Dragon Dance

Ⅲ-4Traditional DanceYi, HebeiBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Zhongyi Village of Xiling Town, Yi County, Hebei Province, lies in the Qing Western Tombs. It was first established in the first year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty (1723), as the office of the Imperial Household Department that built the tomb of Consort Tai; after the 1911 Revolution it was renamed 'Zhongyi Village', and the character-forming dragon lantern has been transmitted here for a long time. Its candle prongs are ingeniously arranged, so that while the dragon dances the candle flames always point upward and never go out.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Classified by the form the dragon takes, dragon dance includes cloth dragon, gauze dragon, paper dragon, straw dragon, coin dragon, bamboo dragon, palm-fibre dragon, bench dragon, hundred-leaf dragon, lotus-flower dragon, fire dragon, chicken-feather dragon, flesh dragon and many other types; because the forms differ, their dance postures and dancing techniques also differ in their own ways. The traditional performance procedure of Chinese dragon dance generally consists of such segments as 'inviting the dragon', 'sending the dragon out', 'performing the dragon dance' and 'seeing the dragon off'. Dragon dance embodies cultural meanings of pioneering effort and of the unity of humanity and nature, and is an important part of the spirit and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. The Yi County character-forming dragon lantern is named for the lamp set inside the dragon's body, which allows the body to be arranged into various Chinese character forms; because its body is divided into segments, it also has the alternative names 'segmented dragon' and 'sectioned dragon'. According to legend it was originally brought from the Chengde Mountain Resort when the office for the tomb of Consort Tai was set up during the Qianlong reign, and it has a history of more than 280 years to the present day. The character-forming dragon lantern consists of 13 sections of dragon body, plus one embroidered silk ball to lead the dragon. Each section of the body is also called a 'dragon segment', and is covered by a dragon garment painted with dragon scales and claws. Each section of the body is 1.2 metres long and about 0.5 metres in diameter; a fixed handle is placed at the centre of the section, and three crescent-shaped candle prongs are set inside the body. The character-forming dragon lantern is performed by 14 people: the dragon leader, called the 'spider', leads from the front, while the other 13 hold the dragon head, body and tail in turn to form the characters. Performances are usually held at night. The light all around the site is first dimmed completely, and then, to the accompaniment of gongs, drums, cymbals and clash cymbals, a fire dragon dances in graceful and vigorous movement, while the dancers keep changing formations to spell out Chinese characters, composing auspicious phrases and blessings such as 'peace throughout the world', 'settled and happy living', 'it is beneficial to meet the great man' and 'open and aboveboard'. The dragon lantern has a rich variety of changing formations, among them the dragon swishing its tail, the dragon lying on the ground, the heavenly dragon lying like a fish, the dragon tower stack and running the eight characters. Throughout the performance the dragon tail can move on its own, and the final stroke of every character is completed by the tail; each time a character has been formed the tail circles the whole performance ground once before moving to where it should be, which gives the dance an easy, humorous, nimble and lively character.

Thirteen body sections and a guiding ball

The Yi county character-laying dragon lantern has thirteen body sections plus a guiding embroidered ball, each section 1.2 metres long with a fixed handle and three candle sockets inside.

The triple-ring candle socket

The lantern's ingenious candle socket keeps the flame always upright and alight however the body is moved, so the dragon stays bright through the night performance.

Auspicious characters

Characters formed by the dancers' shifting formations to spell blessings such as World at Peace, Living in Contentment and Upright and Bright.

Main formations

The rich formation changes of the character-laying dragon lantern, danced by fourteen performers with a spider figure leading and thirteen carrying head, body and tail.

The tail writes the final stroke

Its most light-hearted device: the tail acts alone, completing the final stroke of every character and circling the ground before returning to position.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Dragon dance, also called 'dragon performance', is known among the people as 'playing the dragon', 'playing the dragon lantern' or 'dragon lantern dance'; it is the most widely distributed and most far-reaching folk dance in China. This dance takes varied forms in its performance, and dragon dances among different ethnic groups and different regions differ markedly in style.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Yi County character-forming dragon lantern helps to carry forward Manchu cultural traditions and to protect and develop folk art. At present the inheritors of the Yi County character-forming dragon lantern are already advanced in age, and the local people's awareness of cultural protection is weak, so this ancient folk dragon dance is difficult to transmit and is on the verge of being lost; it urgently needs rescue and protection.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Dragon Dance (Yi, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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