Yangge Dance
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. The earliest historical record of phoenix yangge is found in the sixth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1880). Beginning with the earliest traceable folk artist Li Zhuanhuan, its line of transmission has run for six generations up to the present.
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. Phoenix yangge is a folk dance transmitted in Beijia Village, Yuanping City, Shanxi Province; with its distinctive performance props, dance forms and vocal style, it stands out on its own among China's folk dances. The traditional performance form of phoenix yangge is divided into three parts: crossing the street, treading the circle, and opening the wheel. Crossing the street is performed mainly while moving along the street and when the troupe holds its ground in a square; it is directed by the water cymbals and performed by 11 to 15 people. Treading the circle is the fixed-ground performance after crossing the street; the waist drums and small gongs used in crossing the street are no longer used. Its mode of expression combines narration with impersonation; stepping out of and into the circle, it resembles a performing-song, occasionally accompanied by simple gestures. Opening the wheel sings folk mini-plays that have roles and story plots; there are also fragments taken from opera. These three parts are connected to a certain extent, yet each can also exist independently. Phoenix yangge has more than forty programmes, the great majority of which reflect rural production and life, such as "Gathering at Wufeng Mountain", "Watching the Lanterns" and "Inspecting the Fields". In pure dance performances, the male role wears a small hat covered with a bamboo hoop and carries a specially made small drum on his back, while the female role beats a specially made small gong by hand. The male role must both fling the elastic bamboo hoop from his hat so that it circles his body and beat the flower drum at his waist; his movements are unhurried, blending strength and softness, witty and humorous, and captivating. The female role is characterised by rocking her head and both arms forward and back alternately as she beats the gong, much like a carp swinging its tail, giving the beholder aesthetic enjoyment through exquisite, elegant classical beauty and a delicately transparent artistic temperament. The characteristic of phoenix yangge lies above all in the bamboo-hoop hat trick; under the influence of this prop, its dance steps appear leisurely unhurried and swaying. Compared with the mini-plays and folk songs of other places in Shanxi, the vocal style of phoenix yangge is freer, making extensive use of function words; the whole melody displays a high, impassioned, long and unhurried character.
Guo Jie (street passage)
The first part of Feng Yangge, performed while processing through the streets or opening ground in a square, directed by a water cymbal and danced by eleven to fifteen performers.
Cai Quan (treading the circle)
The settled-ground performance following the street passage, dispensing with the waist drum and small gong and using a narrative-cum-impersonating manner akin to a sung playlet.
Kai Gulu
The third part of Feng Yangge, performing folk playlets with characters and plots as well as excerpts taken from opera; the three parts are both connected and independently performable.
Feng Yangge playlets
Among the most widely circulated of the more than forty surviving Feng Yangge items, most of which reflect rural work and daily life.
Whirling the bamboo-ring cap and shoulder drum
The core technique of the pure dance sections: men whirl the springy bamboo ring of their caps around the body while striking a shoulder drum, women roll head and arms alternately like a carp's tail.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Phoenix yangge is distributed in the area of Beijia Village, Yuanping City, and carries the colouring both of northern Shanxi folk songs and of local mini-plays; its singing delights in abundant function words, and its tunes are high, impassioned, long and unhurried. More free in style than the mini-plays and folk songs of other places in Shanxi, it is the most common song-and-dance form in the seasonal entertainments and sacrificial activities of Yuanping's villagers.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Phoenix yangge is often performed together with folk-custom activities such as "upper court", "treading the street" and "chasing away the plague god", and has almost become part of those activities; its value therefore cannot be underestimated in research on the folk customs and local history and culture of Yuanping and indeed of northern Shanxi. As the social environment and values change, Yuanping phoenix yangge is declining day by day; the old artists able to perform this folk dance have died one after another, the skills are gradually being lost, and urgent rescue and support are needed.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhou Hehua 02-0332
- Yu Zhenjiang 02-0333
- Yang Kesheng 02-0334
- Wu Yingmin 02-0335
- Wang Fa 02-0336
- Juhongjun 02-0337
- Li Zengheng 02-0338
- He Junyi 03-0899
- Yao Daxin 03-0900
- Zhao Fengling 04-1541
- Qin Mengyu 04-1542
- Ding Shisuo 05-2182
- Sheng Yubin 05-2183
- Yu Xin 05-2184
- Wei Jianming 05-2185
- Liu Jianping
- Xiujianguo
- Lizhangxi
- Ba Hengjin
- Zhao Chenghai
- Wang Yuanqing
- Song Jianliang
- Yuan Guilin
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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