Dragon Dance

Ⅲ-4Traditional DanceJieyang, GuangdongBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The Qiaolin firework fire dragon, popularly called 'burning the dragon', is the most solemn folk art activity in Jieyang. It began in the Ming dynasty and has been transmitted unbroken in Panxi Dagu, that is today's Qiaodong Village, Qiaoxi Village and Qiaonan Village of Pandong Town in Dongshan District, Jieyang City, and has a history of more than 600 years.

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. Qiaolin Township lies in the west of the urban area of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, on the sunny side of Qishan Hill by the banks of the Rongjiang River. Among the people of Chaoshan the firework fire dragon performance is used to pray for peace and prosperity, good fortune and the fulfilment of wishes. Through the development and refinement of successive generations of artisans and the participation of the people, the Qiaolin firework fire dragon integrates dance, costume, Chaozhou music and martial arts; its performance style is fierce and mighty, its speech and movements free and brisk, showing distinctive features of Chaoshan folk art. A single dragon requires a team of more than thirty young men, and there are many figures and set routines in its dancing. In the performance the pearl leader guides the dragon's head forward at the front, while sparks fly from the dragon's body, head and tail; it is magnificent, winding and twisting, rising and falling, at times coiling the dragon, at times riding the clouds.

Parading, dancing and burning the dragon

The three successive stages of the Qiaolin firework dragon, popularly called burning the dragon; it arose in the Ming and has continued for over six centuries in Jieyang.

The pearl bearer leading the dragon head

The key controlling figure leads the head while sparks fly from head, body and tail, the dragon now coiling, now riding the clouds.

Building and arming the dragon

The Qiaolin dragon unites dance, costume, Chaozhou music and martial arts; a team of over thirty young men performs it, and the bamboo frame must be armed with fireworks.

The three Qiao villages

The form is kept alive in the three Qiao villages on the Rong river; in Chaoshan the firework dragon is danced to pray for peace, prosperity and good fortune.

Lin Yongsheng's dragon-making craft

The inheritor Lin Jiannan learned dragon making from his uncle Lin Yongsheng at seventeen, joined the making of the firework dragon in 1965-66 and has since trained over fifty dragon dancers.

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 Qiaolin firework fire dragon reflects the courageous and indomitable character of the local people, and it has reached a high artistic standard, with research value in the fields of choreology, folklore and Chaoshan music. In recent years the survival of the Qiaolin firework fire dragon has come into crisis, and the competent departments urgently need to further step up rescue and protection measures. Lin Jiannan (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1947, native of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province. At the age of 17 he began taking part in making coloured dragons under the guidance of his paternal granduncle Lin Yongsheng, a master dragon maker. From 1965 to 1966 he took part in making firework fire dragons and became a member of the local dragon dance team. After Qiaolin Township restored the folk customs of the swimming dragon, the dragon dance and the dragon burning in 1980, he actively devoted himself to the making and training of firework fire dragons. He has taken part in the village's swimming dragon, dragon dance and dragon burning activities over the years, and is skilled at leading with the dragon ball. From 2008 he began organising people to collect historical materials on the Qiaolin firework fire dragon and to carry out its protection. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Dragon Dance (Qiaolin firework fire dragon). Over the years he has trained more than fifty skilled dragon dancers.

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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