Zhongfan
01 · Historical Records
It originated in the Tang and Song dynasties and has a history of more than one thousand years to the present day. Gao zhao is also known as 'zhongfan'. It originated before the Republic of China era and is a representative and important item in the folk flower-fair performances of Zhengding, with a history of more than one hundred years to the present day.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
A zhongfan consists of a banner pole, an umbrella, flags, banner cloth and bells, among other things. It comprises a dozen-odd routines and more than fifty movements, combining highly difficult techniques such as body shaping and pose display (liangxiang) into one, and offers a degree of entertainment. The props mainly used for gao zhao are made of thick, large bamboo, varying in length and stoutness, the heaviest weighing as much as 72 kilograms. Before the performance, small dragon-and-phoenix flags are wound around the bamboo pole, two decorated umbrellas are set upright on it, and ten pheasant feathers are inserted at the top of the pole as decoration. Gao zhao is mainly performed on traditional festivals and on celebratory occasions in the slack farming season. In a performance, several able-bodied men generally take the stage in turn, and the performer uses the bamboo pole to execute various movements on his own body. The main routines include pagoda supporting (tuota), elbow turning (panzhou), the double kick (er tijiiao), the double martial flourish (shuang wuhua), the single martial flourish (dan wuhua), springing a scallion from dry ground (handi bacong), the monkey carrying a sword on its back (Sunhou bei jian), Erlang carrying the mountain (Erlang danshan), the tiger's big upturned tail (laohu daquewei) and stepping through the basket (kualan). The performance is accompanied by drums, wind instruments and gongs, with coloured flags and bamboo banners lending their support. Its movements are flexible and ever-changing, gripping the heart. Gao zhao is a representative item in the folk flower-fair performances of Zhengding, Hebei Province. It has a strong local character and, over more than one hundred years of practice, has developed distinctive features of its own and considerable artistic value.
Holding the pagoda, elbow coiling and the double kick
The routine list runs from holding the pagoda and coiling about the elbow to the double kick, the monkey's sword and Erlang carrying the mountain.
A seventy-two-kilogram pole
The prop is a thick bamboo pole of varying length and girth, the heaviest reaching 72 kilograms, wrapped with dragon-and-phoenix pennants and crowned with two parasols and ten pheasant feathers.
Buddha's crown pearl and the prodigal's kick
The inheritor Guo Jianbing, who began learning pole making at eight, commands the traditional routines and has added new moves, restyling the once plain forms.
The Gaozhao society
The performing society was organised by Guo Jianbing with over fifty members, aiming at standardised teams, regular training and refined shows.
Slack-season shows with drums, music and banners
Performed at festivals and in the slack farming season, the pole is worked in turn by several men to the sound of drums, music and gongs, with banners flanking the ground.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhongfan is an ancient Chinese folk art, distributed mainly in today's Xianghe County and Zhengding County of Hebei Province and in Jian'ou City, Fujian Province. Zhengding gao zhao circulates mainly in the Chengguan area of Zhengding town and in townships such as Zhufutun, Nanniu and Quyangqiao. The performing body is called the 'gao zhao hui' (Gao Zhao Association), and within it performers are ranked by skill as main banner (zhufan) and secondary banner (fufan). In procession, coloured flags and bamboo banners lead the way at the front while drums, gongs and cymbals follow at the rear; the dancers are mostly young and middle-aged adults, and performances concentrate on the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and temple fairs.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tianqiaozhongfan · Zhongfan · Zhongfan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Guo Jianbing (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Han ethnic group, born in August 1967, a native of Zhengding County, Hebei Province. A zhongfan performer. At the age of eight he began to learn the making of gao zhao under the guidance of his elders. He mastered traditional routines such as 'Buddha's Crown Pearl' and 'Erlang Carrying the Mountain', and on his own created new moves such as 'The Prodigal Kicking a Ball' and 'Pagoda Supporting'. He made innovative changes to the formerly monotonous shapes and colours, turning them into content related to building a new socialist countryside, and gave gao zhao new vitality and vigour. He organised and founded the Gao Zhao Association with more than fifty members, and led the transmission of Zhengding gao zhao towards a development model of standardised teams, regular training, high-quality performance and deepening influence. Representative inheritor of Zhongfan (Zhengding Gao Zhao), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fu Wengang 01-0034
- Guo Jianbing 05-2533
- Zhu Shiliang 05-2534
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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