Dragon Dance

Ⅲ-4Traditional DanceDatian, FujianBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Datian County lies in central Fujian Province and is abbreviated as 'Rock City'; the bench-lamp dragon was introduced there in the late Tang dynasty, has long remained in vogue, and has been handed down continuously to the present.

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. Every year at the Lantern Festival the people of Datiian dance the bench-lamp dragon in the villages or in the lanes and alleys, popularly called 'welcoming the dragon'. The dragon head is nearly three metres high; the dragon body has from a few hundred sections to more than a thousand, and the longest run to over three thousand metres. Each lamp board is about two metres long, with two or three lamp holders nailed on it, over which transparent dragon paper is pasted; the paper is painted with scale patterns, flowers and grasses, or inscribed with prayers and praises. Each lamp holder takes a thick, long dragon candle. The lamp board of the tail is slightly longer and is fitted with a decorated tail fin. Each lamp board has a round hole the size of a hoe handle at its front and rear ends, and a hard-wood dragon shaft about a foot long passes through the holes, linking all the sections into one long dragon. In the activity, performers hold the hard-wood dragon shaft, raising it high or holding it low or to the side, and advance winding and twisting. The Datiian bench-lamp dragon is a concrete expression of the dragon totem worship of the descendants of Yan and Huang; its making integrates painting, paper cutting, calligraphy, carving and binding and pasting techniques, while its performance fuses physical exercise, acrobatics and dance into one, endlessly rich in flavour, and has research value in folk art, history and culture.

Welcoming the dragon at Lantern Festival

Every Lantern Festival the people of Datian dance the plank-lantern dragon through villages and lanes, an occasion known as welcoming the dragon.

Plank and axle construction

Each two-metre plank carries two or three lantern sockets with a thick candle each, joined into a long dragon by a hard-wood axle threaded through holes at either end.

Pearl, head, body and tail

The four parts of the Datian plank-lantern dragon, bound from bamboo, wood, planks and translucent paper, with a head nearly three metres tall and a longer tail plank bearing a painted fin.

The axle-holding technique

Performers hold the hard-wood axles high, low or to the side and wind forward, hundreds or thousands of planks rising and falling in succession.

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. The Datiian bench-lamp dragon is made of bamboo and wood, lamp boards and dragon paper, bound section by section and linked together, and is divided into such parts as the dragon pearl, dragon head, dragon body and dragon tail.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present the Datiian bench-lamp dragon has fallen into an endangered state and urgently needs excavation, sorting out, protection and support. The Datiian bench-lamp dragon is the core programme of the 'welcoming the dragon' Lantern Festival observance in the mountain country of central Fujian. Its lamp boards are strung together on hard-wood dragon shafts, from a few hundred sections to over a thousand, the longest dragon procession exceeding three thousand metres, and it takes the young men of the whole village taking turns to hold it aloft and relay it. The scale patterns, flowers and grasses and prayers on the dragon paper are mostly hand-painted by village elders, and the dragon candles in the lamp holders must not go out all night, which is both a prayer for bumper harvests and an annual review of clan solidarity and village order.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Dragon Dance (Datian, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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