Yangge Dance

Ⅲ-2Traditional DanceSuide, ShaanxiBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

Yangge has a long history. Among the folk dance troupes described by Zhou Mi of the Southern Song in his Wulin Jiushi (Old Events of the Wulin) there is already a record of cuntian le ("village field music"); the Xinnian Zayong Chao (Selected New Year Verses) by Wu Xilin of the Qing dynasty states explicitly the lineage between the yangge that survives today and the Song-dynasty cuntian le. Suide can be called the centre of northern Shaanxi yangge. The villages there still retain traditional yangge performance procedures, ritual customs and stylistic features; among them are both the ancient villagers' exorcism dances "shenhui yangge" and "ershiba su lao yangge" (old yangge of the twenty-eight mansions), and the new yangge that only arose after 1942. Northern Shaanxi yangge became the star of the 1942 new yangge movement in Yan'an, was endowed with a new spiritual character and contemporary content, and spread throughout the country as the revolutionary situation developed.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Yangge is a collective term for a highly popular and representative genre of Chinese folk dance (chiefly in the north); different regions have their own names, styles and forms. In folk usage the term divides into two: the version performed on stilts is called "gaqiao yangge" (stilt yangge), and the version performed without stilts is called "di yangge" (ground yangge). The term "yangge" as used in modern times usually refers to "di yangge". In most places today yangge takes the form of a yangge troupe; a troupe numbers at least a dozen or so people and at times as many as a hundred. There are group dances as well as two-person and three-person dances and many other performance formats; according to the needs of the role the performers hold the appropriate props — handkerchief, umbrella, sticks, drum, coin-whip and the like — and dance freely to the accompaniment of gongs, drums, suona and other wind and percussion instruments. The dancing methods, movements and styles of yangge differ from place to place: some are imposing and heroic, others gentle and charming — a dazzling variety that never fails to delight. Yangge is one of the most representative folk dance genres in northern China. It is at once performative and self-amusing, entertaining the performers as much as the audience, and is deeply loved by ordinary people. Every region has produced some representative folk yangge artists, and many folk artists have played an important part in building the dance undertaking of the People's Republic of China. Northern Shaanxi yangge is a traditional dance with broad popular and representative character circulating on the Loess Plateau of northern Shaanxi. It is also called "nao honghuo", "nao yangge", "nao shehuo", "nao yangge" and so on. Of these, Suide yangge is the most representative. A yangge performance commonly involves several dozen performers and sometimes nearly a hundred; led by the "santou" (umbrella head), they stamp to the resounding gongs and drums and match their steps to the piercing suona, twisting, swaying, walking, jumping and turning in abandon. Northern Shaanxi plateau yangge performance is extremely lively when immersed in a joyful and celebratory atmosphere. In the traditional old yangge and shenhui yangge are preserved the sacrificial customs of "qi chang" (raising the field), "ye miao" (paying respects at the shrine) and "jing shen" (worshipping the deity); the performance also includes activities such as "baimen" (also called "yan menzi", greeting along the doors), "da caimen" (erecting the coloured gate), "cai dachang" (treading the great field) and "zhuan jiuqu" (turning the nine bends). A yangge troupe ranges from several dozen to a hundred people. The performance includes movements such as "yuan diu" (twisting on the spot), "zou shizi bu" (walking a cross-step), "san bu yi tiao" (one leap in three steps), "xie shen bu" (slanting-body step) and "dou jian bu" (shoulder-shaking step). Northern Shaanxi yangge is divided into the "dachang" (large field) and the "xiaochang" (small field); the large field has richly changing formations, with several hundred arrangements such as "long baiwei" (dragon swishing its tail), "juan baicai" (rolling cabbage), "shizi meihua" (cross-shaped plum blossom), "erlong tushui" (two dragons spouting water) and "shier liandeng" (twelve lotus lanterns); the small field includes "shuichuan" (water boat), "pao lu" (donkey run), "gaoqiao" (stilts) and "bawang bian" (overlord's whip).

Opening the ground, visiting the temple, honouring the gods

The sacrificial protocol preserved in the old and temple-fair Yangge, alongside door-to-door greetings, decorated arches, ground-stamping and the nine-bend maze.

