Qilin Dance
01 · Historical Records
The composition of Haifeng qilin dance is in two parts: the first part is the qilin dance performed by two people together, one moving the qilin head and one leading the qilin tail, making movements such as tumbling, licking the feet, washing the whiskers and biting the crotch to the accompaniment of big gong, big drum and big suona; the second part immediately follows with a martial arts performance, including boxing, staff play, broadsword play, dancing with pointed spears, pointed spears against iron rulers, rolling the rattan shield, and group staff-fighting bouts. Martial arts are the essence of Haifeng qilin dance; the two parts are closely joined, and the martial combat has become the striking feature that distinguishes Haifeng qilin dance from qilin dance in other regions.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Qilin dance is a traditional folk dance widely popular throughout the country, with a history of more than five hundred years to the present. It is a symbol of auspiciousness and peace, of favourable weather, of national prosperity and of popular well-being; in performance it is usually accompanied by gongs and drums together with the suona, integrating singing, dancing and music in one. Qilin dance is generally performed in the evenings of the slack farming season and on festivals or auspicious days, when wooden posts have to be planted around the performance ground with lanterns hung above them for lighting. The two dancers known as the "qilin head" and the "qilin tail" hide inside the qilin hide of the prop, take on the appearance of a qilin, and perform highly technical movements such as scratching an itch, shaking the fur, circling the table, circling the stool, circling the lantern, climbing high, tumbling and gazing at the moon, at the same time accompanied from the side by percussion instruments. Qilin dance is bold and lively, fierce and blazing, and full of awesome presence; set against grand, strongly rhythmic percussion, it gives a sense of magnificent scale that lifts the spirits of the spectators. Qilin dance in Lankao County, Henan Province retains its traditional performance form, content and artistic character, bearing distinct features of the Central Plains culture. In qilin dance in Haifeng County, Guangdong Province, one person moves the qilin head and one person leads the qilin tail; to the accompaniment of big gong, big drum and big suona they perform movements such as the qilin tumbling, licking the feet, washing the whiskers and biting the crotch, together with the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. Immediately after the qilin dance comes a martial arts performance; this is the essence of Haifeng qilin dance, and it mainly includes boxing, staff play, broadsword play, dancing with pointed spears, pointed spears against iron rulers, rolling the rattan shield, and group staff-fighting bouts and so on.
Martial arts after the qilin
Martial arts follow the dance immediately and form its essence: boxing, staff, sabre, spear-point, spear against iron ruler, rattan shield and group staff duels.
Rolling, licking and grooming
One dancer works the head and one the tail, showing the beast rolling, licking its feet, washing its whiskers and pawing its mane.
Spear against ruler, shield against blade
The most localised duels of the martial section, alongside sabre work and group staff fights, showing the tradition's roots in village boxing halls.
Great gong, drum and suona
Its accompaniment is built on the great gong, great drum and great suona, loud enough for temple fairs and festivals along the eastern Guangdong coast.
Two dancers, one beast
The two dancers are hidden inside the skin, the front one's sight blocked by the head, so every move depends on the rear dancer's push and signal.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The qilin dance of Huanghua City, Hebei Province, with its extraordinary tall artistic form and its high-difficulty acrobatic movements that startle, endanger and amaze, conquers the audience, brings a strong artistic shock, and displays the impassioned local character of the Yanzhao region.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance · Qilin Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Qilin dance is a precious piece of cultural heritage left by the ancestors of Huaxia to their descendants, and it has both a high value for artistic appreciation and research value in religious studies, folklore studies, historiography and other fields. Because building a qilin uses a great variety of materials, costs a good deal, takes much time and effort, and the performance movements are very difficult, the performance scale of qilin dance in various places is shrinking day by day, facing the danger of being lost, and urgently requires rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yang Yinhai 03-0928
- Zhang Xishan 05-2248
- Songzhang 05-2249
- Liu Jintang
- Hanzhiyong
- Xie Yuqiu
- Zhang Zhiming
- Liu Weituan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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