Dragon Dance

Ⅲ-4Traditional DanceJixi, AnhuiBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The hand dragon dance is a traditional children's dance passed down among the people of Jixi County, Anhui Province, originating in the early Southern Song period. From 1912 to 1949 it flourished in the Lingbei area of the county; after the founding of the People's Republic of China it spread to the Lingnan areas of Fuling Town, Huayang Town, Yingzhou Town and so on. According to the county gazetteer, from the early Ming dynasty onwards the people made hand dragons every Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival and organized children to tour and dance with them. From the Ming to the Qing dynasty, the performance activities of the hand dragon dance gradually flourished.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The hand dragon dance is performed by thirty boys and girls under the age of thirteen. Of these, twenty boys hold the hand dragon and ten girls carry the dragon pearl. The props are small dragon lanterns made of bamboo splints. When performing, the boy performers shave a “tile-cut” hairstyle, go bare-chested with a red bib tied on, and wear riding trousers below. The girl performers tie their hair into sheep-horn braids and wear colourful short jackets and trousers. The hand dragon's head is thirty centimetres across and its body 1.5 metres long, with golden scales. A bamboo handle one chi long is fitted to the dragon head for the performer to grip and support, and the dragon tail is fastened to the performer's waist with an iron buckle. In performance the performers sometimes hold the dragon head in their hands with the tail buckled at the waist, and sometimes unfasten the tail and hold both head and aloft in both hands; hence the name “hand dragon.” The hand dragon dance can be performed in processions, on open ground or on stage, and is deeply loved by the people. A whole set of dance movements — “dragon gathering,” “dragon chanting,” “turning the dragon,” “soaring dragon,” “coiling dragon,” “flying dragon,” “playing with the pearl,” “contesting the pearl” and so on — is performed in succession; the form is lively and animated, the scenes grand, full of spirit and vitality, and it is rich with the flavour of Huizhou culture. Besides, the local area has also produced a batch of props and costumes and taken part in various practical performance activities. The hand dragon dance is one of the most beautiful flowers among the folk children's dances of Jixi. Its artistic form is novel and distinctive, its artistry and interest are highly fused, its performance space is wide, and its scenes are joyous and magnificent, making it a welcome form for the masses.

The eight movement groups

The complete movement sequence of the hand dragon dance, lively and grand, charged with vitality and the flavour of Hui culture.

Tile-cut hair and red bibs

The boys shave tile-shaped hair, go bare-chested in red bibs and breeches, while the girls wear horn braids and colourful short jackets and trousers.

The bamboo handle and waist clasp

The head is thirty centimetres across on a 1.5-metre body with a foot-long bamboo handle, the tail clipped to the waist, so dancers may perform with one hand or two.

Thirty children under thirteen

Thirty children under thirteen perform it, twenty boys carrying the dragons and ten girls the pearls; the small bamboo lanterns suit parade, square or stage.

Lantern Festival and mid-autumn

The county gazetteer records that from the early Ming villagers made hand dragons at Lantern Festival and mid-autumn for children to parade, flourishing through the Ming and Qing.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The local primary school has set up a hand dragon dance team, and inheritors have actively taken part in rehearsals and teaching work.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Since modern times the line of transmission has been clearly traceable. The performance activities of the hand dragon dance can both enrich the cultural life of the masses and cultivate and raise the artistic interest and cooperative ability of children, and they have certain historical, artistic and social cultural value. Cao Wugen (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han nationality, born in November 1940, native of Jixi County, Anhui Province. From 1951 he began studying and taking part in Hui opera performances and in the performances of various local folk activities, and later followed the elders of his village in learning the hand dragon dance performance and the making of props. While farming in the village, in his spare time after production he often organized performance teams to take part in performance activities. Through repeated practice he has thoroughly mastered the performance procedure and dance characteristics of the hand dragon dance, and is especially skilled at making hand dragons by traditional methods. He has made paper hand dragons, straw hand dragons and bamboo hand dragons for neighbouring villages, the local schools and various dragon dance activities. Over the years he has devoted himself to the transmission, teaching, publicity and promotion of the hand dragon dance, organizing the training of school performance teams for the hand dragon dance, and taking part in festival folk performances at provincial, city and county levels, winning awards. He was responsible for adapting the hand dragon dance, which is performed in village processions or on open ground, into a group dance for the stage. Representative inheritor of the dragon dance (hand dragon dance) inscribed in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage.

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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