Li Dachai Dance
01 · Historical Records
It originated in the funerary customs of the Li people of the old Yazhou area (present-day Sanya City, Hainan Province). In 1957 it went to Beijing to take part in the exchange performance of literature and art of the ethnic minorities and was praised as “a flower of the art of Wuzhishan”; when it performed in Romania, Yugoslavia, Pakistan, Japan and other countries it was praised as “a body-building exercise rare in the world”. In the Li language the Daicai dance is called “Zhuansha” or “Taisha”. It originated in the funerary customs of the Li people of the old Yazhou area (present-day Sanya City, Hainan Province); in former times it was danced during the laying of the coffin in wait of burial and the carrying out of the funeral, to guard the coffin and to see the dead off. It has a complete set of equipment and a method of dancing: the equipment consists of two wooden sleepers and a number of pairs of short wooden poles; when dancing, the two sleepers are laid flat on the ground in parallel about two metres apart, and several pairs of short poles are set across the sleepers. As the customs have changed, the Daicai dance has gradually evolved from the traditional funeral rite into a performance for displaying one's skill and entertaining the crowd at festivals and gatherings.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Daicai dance is the most representative form of dance among the Li people; in the Li language it is called “Zhuansha” or “Taisha”. The Daicai dance has a complete set of equipment and a method of dancing: the equipment consists of two wooden sleepers and a number of pairs of short poles. When dancing, the two sleepers are laid flat on the ground in parallel about two metres apart, and several pairs of short poles are set across the sleepers. The two ends of the poles are each gripped by several people, facing each other in pairs, and struck together upward and downward, left and right, closing and parting, crossing and clashing, producing a strong and forceful rhythm. The dancers leap in among the poles, jumping back and forth and squatting, imitating the conditions of human labour as well as the movements and calls of various animals. The Daicai dance consists of nine relatively independent steps: the level step, the whetting-knife step, the small rope-twining step, the little frog step, the big frog step, the dog-chasing-deer step, the rice-sifting step, the monkey-stealing-grain step and the crow step. The rhythm of the dance is strong and forceful, the movements simple, rugged and unrestrained, vivid and lifelike, and artistically affecting. The Daicai dance is highly entertaining and is a good way to carry out cultural and sporting activities for the masses. The Daicai dance exists on the basis of the folk customs of the Li people in the Sanya area; changes in the customs of that area have an enormous effect on the survival and continuation of the folk Daicai dance.
Nine distinct steps
It comprises nine distinct steps named for level walking, knife-sharpening, rope-twisting, small and large frogs, dog chasing deer, rice-sifting, monkey stealing grain and the crow.
The dance gear of logs and sticks
Two bed logs and pairs of small sticks, held at both ends and clapped up, down, apart and across, produce the dance's driving rhythm.
Stick-holders and leapers
Leaping and crouching between the clapping sticks while imitating labour and animals, the dance is strongly recreational and well suited to mass sport.
The old custom of Langdian village
The most representative Li dance, called zhuansha or taisha, arose from funeral custom and survives only at Langdian village in Yacheng.
Huang Jiajin's teaching
The second-batch inheritor Huang Jiajin, born in 1923, taught the technique to his fellow villagers from 1975 onward.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Daicai dance is transmitted in Yazhou and Wuzhishan, where the Li people of Hainan Island live, but it is preserved most completely in Langdian Village, Yacheng Town, Sanya City. It exists on the basis of the folk customs of the Li people in the Sanya area; changes in the customs of that area have an enormous effect on the survival and continuation of the folk Daicai dance, and today Langdian Village is the only place in the whole Li area that still preserves this ancient custom.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, Langdian Village of Yacheng Town, Sanya City, is the only place in the whole Li area where this ancient custom survives. The urgent rescue and protection of the Li folk Daicai dance has therefore become imperative. Huang Jiajin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Li, born in 1923, native of Sanya, Hainan. Representative inheritor of the Li Daicai dance, second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. From 1975 onwards he taught the techniques of the Daicai dance to the local villagers, so that most villagers of that village could dance it. The Daicai dance is performed jointly by two sides, those who hold the poles and those who leap among them; the dancers leap in among the poles, jumping back and forth and squatting, imitating the conditions of human labour as well as the movements and calls of various animals. The nine steps may each be danced singly or in succession, and the level of skill is judged entirely by the accuracy of the rises, falls, advances and retreats. In 1957 it went to Beijing for the exchange performance of minority literature and art and was praised as “a flower of the art of Wuzhishan”; later, performing in Romania, Yugoslavia, Pakistan, Japan and other countries, it was praised as “a body-building exercise rare in the world”.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Huang Jiajin 02-0392
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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