Xianzi Dance
01 · Historical Records
The xianzi dance of Mangkang County in Chamdo has a long history; according to research, the xianzi dance had already appeared in Mangkang during the Tang dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The xianzi, also called 'xie', 'ye' or 'baye', is a kind of bowed string instrument peculiar to the Tibetan people, generally played by men. The Xianzi Dance, also commonly called 'xianzi', is a comprehensive Tibetan song-and-dance art that combines singing, dancing and music to the accompaniment of the xianzi. In performance, men play the xianzi and women dance with colourful sleeves; as the rhythm of the xianzi changes, both the singing and the dancing take many different forms. The lyrics of the xianzi are mostly about welcoming guests, meeting, praise, affection, farewell and good wishes; there are many tunes, rich lyrics and varied dance steps. While dancing, the men's and women's groups each form a semicircle, at times closing into a circle and at times dispersing, singing as they dance; the men's dancing emphasises the boots and the stamping, showing a bold and rugged beauty, while the women bring out the gentle and expansive beauty of the long sleeves. Mangkang County lies in southeastern Tibet at the junction of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan; the xianzi dance is a folk song-and-dance form of this area, using the xianzi as its accompanying instrument, with men and women gathering together and dancing and singing to the music. The Mangkang xianzi dance is in Tibetan also called 'Fan Xieqiang': 'fan' means Tibetan, 'xie' means song and dance, and 'qiang' means to dance. On every festival people gather together and, following behind one or several men who play the bowed instrument while dancing frequently, wave their long sleeves and dance lightly and gracefully. The Mangkang xianzi dance is rounded and lively, wild and flowing; it includes movements such as dragging steps, stepping and turning, swaying the sleeves and hands on hips with trembling steps, and its most distinctive feature is the flying long sleeves. As the dancers sway to the xianzi melody they let out bursts of 'vibrato sound', and the dance movements correspondingly produce a 'trembling method'. These movements take as their formal features the imitation of the postures of certain kindly and auspicious animals, with categories such as 'peacock drinking water' and 'rabbit bounding in joy'. Against the clear and mellow sound of the instrument, whether the xianzi dance troupe gathers or disperses, forms ranks and circles around, or raises its sleeves and spins, it expresses rich cultural implications and aesthetic content. The Mangkang xianzi dance has a long history, is ancient and wondrous, distinctive in form, strongly national in temperament, rich in plateau character, has many schools and a complete performance system; its song-and-dance tradition is all the more precious.
The four regional styles of Mangkam
Mangkam preserves several local styles: the sober Yanjing, the graceful Xuzhong, the difficult yet relaxed Suoduoxi and the free Qudeng.
Peacock drinking and rabbit running
Categories of movement imitating auspicious animals, danced with a trembling motion that answers the trembling of the strings.
Dragging step, turning point-step, sleeve sway and hand-on-hip tremble
The basic steps of the dance, whose flowing long sleeves are its most striking feature.
Bo Xie Qiang
The Tibetan name of the dance: 'Bo' for Tibetan, 'Xie' for song and dance, 'Qiang' for leaping.
Festival dancing across sixteen townships
The dance has become a chief amusement for local Tibetans; all sixteen townships hold festival events centred on it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Xianzi Dance is distributed in eastern Tibet and in the Tibetan-inhabited areas of Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and other places. The xianzi is called 'biwang' here; it is a two-stringed fiddle invented by the local people themselves, and is called 'huqin' in the historical records. The xianzi dance is the one and only unique ethnic song-and-dance of the Mangkang area. Many schools of the Mangkang xianzi with their own local features survive today, such as the stately and weighty xianzi dance of Yanjing, the free and elegant xianzi dance of Xuzhong, the xianzi dance of Suoduoxi whose movements are of greater difficulty yet relaxed and expansive, and the free and open xianzi dance of Qudeng.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xianzi Dance · Xianzi Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Today the Mangkang xianzi dance has become an important form of entertainment for the broad masses of the Tibetan people. In each of Mangkang's sixteen townships (towns), at every festival, rich and varied cultural activities centred on the xianzi dance are held; these activities enrich and enliven the spiritual and cultural life of the masses, raise their cultural level and strengthen their love for the motherland and their home. Ciren Wangdui (associated inheritor, as recorded in the official file): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in 1956, native of Mangkang, Tibet. The xianzi dance he performs is graceful and beautiful, its movements archaic and elegant, free and flowing, expansive and smooth, agile and weighty, fully expressing the bold temperament of the Khampa people. Representative works include 'The Hometown of the Xianzi', 'The Salt Field Girl' and 'The Longevity Dragon'. Representative inheritor of the Xianzi Dance (Mangkang Xianzi Dance), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second national batch. Jiangcuo (associated inheritor, as recorded in the official file): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in 1950, native of Mangkang, Tibet. Jiangcuo inherited the xianzi dance skills of his father Azhu; although the movements of the xianzi dance he performs are difficult, he dances them in a relaxed and expansive manner, giving a sense of vibrant life. He often organizes people to dance the xianzi dance and actively passes the xianzi dance skills on to the younger generation. Representative works include 'Jiangma Xisa', 'Seya Longba', 'Peacock Dance' and 'Regong Duzu'. Representative inheritor of the Xianzi Dance (Mangkang Xianzi Dance), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second national batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Cirenwangdui 02-0367
- Jiangcuo 02-0368
- Zhaxiangjiang 05-2228
- Wangzhaxi
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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