coins hang loose in the slots for the twenty-four solar terms, ringing with a cheerful clang as the whip moves.
Red and green hemp tassels
Half-metre hemp tassels dyed red and green hang from each end, the red for sunrise and ardour, the green for the plants of the earth.
The cross step and twenty-five figures
The cross step leads a repertory of twenty-five figures and twenty-four routines, most striking the limbs with the tip of the whip.
Big gong, big drum, firm and soft
Martial art and dance combine to bright rhythm and bold movement, the great gong and drum driving the climax.
Five centuries since the late Ming
Arising in the late Ming and early Qing over five centuries ago, the dance seeks harmony of gods, people and beasts, of heaven, earth and man.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Huangyang qianbian has Huangyang Village of Yuding Township, Zhongning County, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as its main area of transmission. This place was in ancient times at once a rich pasture for nomadic peoples, a strategic military site of clashes and arms, and a transshipment station on the long-established Silk Road culture. The project has been carried on to the present mainly through master-apprentice transmission and group transmission; the dancers are mostly in even numbers, half men and half women, the men wearing old-style dress with a belt and soft shoes and the women wearing bright coloured clothes with matching shoes.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Its main area of transmission is Huangyang Village of Yuding Township, Zhongning County, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. This heritage project has been carried on to the present mainly through master-apprentice transmission and group transmission. Huangyang qianbian embodies the simple and honest, hard-working, tough and brave and optimistic spirit of the people of Huangyang Village; it is an important form of artistic expression showing the exchange and integration of the farming culture of the central plains and the nomadic culture of the north-west, and it has high historical, cultural and artistic value. Protecting and transmitting this cultural heritage well plays a positive role in inheriting and promoting fine traditional culture and in fostering ethnic unity and social harmony.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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