Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
Historical records show that since the Yuan dynasty Taoist activity in Qixia was very frequent; at the height of the Chongyang Palace there were more than a hundred Taoist priests, a gathering of great magnitude.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chinese drum dance is distinguished by rich drum patterns, ardent emotion and deep cultural reserves; it spreads across the whole country and its influence reaches the entire world. The Book of Changes (Yijing), in its chapter 'Appended Statements', has the phrase 'the drums are danced to, so as to bring the spirits to their fullest' (gu zhi wu zhi yi jin shen); it vividly reflects the long history of Chinese drum dance while also summing up, in a nutshell, its principal function. From the primitive 'striking stones and clapping stones, the hundred beasts all dance' (ji shi fu shi, bai shou shui wu) to later times when its influence spread everywhere south and north of the Yangtze, Chinese drum dance has remained one continuous, unbroken tradition. Traditional Taoist jiao ritual ceremonies require the accompaniment of drum music, and the bagua drum dance arose from this. Qixia's distinctive geographical form and cultural foundations produced the bagua drum dance, which is closely tied to Taoist culture; this folk dance merges with traditional martial arts and takes ancestor worship, blessing and the warding off of evil as its aims, reflecting the peasants' ideal and wish for favourable weather and a good harvest. The bagua drum dance is performed as a paired dance of men and women, and in performance the steps, gestures and formations all call for tracing the figure-eight, giving it a character of lightness, float, crouch and turn. The troupe generally consists of eight men and eight women; the male members carry the bagua drum in front of the waist, steadying it with the left hand and holding a drumstick in the right, while the female members dance holding a round, flat-topped bronze-coloured umbrella in both hands. The whole performance is led by the drum and assisted by the umbrella; drum and umbrella complement each other and enhance one another. The formations of the bagua drum dance change rather simply, and patterns commonly seen include 'eight streets', 'twin dragons breathing whiskers', 'single string of flowers' and 'rotation within the circle'. The bagua drum dance is a treasure of Shandong folk dance and also an unusual flower among the arts of Chinese Taoism. The principal props of the bagua drum dance are the drum and the umbrella: the male dancer carries the bagua drum in front of the waist, steadying it with the left hand and holding a drumstick in the right, and the female dancer holds a round, flat-topped bronze-coloured umbrella in both hands. The eight men and eight women take positions according to the eight directions; tracing the figure-eight is the basic step of the ground procession, and the formations shift among 'eight streets', 'twin dragons breathing whiskers' and 'single string of flowers', with the points where drum and umbrella come together marking precisely the transitions of the dance sections.
Eight men and eight women
Performed by eight men with the bagua drum at the waist and eight women holding round flat-topped bronze umbrellas, drum leading and umbrella supporting.
The figure of eight
Steps, gestures and formations all trace the figure of eight, showing lightness, floating, crouching and turning.
Simple formations
Its formations are few but clear: eight streets, two dragons spitting whiskers, single flower threading and turning within the circle.
Chongyang palace and Daoist drum music
Daoism flourished in Qixia from the Yuan, when the Chongyang palace held a hundred monks; the drum music of its rites gave rise to this dance.
Shanglinjia village
The only Daoist square dance in Shandong, it survives around Miaohou township and today only in Shanglinjia village.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chinese drum dance takes many forms, is widely distributed, varies greatly in dance posture, and differs enormously in kind. Among the more typical forms are waist-drum dance, the crouching drum dance (biaogu), flower-drum (flower-lantern) dance, wooden-drum dance, long-drum dance, flat-drum dance, bronze-drum dance, dragon-drum dance, fan-drum dance, yellow-clay drum dance, elephant-foot drum dance, monkey drum dance, flower-whip drum dance, bamboo-drum dance, bell-drum dance, sheep-skin drum dance and many others. The bagua drum dance is the only square dance in Shandong Province belonging to Taoist culture. It is transmitted mainly in the area of Miaohou Town, on the border between Qixia and Fushan in Shandong Province, and today only Shanglinjia Village of Miaohou Town still has inheritors.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years changes in the wider environment have gradually brought it to the verge of being lost, and it urgently needs rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Mairemuhan Adili 02-0402
- Li Chengyuan 03-0925
- Yang Menyuan 03-0926
- Daisanhai 03-0927
- Gao Ruchang 04-1570
- Wang Qiren 04-1571
- Qi Xuede 05-2243
- Zhang Hongnian 05-2244
- Chen Defu 05-2245
- Zhang Lanqing 05-2246
- Zhang Jifu 05-2247
- Su Anfu
- Wang Chengde
- Liu Xueguang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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