Dragon Dance

Ⅲ-4Traditional DanceLinyi, ShandongBatch 3 (2011)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The dragon lantern pole-palanquin has been passed down in the village of Sanguanmiao, Jiuqu Subdistrict, Hedong District, Linyi City, and has a history of more than one hundred and seventy years. It came into being through the merging of two folk skills, dragon dance and the pole-palanquin, and in its early days it was used mainly for sacrifices to gods and for praying for rain, forming part of the ritual for praying for a good year. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation it took part in celebrations welcoming the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the People's Liberation Army; after the founding of the People's Republic of China it became a form of cultural entertainment at festive occasions such as the Spring Festival. Its function changed but its structure did not.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The dragon lantern pole-palanquin has been passed down in the village of Sanguanmiao, Jiuqu Subdistrict, Hedong District, Linyi City for more than one hundred and seventy years; it is a square dance in which a dragon dance and pole-palanquins are combined in a single performance. The dragon lantern pole-palanquin is generally performed during the Spring Festival. In the past this traditional dance was usually used for sacrifices to gods and for praying for rain. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, it took part in the celebrations welcoming the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the People's Liberation Army in victory. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it became a form of cultural entertainment at festive occasions. The “colour dragon” of the dragon lantern pole-palanquin is 25 metres long in total; the dragon dancers are young and middle-aged men, who take the stage in two groups of ten in turn: one holds the pearl and the other nine divide the dragon head, body and tail among them. Four sets of pole-palanquins are performed by eight people, and eight sets by sixteen people; of these, eight adults serve as the “lower carriers,” each fastening to the body a base known locally as an “iron back plate,” and each carrying on his shoulders a boy or girl dressed as a figure from a mythological story (called the “upper carrier”). In performance, the colour dragon moves through its set routines under the guidance of the pearl holder; the pole-palanquins work mainly by “crossing the ground” — when the dragon dance is vigorous they cross over and change formation at one side, and when the dragon dance is gentle they cut into the dragon team in the centre and travel through it in revolving figures. Accompaniment is mainly by percussion instruments such as large drums, large gongs and large cymbals; there are two tune patterns, [Liushui] and [Jijifeng]; as the performance reaches its climax, a person stationed offstage gives the “whistling cue” to heighten the atmosphere. The performance of the dragon lantern pole-palanquin is bold and uninhibited and grand in scale, and has always been loved by the local people.

A twenty-five metre dragon in two shifts

The twenty-five metre dragon is carried by two shifts of ten young men, one holding the pearl and nine the head, body and tail, allowing sustained intense dancing.

Upper and lower carriers

Eight adults wearing iron-vest bases each carry a boy or girl dressed as a mythological figure, the children known as the upper carriers.

Flowing Water and Hurrying Wind

The two drum-and-gong tunes of the Longdeng Kangge, their rhythms directly governing the alternation of calm and violent passages.

Whistling from the sidelines

At the climax a man whistles from the sidelines to heighten the atmosphere, giving the dance an off-stage acoustic complement.

From rain rites to victory welcomes

Two turns in the form's function: from rites for gods and rain to welcomes for the Eighth Route, New Fourth and Liberation armies, then to festive entertainment after 1949.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The village of Sanguanmiao lies on the alluvial plain of the Yi River. In the village the pole-palanquins and the dragon lantern belong to two separate troupes, each with its own fixed officials and trainers, and are dispatched under unified coordination when they appear in public. The colour dragon is twenty-five metres long in total; the dragon dancers are young and middle-aged men who take the stage in two groups of ten in turn, one holding the pearl and the other nine dividing the dragon head, body and tail among them. The pole-palanquins, for their part, have eight “lower carriers” fastening to the body a base known locally as an “iron back plate,” each carrying on his shoulders a boy or girl dressed as a figure from a mythological story, called the “upper carrier.”

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The performance of the dragon lantern pole-palanquin is bold and uninhibited and grand in scale, with the dragon dance and the pole-palanquins interleaving on the same ground: when the dragon dance is vigorous the pole-palanquins cross over and change formation at one side, and when the dragon dance is gentle they cut into the dragon team in the centre and travel through it in revolving figures. Accompaniment is mainly by percussion instruments such as large drums, large gongs and large cymbals; there are two tune patterns, [Liushui] and [Jijifeng]; as the performance reaches its climax, a person stationed offstage gives the “whistling cue” to heighten the atmosphere. As young and middle-aged villagers leave the village to work elsewhere, the supply of people able to take over at both ends of the pole-palanquin grows ever tighter, and the transmission of this composite folk dance faces a test.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Dragon Dance (Linyi, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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