Yangge Dance

Ⅲ-2Traditional DanceJiyang, ShandongBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

It originated in the labour life of transplanting rice seedlings and tilling the fields, and at the same time is related to the eulogistic songs and exorcistic songs sung in ancient times when the god of agriculture was sacrificed to in prayer for a good harvest, for blessings, and for the warding off of calamity. Yangge has abundant movements and diverse forms; it is vivid and lively, uninhibited and ardent, and is what ordinary people love to see and hear. Since the Qing dynasty it has circulated widely throughout the country, becoming a form of folk dance that has taken deep root in people's hearts. Jiyang drum yangge has a long history. It is said to have risen during the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty, and it was already widespread by the Qing dynasty; it is an outstanding heritage of Yellow River culture.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Yangge, also called "twisting yangge", is a representative form of folk dance among China's Han nationality. In its long course of development, yangge continually absorbed the forms and techniques of folk arts such as folk songs, folk martial arts, acrobatics and opera, and gradually developed from simple singing into a collective song-and-dance performance. Jiyang County lies at the southern part of the northern Shandong plain, with Shanghe as its northern boundary and Linyi adjoining it on the northwest; the Tuja River and the Yellow River run across it from east to west. Jiyang drum yangge, marked by the distinctive character of northern Shandong, was born and has been transmitted here. Jiyang drum yangge has two forms of performance: "street column" and "field running". In street-column performance, the yangge troupe moves through the streets and lanes and performs while on the move, with the drum troupe in front and the yangge troupe behind. Street-column performance includes both collective dance and duet dancing woven into it; all the variations revolve around the umbrella. "Field running" is the performance carried out after the yangge troupe reaches the performance ground. According to the position of the gong-and-drum band and facing the big drum, the yangge troupe forms groups of one umbrella, four drums, two bang and two hua, arranging itself in a single file in turn to perform. The bang are performers with clappers and the hua are the flower dancers. After entering from both sides and reaching the ground, they separate to left and right, move along the edge of the ground, and the two columns meet at the centre of the front area of the ground to form one large circle. Then, at the signal given by the lead umbrella-holder shaking the clapper baton, they begin running the field according to the prearranged field patterns. The yangge troupe has no fewer than several dozen field patterns; the field routines are divided into "civil field", "martial field" and "civil-martial field". The "martial field" has a lively, buoyant rhythm, is hot and festive, and its dance movements are majestic; entrances and exits are both performed through dance movements. In the "civil field", the pattern changes are bright and flowing, and the dancers each maintain their upper-body posture while moving quickly along the routes of the field pattern being run. This is what the yangge performers commonly call "in the martial field you watch the striking, in the civil field you watch the movement". The "civil-martial field" combines half-civil and half-martial pattern and movement changes; in performance it is often used alternately, with the "martial field" used mainly for entrances and the "civil field" used mainly for exits. The gongs and drums of Jiyang drum yangge are resonant and powerful, the dance movements bold and unrestrained, its grandeur magnificent, its emotions simple and ardent; it has vigorous vitality and a distinctly local style. The principal roles of this yangge include the umbrella, the drum, the bang and the hua, and among them the umbrella is further divided into the clumsy umbrella and the small pretty umbrella. The steady clumsy umbrella, the handsome small umbrella, the bright hand drums and the graceful flower dancers form a special performing troupe, whose free and uninhibited dance reflects the open, optimistic, generous and warm-hearted character of the people of northern Shandong. Jiyang drum yangge is the crystallization of the wisdom of the people of Jiyang, and also a vivid embodiment of their simple and kind, warm and hospitable character.

Jie Tongzi (street-corridor performance)

One of the two performance modes of Jiyang Gushzi Yangge, a processional form in which the drum corps leads and all changes pivot on the umbrella carrier.

Pao Changzi (field running)

The performance after the troupe arrives at the ground, run in groups of one umbrella, four drums, two staffs and two flowers at the signal of the lead umbrella carrier.

Civil, martial and mixed fields

The three categories of field patterns: the vigorous martial field, the flowing civil field and the mixed form that alternates between them.

Umbrella, drum, staff and flower

The main roles of Jiyang Gushzi Yangge, the umbrella dividing into comic and handsome types, forming a troupe that mirrors the open-hearted character of the northern Shandong plain.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The yangge troupe is divided into three columns and five columns; the umbrellas form a single-file column in the middle, while on both sides are columns of two or four, alternating drum, bang and hua performers.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

As a classic of folk square dance, Jiyang drum yangge has reached very high artistic achievement, and in research in art studies and folklore studies it shows definite value. At present, with the development of the times and the change of the social and humanistic environment, the ecological environment of Jiyang drum yangge is deteriorating day by day, its survival is in crisis, and urgent rescue is needed. Yao Daxin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in July 1967, native of Jiyang County, Shandong Province. Born into a family of drum yangge performers, he absorbed it through constant exposure and learned the various yangge movements from childhood. The umbrella lead role he performs is made up as an old man, wearing a long gown, with a beard flowing over the chest, one hand holding the umbrella and the other a handkerchief; his expression is kindly and serene, his steps calm and steady, his movements elegant and practised, and he is quite worth watching. He has been invited many times to take part in various folk art performances at home and abroad, carrying out cultural exchange. Representative inheritor of the third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project Yangge (Jiyang drum yangge). In 2005 he led his troupe into the seventh China Folk Literature and Art Shanhua Awards evaluation hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Folk Literature and Art Association, and won the Folk Art Performance Award. He has always devoted himself to training newcomers in drum yangge and has carefully taught the drum yangge skills to his students.

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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