Minjian Shehuo Performance
01 · Historical Records
Folk Shehuo is a self-performed, self-amused activity popular among the people during the Spring Festival; it derives from the ancient worship of the earth (she) and fire (huo).
02 · Core Techniques & Process
She refers to the god of the earth, and huo refers to the Fire Ancestor, the legendary god of fire. In China, a land renowned for its agricultural culture, the earth was the foundation on which people stood; it provided the material basis for human survival and development. Fire was the source of cooked food and warmth and an essential condition for human survival and development. People of remote antiquity, guided by primitive thinking, believed that fire too possessed a spirit, and they regarded it as a sacred object with special significance and worshipped it, thus giving rise to the veneration of fire. Out of the ancient worship of the earth and fire arose the custom of sacrificing to She and Huo. As society developed and people's understanding grew, the rituals of sacrificing to Shehuo gradually took on an element of entertainment, becoming a large-scale and richly varied folk recreational activity. According to their form of performance, Shehuo can be divided into two categories: modeling Shehuo and performance Shehuo. Modeling Shehuo, including cloth Shehuo, back-carried Shehuo, horse Shehuo, cart Shehuo, framework (xinzi) Shehuo, mountain Shehuo, and mask Shehuo, parades in procession, mainly displaying character figures and craftsmanship; performance Shehuo, such as ground-stage Shehuo and stilt Shehuo, mainly stages mock combat in the village courtyard. Shehuo takes folk legends and theatrical stories as its subject matter, presenting a story through one or a group of figures; one story constitutes one turn of Shehuo. The performers must paint on Shehuo facial makeup, wear Shehuo costumes, and carry Shehuo batons. A Shehuo procession generally has a scout rider at the front, followed by the Shehuo society banner, the firelock (gun) squad, the flag squad, and the Shehuo troupe, with the gong-and-drum band bringing up the rear. The reform and opening-up brought new vitality to the art of folk Shehuo, which was carried forward and developed into a folk cultural activity much loved by the masses.
The agrarian roots in soil and fire
Worship of the earth god and the fire ancestor produced the rite, into which entertainment was gradually folded.
Framed and back-carried tableaux
Framed backdrops and back-mounted figures form a walking procession judged on its modelling and craft.
Human columns, horses and carts as stagecraft
Human columns, horses, carts and piled rock scenery turn the street into a stage, with masks completing the illusion.
Ground-stage and stilt combat in the yard
Ground stages and stilts stage mock combat in the yard, with painted faces, costumes and staffs in hand.
The marching order of the procession
Scouts lead, then the banner, gun team, flag team and performers follow, with the drums bringing up the rear, one story per turn.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In the Lucheng area, Shehuo troupes are organized by village; each village has its own society head and troupe, and at New Year and festival times they assemble into a single body that performs on the spot. Village societies are clustered in this area, and they often compete with one another in variety: those of the modeling type vie over whose frameworks are the most spectacular, while those of the combat type vie over whose martial moves are the hardest. The modeling type is subdivided by kind: cloth Shehuo uses elevated cloth scenery to set off the figures; back-carried Shehuo carries the costumed figures on the back; horse Shehuo brings the figures out on horseback; cart Shehuo builds scenery on carts; framework (xinzi) Shehuo uses human pillars to create figures raised high in the air; mountain Shehuo piles up mountain scenery; and mask Shehuo centers on the facial makeup. The combat type comprises ground-stage Shehuo and stilt Shehuo, which compete in public in the village courtyard. The formation of the procession is also broadly fixed: the scout rider leads the way, followed in sequence by the society banner, the firelock squad, the flag squad, and the Shehuo troupe, with the gong-and-drum band closing at the very end. Lucheng also has a dedicated folk Saishe (competitive society) culture research association, which draws the scattered village troupes together in one place to plan outings and compare programs.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The foundation of Shehuo is sacrifice: originally it honored two deities, the earth and fire. Later an element of entertainment crept in bit by bit, and the line between ritual and performance slowly blurred. In the Lucheng area, Shehuo began in front of the earth-god temple, but over time it became the least constrained part of the festival: what to paint on the faces, what to perform, and how to move were all up to each village's own skill and daring. This way of turning sacred affairs into human ones has kept Shehuo alive to this day without the crowd ever dispersing: the local folk Saishe culture research association takes the lead in organization, veteran artists bring on new troupes, and after the reform and opening-up the art of Shehuo revived once more, becoming the spectacle the masses most want to see at New Year and festival time. Shehuo is also a bond between villages: when a troupe goes out, it pays New Year calls from village to village and keeps good terms with its neighbors, and the season's social obligations are all fulfilled in this one round of visiting.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Du Tonghai 03-1470
- Zhao Xiwen 03-1471
- Yang Fengshan 05-2992
- Zhao Zhigao 05-2993
- Lvchunjing 05-2994
- Sun Shulin 05-2995
- Li Jianzhong 05-2996
- Pei Baolin
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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