Dunpai Dance
01 · Historical Records
The rattan shield thus became a principal weapon of the armies of both the Ming and Qing dynasties, and a complete set of close-combat techniques pairing the saber with the rattan shield came into being. In the early years of the Republic, Rui'an's rattan shield dance was famous throughout the five counties of Wenzhou. In 1957 the rattan shield dance went to Beijing to take part in the Second National Folk Music and Dance Performance and won an Excellent Award.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The rattan shield dance is a traditional dance transmitted in Rui'an City that simulates ancient military drill, taking the rattan shield as its principal prop. In the past, because the dance features many formations and many rolling somersaults, the common people also called it "playing the rattan shield", "rattan shield formation" or "rattan shield rolling". During the thirty-first to the fortieth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1552—1561), Rui'an was plundered and put to the torch by Japanese pirates on six separate occasions. Qi Jiguang, the famous general who garrisoned the Fujian-Zhejiang border, created and drilled the Zhejiang troops and used the rattan shield as a defensive weapon in fighting the pirates, achieving the final victory. Later, at temple fairs and certain ceremonial gatherings, Rui'an veterans and local militiamen converted the military drills of the past into rattan shield formations for performance, which they called "playing the rattan shield". Because the people loved it, this activity has been carried on continuously ever since. In former times, around the Spring Festival and the Qingming Festival, rattan shield dance was performed at the various temple fairs of Rui'an.
The folk names of the rattan-shield dance
Because it is full of formations and rolls, the dance is popularly known as playing the rattan shield, the shield formation and the shield roll.
Qi Jiguang and the rattan shields of the Zhejiang troops
Qi Jiguang, defending Fujian and Zhejiang, trained troops with rattan shields as defensive weapons and won; the shield became a principal arm of Ming and Qing armies with a full fighting method.
Six raids on Rui'an by Japanese pirates
Between 1552 and 1561 Rui'an was raided six times, driving a fervour for martial training that gave the dance its immediate background.
The 1957 national folk music and dance festival
In 1957 the dance went to Beijing for the second national folk music and dance festival and won an excellence award, a milestone in its national recognition.
Xu Qiaoqing and the brief history of the Chinese shield dance
Born in 1951, Xu Qiaoqing preserved the 1957 programme, script, music, scores and formation drawings together with Xue Jifen's brief history, performed over forty times and trained dozens.
Temple-fair performances at spring festival and Qingming
At the temple fairs around spring festival and Qingming, veterans and militia turned military drill into the shield formation, and popular affection kept it going.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The rattan shield dance is transmitted mainly in the urban district and the surrounding townships of Rui'an City, Zhejiang Province, and in former times was performed at the various temple fairs held around the Spring Festival and the Qingming Festival. Rui'an lies on the shore of the East China Sea and on the lower reaches of the Feiyun River; during the thirty-first to the fortieth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1552—1561) it was plundered and put to the torch by Japanese pirates on six separate occasions, and the folk enthusiasm for practising martial arts against the pirates was very strong. Qi Jiguang created and drilled the Zhejiang troops and used the rattan shield as a defensive weapon against the pirates, achieving the final victory. Thereafter Rui'an veterans and militiamen organized the old military drills into rattan shield formations and performed them at temple fairs and certain ceremonial gatherings, calling the performance "playing the rattan shield"; popular affection for it kept the activity going down to the present.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Yongxindunpai Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Xu Qiaoqing (official archival record of the associated representative inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in November 1951, native of Rui'an City, Zhejiang Province. Representative inheritor of Shield Dance (Rattan Shield Dance), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch. In his keeping is a complete set of historical materials: the programme, the script, the music, the musical scores and the formation drawings of the 1957 Beijing performance, together with A Brief History of the Chinese Rattan Shield Dance written by Xue Jifen, a third-generation inheritor. He has taken part in more than forty performances at the provincial, municipal and county levels, and has trained several dozen inheritors of the rattan shield dance.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wu Sangui 02-0358
- Tian Zonglin 04-1546
- Xu Qiaoqing 05-2218
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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