Taige

Ⅹ-87Folk CustomsLinquan, AnhuiBatch 2 (2008)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

Taige (raised pavilions) originated in god-welcoming festival processions in the Central Plains, later spreading gradually to the southeast coast and the northwest, where it flourished for a time in the Qing dynasty; in the course of transmission it combined with local conditions and formed distinct characteristics. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, zhouge and taige spread from Shanxi and Henan into Shou County, Linquan and other places in Anhui, reaching their peak in the late Qing and early Republican period.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Taige, also known as taijiao (carried roles), taige (raised songs), gaotai (raised platforms), naoge, naoge (head pavilions) and gaozhuang (high costumes), is a folk parade performance form in traditional festival activities. In a taige performance, several children dress as characters from traditional opera and, following the plot, form striking tableaux fixed to the iron pillars and supports of a square pavilion, which bearers then carry forward. Traditional taige tableaux mostly draw on plays such as The Butterfly Lovers, Tianxian Pei (The Fairy Couple), Legend of the White Snake, Journey to the West, Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier, The Blue Bridge Rendezvous, The Yellow Crane Tower and The Fisherman's Revenge. The tableaux stand about 3 to 5 meters high; the pavilions range from three to five tiers, generally with one person on each tier, though some have four people on the bottom tier, five or six in the middle tiers and one on the top tier. In a taige parade, generally four pavilions are used, and at most six or even eight; each pavilion is carried forward by four or eight bearers. Taige fuses painting, opera, colored paper framing and paper sculpture into a single art form; its tableaux are elegant and its scenes spectacular, much loved by the broad masses, and it has flourished among the people for a long time without decline. Taige is a comprehensive form of folk literary and artistic activity; because the performance is carried by people, it is called “taige” (raised pavilion). It integrates modeling, colored paper framing, acrobatics and opera into one, full of poetic charm and picturesque feeling. Zhouge is a special form of taige, popular in Shou County and Linquan County in Anhui Province; it is named for the way performers use elbow strength and skill in the taige performance. On the xinzi (iron stands) of both zhouge and taige, different numbers of child performers give performances; the construction is ingenious and well concealed, the makeup and costumes are strongly narrative, and the performances are accompanied by gongs and drums and by sheng, xiao, di and guan wind instruments. However, the bases supporting the child performers differ: zhouge is balanced by one person overhead, the “small taige” is carried by two people, and the “large taige” is carried by many people, displaying the qualities of height, difficulty, thrill and beauty. Zhouge mostly performs traditional folk stories such as “The Lake Goddess Shakes the Four Continents”, “The Immortals Gather at Yangshi”, “Lying on Ice to Seek Carp”, “Abandoning Office to Seek His Mother” and “Gripping the Tiger to Save His Father”. Zhouge and taige lay equal stress on technique and difficulty; retained repertoire works include Liu Quan Presents the Melon, Sun Wukong Steals the Peach and The Fairy Scatters Flowers. At New Year festivals, traditional sacrifices and large communal celebrations in the places where they are popular, zhouge and taige are the most beloved performance forms.

The Black Dragon's tail and the scissor step

The footwork is the local pride: steps such as the swaying tail and the scissor stride, which he developed into comic effect.

Colour work and frame building

Both elbow and shoulder frames hold costumed children in cunningly concealed construction whose dress tells the story.

Gongs, drums and winds on site

Gongs, drums, sheng, xiao, flute and guan accompany the performance as the frame goes out.

On the frame at four

He began performing with his uncle at four, playing figures from Journey to the West and Water Margin.

Turnouts at major festivals

Since 2009 he has organised the troupe for major festivals and trained numerous performers.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Linquan troupe's colored-paper work, frame binding, and the “black dragon wagging its tail” and “scissor braid” footwork patterns have been carried on by the inheritor Liu Wenchang, who went on stage at the age of four, and he has trained numerous performers.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

With the acceleration of modernization, taige activities have gradually declined; in the countryside the craft of making taige faces a shortage of successors, and related rescue and preservation work is extremely urgent. Zhouge and taige carry the accumulated heritage of the ancient Huai River culture; they reflect the life customs, aesthetic interests, values and sense of beauty of the residents along the Huai River basin, and have research value in folklore studies, sociology and related fields. Liu Wenchang (associated inheritor, per official archives): Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1951, from Linquan County, Anhui Province. At the age of four he began following his uncle in zhouge and taige performances, playing characters from works such as Journey to the West and Water Margin on the raised pavilions. After graduating from junior middle school, he returned to his village to farm, and joined in whenever a taige troupe performed. He later studied colored-paper work, frame binding and related skills under veteran performers. He has fully mastered the footwork of zhouge and taige, such as the “black dragon wagging its tail” and “scissor braid” patterns, and has developed them further, making the performance effect humorous and delightful. Since 2009, he has organized zhouge and taige performance troupes to take part in various important festival activities and folk performances. Over the years he has participated in transmission activities, training and guiding numerous zhouge and taige folk performers. Representative inheritor of Taige (Xinzi, Tiezhi, Piaose) — Zhouge Taige — a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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