Ningjin Acrobatics
01 · Historical Records
Ningjin acrobatics is popular in the Lubei region (northern Shandong), reaching its peak in the Ming dynasty; northern Shandong thereby became a gathering place and activity center for acrobatics nationwide. To prosper the cause of acrobatics, the Ningjin County Acrobatic Art School was established in 1959; it has successively supplied more than two thousand acrobatic talents to acrobatic performance troupes at all levels across the country. In 1995, Ningjin County was named by the Ministry of Culture the 'Home of Chinese Folk Art (Acrobatics)'.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the course of its long development, Ningjin acrobatics gradually formed distinctive categories and schools, and its performance scale and scope expanded day by day; it is renowned far and wide for its artistic characteristics of 'thrill, danger, wonder, and beauty', and works such as 'Foot Juggling with Stools', 'Waving the Big Banner', and 'The Young Female Role Twirls the Diabolo' are deeply loved by audiences at home and abroad. Since the reform and opening up, the Ningjin County Acrobatic Troupe has boldly innovated, fully drawing on the training methods and expressive techniques of sister arts, enriching and developing the performance forms of acrobatic art. The troupe has been invited many times to perform in countries including South Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Russia, and has been warmly welcomed by foreign audiences for its novel artistic style and exquisite performance skills. Ningjin acrobatics has contributed greatly to enriching the cultural lives of audiences at home and abroad, and through frequent exchange performances it has also deepened the friendship between peoples of all countries.
Thrill, danger, wonder and beauty
The four qualities that came to define Ningjin acrobatics and mark its many schools and styles.
Bench-juggling, Banner Dance and the Diabolo Girl
Popular Ningjin items: juggling benches with the feet, balancing a tall banner on shoulder and head, and a comic opera girl spinning a diabolo.
The 1959 acrobatics school
Founded in 1959 to strengthen the art, the Ningjin school has supplied over two thousand acrobats to troupes across the country.
Liu Junchang and the Aerial Handstand
Liu Junchang, who entered the school in 1972, created the rare high-difficulty Aerial Handstand and joined the troupe in 1974.
Touring Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Russia
Since reform and opening the troupe has innovated and toured Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Russia to great acclaim.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Ningjin acrobatics is popular in Ningjin County on the Lubei Plain and the surrounding Leling, Qingyun, and Shanghe areas. Ningjin lies at the border between Hebei and Shandong; in former times the land was barren and the people poor, and many martial arts practitioners made a living through acrobatics. By the Ming dynasty acrobatics had reached its peak, and northern Shandong thereby became a gathering place and activity center for acrobatics nationwide. In 1959 the Ningjin County Acrobatic Art School was established; in 1995 Ningjin County was named by the Ministry of Culture the 'Home of Chinese Folk Art (Acrobatics)', and within the county a transmission system has taken shape with the school and the acrobatic troupe as its backbone.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Even so, with the improvement of material living standards, more and more people are unwilling to let their children endure hardship in acrobatic troupes, and the chain of transmission of Ningjin acrobatics inheritors is in danger of breaking at any time; protection is urgently needed. Liu Junchang (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1962, from Ningjin County, Shandong Province. He practiced acrobatics from childhood under the guidance of his father and elder brothers. In 1972 he was admitted to the Ningjin County Acrobatic Art School. During his study and training, he completed the basic training curriculum of acrobatics to a high standard, and at the same time created 'Inverted Balance in the Air', one of the very few highly difficult acrobatic acts in the country at that time. In 1974 he formally joined the Ningjin County Acrobatic Troupe as a performer; through performance training he completed a large number of acts with high difficulty coefficients and strong appeal to audiences, highlighting the artistic characteristics of Ningjin acrobatics of 'thrill, danger, wonder, and beauty'. He is a representative inheritor of Ningjin acrobatics, a project in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. In acrobatic training, performance, and teaching, he has supplied more than two hundred students to troupes across the country, and his students have repeatedly won prizes in international and domestic acrobatic competitions.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liu Junchang 05-2557
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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