Qilin Dance
01 · Historical Records
Zhangmutou Town is the only Hakka township of Dongguan City, and the qilin dance was brought south by Hakka people from the north during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, so it has a history of more than 450 years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The qilin dance is the Hakka traditional dance of Zhangmutou Town. A qilin dance performance is given by one young man dancing the qilin's head and one boy dancing the qilin's tail, to the accompaniment of gongs, drums and suona. The Zhangmutou qilin dance is divided into two parts, the 'head set' (Linzhi Chengxiang, 'the qilin's hoofs bring auspiciousness') and the 'tail set' (Caiqing Cifu, 'gathering the greens to bestow blessings'). The 'head set' depicts such actions as the qilin combing itself, licking its feet, licking its tail, licking its body and washing its face; the 'tail set' depicts the arduous process in which the qilin seeks the greens, smells them, tests them, looks for them, teases them, gathers them, eats them and spits them out, signifying that the qilin brings blessings to the human world and brings people fine blessings. A martial arts performance follows. The Zhangmutou qilin dance is always taught by the master through word of mouth and personal demonstration, and each surname treats itself as one separate school, mostly handed down from ancestors and inherited generation by generation. Every year after the autumn, the young men of the same clan and the same surname in the village gather at the 'fist hall' inside their own clan hall to practise kung fu, where the qilin master of their own clan teaches the qilin dance. The Hakka of Zhangmutou hold that 'of the nine sons of the dragon, the qilin is the eldest', and it is precisely from this that the qilin dance has received its distinctive cultural content.
The first set, Linzhi Chengxiang
The first half of the dance, in which the qilin grooms itself - combing, licking feet, tail and body, washing its face - in soft and continuous movement.
The second set, plucking the greens
The second half proceeds through eight stages of seeking, sniffing, testing, finding, teasing, plucking, eating and spitting out the greens.
The clan boxing hall
Each surname keeps its own lineage of masters; after the autumn harvest young clansmen train in the boxing hall of their own ancestral hall.
The qilin as eldest of the dragon's sons
Local Hakka hold that the qilin is the eldest of the dragon's nine sons, which lends the dance its particular meaning as an auspicious clan emblem.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhangmutou is the only Hakka township of Dongguan City, and the qilin dance is transmitted with each surname's clan as its unit. The town has long observed the rule that 'each surname treats itself as one school', and a single line of teaching circulates only inside the clan. Every year after the autumn harvest the clan's young men gather in the 'fist hall' annex built onto their own clan hall to practise kung fu and dance, taught by word of mouth and demonstration from the clan's own qilin master, and they go out to pay New Year calls in the Spring Festival that follows. When the qilin teams of the various surnames visit one another inside the town, they must enter the village in order of age and rank, first kowtowing before the other side's clan hall and door gods, and only then presenting their art on the drying yard.
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
The Zhangmutou qilin dance falls into two great sections, the 'head set' and the 'tail set'. The 'head set' is also called 'Linzhi Chengxiang' and depicts everyday actions of the qilin such as combing, licking its feet, licking its tail, licking its body and washing its face. The 'tail set' is also called 'Caiqing Cifu' and proceeds in the order of seeking the greens, smelling them, testing them, looking for them, teasing them, gathering them, eating them and spitting them out, meaning that the qilin brings blessings to the human world. The local people believe that 'of the nine sons of the dragon, the qilin is the eldest', and they regard the qilin dance as a symbol of clan harmony and of a family increasing and thriving. The performance is given by one young man dancing the qilin's head and one boy dancing its tail, to the accompaniment of gongs, drums and suona; when the routines end a martial arts performance follows, in which fists, staff and broadsword appear one after another, the order of their appearance corresponding to seniority of generation within the clan.
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)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。