Large-field formations

The formations of the large-field section of northern Shaanxi Yangge, numbering several hundred patterns including Dragon Sweeping Tail and Cabbage Roll.

Small-field items

The small-field items of northern Shaanxi Yangge, which together with local lion dances and kicking-field dances form the great Yangge troupe.

Ti Changzi (the Kicking Field)

A duet depicting courtship, demanding difficult feats such as the soft waist, double kick, three feet never landing, dragon claw piercing the clouds and golden hook hanging upside down.

Basic steps of northern Shaanxi Yangge

The basic footwork of northern Shaanxi Yangge, led by the umbrella head at the front of a troupe of dozens or even a hundred dancers.

Temple-fair Yangge and the Twenty-Eight Mansions Yangge

Survivals of ancient exorcist village Yangge still preserved around Suide, coexisting with the New Yangge that arose in the 1942 Yan'an movement.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

It is distributed mainly in Yulin, Yan'an, Suide, Mizhi and other places in Shaanxi; it has a long history, rich content and diverse forms. Yangge absorbs artistic elements from such local forms as the water boat, the donkey run, stilts, the lion dance and "ti changzi", and so forms mighty columns of yangge dancers. It can also be divided by movement style and content into "wenchangzi" (civil field), "wuchangzi" (martial field), "ti changzi" (kicking field) and "chouchangzi" (clown field), and so on; of these, "ti changzi" is a duet depicting the love life of men and women, with fairly difficult dance movements that require the display of such demanding techniques as "ruan yao" (soft waist), "er qijiao" (second rise of the foot), "sanjiao bu luodi" (three steps without touching the ground), "longzhao chuanyun" (dragon claws through the clouds), "jinji duli" (golden rooster standing on one leg) and "jingou daogua" (golden hook hung upside down).

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Today, with the rapid development of the rural economy and the consequent change in the cultural environment, folk artists who still master traditional yangge skills and authentic dance style have become as rare as morning stars; protection and transmission are urgent. Northern Shaanxi yangge expresses the simple, honest and optimistic character of the people of northern Shaanxi, and has outstanding historical and cultural value. Li Zengheng (official file record of the associated inheritor): Li Zengheng began learning to dance yangge at the age of 12, and his first teacher was Yan Wenbin. He is good at performing the "baotou" (the head role) in the two-person field of northern Shaanxi yangge, a man playing a woman, with a handsome appearance and graceful, supple dance posture; above all, his "die ruanyao" movement (the sinking soft waist) can be called unmatched. His "yuanchang bu" (circle-stage step) is light and airy, and the people praise it as "floating on water", vividly depicting the innocent and lovely image of a young girl. The local people have a saying: "Once you have watched liuliu dan, you will not eat for three days; once you have watched liuliu zou, it is as if you had drunk strong liquor." The students he teaches are found throughout the province and beyond; one can truly say his pupils fill the world. Male, Han nationality, born in 1928, died in 2008, native of Suide, Shaanxi. Representative inheritor of Yangge (northern Shaanxi yangge), the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects; national third-grade actor. He Junyi (official file record of the associated inheritor): a representative figure of the middle-road yangge (the "wuchangzi") of northern Shaanxi yangge. From the age of 9 he went from village to village performing with the neighbouring village yangge troupe every year during the Spring Festival, and at the age of 13 began independently performing the "baotou" role in the two-person field of northern Shaanxi yangge. He mainly inherited the performance style and repertoire of the famous local "baotou" artist Liu Peixiong. He mainly performs the two-person and three-person fields in which men play women, and is also skilled at serving as the "santou" singing yangge. On the basis of the inherited traditional performance techniques, discarding the coarse and keeping the finest and innovating continually, he raised the formal beauty of such movements as "pumian zhao jing" (face veil and mirror), "yao shan yi bu" (shaking the fan and shifting the step), "dou shan shan yao" (shaking the fan and flashing the waist) and "da shan han xiu" (holding the fan in bashful shyness). Male, Han nationality, born in January 1939, died in September 2012, native of Suide County, Shaanxi Province. Representative inheritor of northern Shaanxi yangge, the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects.

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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