Lantern Dance

Ⅲ-45Traditional DanceJian, JiangxiBatch 2 (2008)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

Lantern dance has existed since ancient times; even in the Qing dynasty there are records of "lantern dance" in which characters were danced out with lanterns as props.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

On every festival (especially the Lantern Festival) and during rites such as prayers for rain, sacrifices, and supplications for a good harvest, both court and common people would hold lantern dance performances. In its earliest form, lantern dance was characterized by arranging lanterns into characters; it later gradually developed into a form of folk dance in which colored lanterns are arranged to construct patterns and create artistic settings, and it spread throughout the country. Classified by the shape of the lantern display, lantern dance falls mainly into three types: those imitating animals — dragon lantern dance, lion lantern dance, fish lantern dance, clam lantern dance, butterfly lantern dance and hundred-bird lantern dance; those imitating flowers — lotus lantern dance, chrysanthemum lantern dance and waxflower lantern dance; and other forms such as boat lantern dance, cart lantern dance, cloud lantern dance and embroidered-ball lantern dance. Lantern dance performances are richly varied; they are generally presented at night as group dances on a grand scale. The performers dance as they walk, the formations change constantly, and firecrackers and fireworks are let off during the dance, making the scene a magnificent spectacle. This form of folk dance appears mostly in Han areas, while also being popular in some ethnic minority areas. Carp lantern dance is a performative folk lantern dance passed down in Pengxia Village, Gujiang Town, Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province; its origins and part of its performance content are connected with folk myths and legends. The historical roots of the carp lantern dance can be traced back seven thousand years to the totem "Fish Dance" of the fish clan in remote antiquity. It takes a single ao fish as its head, a green shrimp as its tail and nine carp in the middle, the fish and shrimp uniting closely and advancing with each holding the next one's tail, in the hope of reaching the Dragon Gate that symbolizes a realm of happiness and good fortune. What goes into the carp lantern dance performance is one ao fish that looks solemn and spirited on the outside but is full of affection within, nine lively and nimble golden carp and one naive, playful little shrimp. In order to reach the land of happiness and beauty — the Dragon Gate — they unite closely together and move forward with each holding the next one's tail. On the way they sometimes lose their direction and sometimes fall victim to the enemy squid, but under the leadership of the ao fish they strive bravely and finally reach the Dragon Gate. The movement structure consists of sixteen segments: the ao fish entering the arena, the carp emerging from the cave, single dismantling of the bamboo tower, double dismantling of the bamboo tower, slanted dismantling of the bamboo tower, double slanted dismantling of the bamboo tower, three lantern balls, the floating ribbon, leaping over the rapids, splitting firewood, seeking food, leaping the Dragon Gate, passing through the Dragon Gate, stacking the tower, the coiled dragon and biting tails. The carp lantern dance has an uplifting theme and vivid, graceful artistic images; by seizing on the characteristics of water and the living habits of fish and shrimp, it delicately devises beautiful and varied dance movements, fusing the reality of life with artistic creation. In performance the fish lanterns swim back and forth from time to time and roll up and down from time to time, presenting scenes of fish and shrimp freely frolicking and leaping, and giving the audience a delight to the eye. Every Lantern Festival the people of Gujiang perform the sixteen segments of the carp lantern dance among the villages, in the streets and on the square, in order to pray for good fortune. When performed at night, the artistic charm of the lantern dance is all the more striking. For several hundred years the folk performance activities of the carp lantern dance have sustained the close ties among the people of Pengxia Village along the Lushui River, and have played a positive role in the process by which the Pengxia villagers who migrated and settled in Gujiang emerged from their isolation, interacted amicably with the local residents and were ultimately integrated into local society.

The sixteen-part structure

The dance unfolds in sixteen linked episodes, from the turtle-fish entering and the carp leaving the cave through tower-building, leaping the dragon gate and biting the tail.

The roles of turtle-fish, carps and shrimp

The cast is one grave turtle-fish, nine nimble golden carps and one mischievous shrimp, advancing tail to mouth towards the dragon gate.

The squid's attack

In the mythical plot the fish lose their way and are set upon by a squid, but led by the turtle-fish they strive on and reach the dragon gate.

Deng Jianmin's new episodes

Deng Jianmin, born in 1963, learned from He Zhenhui in 1984 and combines traditional technique with modern stagecraft to create new episodes.

The Lantern Festival round in Gujiang

Every Lantern Festival the people of Gujiang perform the sixteen episodes in lanes, streets and squares to pray for good fortune, most impressively after dark.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The lantern troupe of the carp lantern dance is made up of villagers of Pengxia Village, Gujiang Town, Ji'an County. Before the lanterns go out they must first pay their respects at the ancestral hall, and then deliver lanterns house by house through the villages along the Lushui River; the lantern display has a frame tied of bamboo strips and covered with coloured paper, a candle or oil lamp inside, and the body of the fish is divided into segments so that it can be moved.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present the performance activities of the carp lantern dance are shrinking, its folkloric content is gradually being lost, the performers are ageing and the transmission is ineffective; the survival and development of this folk dance is in serious crisis and it urgently needs protection. Deng Jianmin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1963, native of Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province. He has loved folk lantern art since childhood, and in 1984 began to study the performance and making techniques of the carp lantern under the guidance of the veteran artist He Zhenhui. He has thoroughly mastered the various performance segments of the carp lantern, the traditional lantern-launching ceremony and the prop-tying technique. He combines traditional techniques with modern artistic forms to create new performance segments. He is devoted to teaching and disseminating the techniques, and often leads the carp lantern performance team to take part in various public-welfare activities and in exchange performances of folk culture and skills within and outside the province, winning awards. Representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage project Lantern Dance (Carp Lantern Dance) in the fifth batch. In 2005 he took part in the 7th China Shanghai International Arts Festival and won the Outstanding Contribution Award.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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