Xianshi
01 · Historical Records
The nine-lion play is also known as 'nine lions moving the ball'. It originated in the Ming dynasty and is a folk performing art produced by combining string puppets with ground lion dancing; it is also called the 'string-pulled lion' or the 'juggling lion'. As far as is known, however, by 2007 the nine-lion play had already disappeared for more than forty years. The small lion props handed down in former times had almost all been lost, the old artists who used to perform were of advanced age, and the nine-lion play faced the danger of being lost.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
On every major festival, Yongkang and Xianju hold a distinctive lion dance performance colloquially called the 'nine-lion play', hence the saying 'when the festival comes, the nine lions leap'. The string lion (nine-lion play) is a folk dance art produced by combining string puppets with ground lion dancing; because the nine lions perform in mid-air, it is named 'string lion'. It consists of a lion cage (lion frame), nine lions and one coloured ball. The lions and the coloured ball are linked by 38 thin ropes, which are worked in performance by eleven performers standing behind the lion cage. In performance the lions leap and shift through the air, spirited and uninhibited; their ears, eyes, mouths and claws can all open, close and turn flexibly, so that they seem vividly alive, and the supreme feat of the 'lion holding the ball in its mouth' is nothing short of astonishing. The nine-lion play is one of the most representative forms of folk performing art in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province. With its unique artistry, participatory quality, entertainment and festive joy, it has won the affection of the broad masses. On every Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, many places in Yongkang hold this distinctive lion dance performance. In recent years the Yongkang 'nine-lion play' has been invited to perform in France, New Zealand, Singapore and other countries, has taken part in more than twenty major domestic cultural exchange activities, and has won the Best Performance Award at the Carnival of the West Lake Expo and the silver award in the Ministry of Culture's national folk art competition 'Magnificent Marvel'. It has been named one of the 'Ten Outstanding Folk Art Projects of the Bawu Region'. The Xianju nine-lion play has rich and varied content, with performance forms such as the pack of lions scrambling for the ball, the single lion playing with the ball, two lions moving the ball, the brocade ball bursting open, the bright pearl falling into the dish and the three-lion banquet. Its style is bold and unrestrained and its workmanship is fine and lifelike; the props are painted with designs such as dragon and phoenix, pine and crane for longevity and the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, expressing people's wishes for favourable weather, timely rain and bumper harvests, and it has a marked national character. The making and performance of the animal-shaped lanterns of the nine-lion play, and the Jiangnan customs embodied in them, provide important material for research in history, culture and related fields.
Thirty-eight cords and eleven operators
A lion cage, nine lions and one coloured ball, linked by thirty-eight cords and worked by eleven performers behind the frame, with ears, eyes, mouths and claws all articulated.
The lion seizes the ball
The most breathtaking feat has the lions pass and seize the coloured ball in mid-air, demanding exact coordination of the cords.
From seven lions to nine
Hu Jinchao expanded the seven lions to nine, replaced carrying the frame with castors for pushing, and initiated the first women's troupe.
When the festival comes, the nine lions leap
Performed widely in Yongkang at the Lantern Festival, the show has toured France, New Zealand and Singapore and won prizes at home.
Revived after forty lost years
By 2007 the form had been absent for over forty years, its small lion props almost entirely lost and its old performers aged; only rescue work brought it back to the stage.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The string lion (nine-lion play) is distributed mainly within Yongkang City and Xianju County, Zhejiang Province.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Ningde Huotongxianshi · Xianshi · Xianshi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As an important part of Chinese folk art, the Jiangnan life customs contained in the nine-lion play have significant research value. Its exquisite making and performance skills reveal many features of the Wuyue culture and Jiangnan culture, and provide concrete, vivid material for research in folklore and art studies. In the face of the cultural demands of the new era, how to better protect this folk culture and pass it on is an important question. Hu Jinchao (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Han ethnic group, born in November 1932, a native of Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province. From childhood he had a special attachment to the nine-lion play, and mastered the complete lion dance performance skills and the technique of making the thin ropes for the nine lions. He improved the 'seven-lion play' into the 'nine-lion play', changing it from being carried on the shoulders to being pushed along on castors fitted to its base. He devoted enormous effort to raising the standard of the nine-lion play's skills and to their transmission, and trained a large number of disciples. He proposed and formed Yongkang's first women's performance team for the nine-lion play, teaching the skills with great care and carefully organising training and rehearsals, so that the team members quickly mastered the lion dance technique and were able to appear in performance. Representative inheritor of String Lion (Nine-Lion Play), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the third national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Xinfa 03-1202
- Hu Jinchao 03-1203
- Zhao Bolin 05-2535
- Hu Genji
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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