Lantern Dance
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. It originated during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty and has a history of more than three hundred years to this day.
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. The fish lanterns used in the Shatoujiao fish lantern dance are exquisitely made and vividly lifelike. In making them, bamboo strips are first tied into the shape of a fish, then paper is pasted over it and coloured, then coated with tung oil, and finally a short pole is fitted beneath the fish lantern. The fish in the lantern dance carry different meanings: the yellow carp, for instance, stands for the pirates who bully fishermen at will, and the school of fish stands for the broad masses of fishermen who are unafraid of brute force and who unite and struggle to win a happy life, and so on. The Shatoujiao fish lantern dance is generally performed at night, and no additional lighting is set up on the dance ground. The dancers hold a low horse stance, cleverly hide their bodies behind the fish lanterns and, holding the short poles beneath the lanterns, stoop and weave through the dance, while gong, drum, cymbals, suona and conch horn accompany them from the side. The performance as a whole chiefly foregrounds the images of the fish lanterns, so as to bring together the common habits and the individual characters of the various species of fish. The Shatoujiao fish lantern dance is vivid and lifelike, its movements deft and agile, and it has strong artistic quality, interest and visual appeal. As a traditional Chinese folk dance, the fish lantern dance has for years held the affections of people of Chinese stock.
Making the fish lantern
The lanterns are built on bamboo frames shaped like fish, papered and painted, coated in tung oil and finally fitted with the short stick the dancer holds.
Low stance and hidden body
Performed at night without stage lighting, the dance keeps the body hidden behind the lantern in a low horse stance as the dancers weave hunched over their sticks.
The symbolism of the fish
Each fish carries a meaning: the yellow carp stands for the pirates who oppressed the fishermen, the shoal for the fishermen themselves.
Gongs, drums, cymbals, shawm and conch
Gong, drum, cymbals, shawm and conch shell accompany the dance, which foregrounds the lantern images and the habits and characters of the fish.
The Wu migration from Boluo
In the early Qing the Wu ancestors moved from Boluo to the coast at Shatoujiao and combined the Lantern Festival custom with their fishing experience to create the dance.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Shatoujiao fish lantern dance is a plaza group dance for men that uses fish lanterns as props; it is popular in Shatoujiao Town of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, and in the Shatoujiao area of the New Territories of Hong Kong. In the early Qing dynasty the ancestors of the Wu clan of Shalanxia Village, Shatoujiao, migrated from Boluo in Guangdong to Shatoujiao in the seaside Xinxian County (the former name of Bao'an County, that is, today's Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province). There, combining the local folk custom of lighting lanterns for enjoyment on the Lantern Festival with their early experience of working in marine fishing, they created the distinctive fish lantern dance.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance · Lantern Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In research on Lingnan culture, maritime culture, folklore and the history of relations between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Shatoujiao fish lantern dance has important reference value. At present this precious folk art has few successors and urgently needs protection. Wu Guanqiu (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in April 1942, native of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. He has more than sixty years of performing experience, has thoroughly mastered the performance techniques and the performance procedures of the fish lantern dance, and is also well versed in scoring tunes for the accompaniment, prop-making and the like. Beginning in 2000 he took up the work of protecting and organizing the traditional fish lantern dance, and organized a fish lantern dance troupe for rehearsal and for the transmission of the skills. From 2001 to the present he has served as the chief coach of the fish lantern dance of Shalanxia Village, actively transmitting the fish lantern dance. Representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage project Lantern Dance (Shatoujiao Fish Lantern Dance) in the third batch. He has repeatedly led teams to take part in performance competitions and win awards, extending the reach and influence of the Shatoujiao fish lantern dance.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Jinwen 03-0930
- Wu Guanqiu 03-0931
- Wuqifu 03-0932
- Guo Bingqiang 05-2253
- Yang Senfang 05-2254
- Huang Jiehai 05-2255
- Ren Juntang 05-2256
- Deng Jianmin 05-2257
- Shi Qing 05-2258
- Chen Wenshi
- He Wu
- Shi Guanbin
- Yang Hairen
- Mao Mingkang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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