Lantern Dance

Ⅲ-45Traditional DanceAnji, ZhejiangBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern originated in the folk spring festival lantern dances, also called the 'flower dragon lantern'; it arose in Shangshe Village, Meixi Town, Anji County, Zhejiang Province, and is transmitted in the area of Anji County and Changxing County of Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and Guangde County (now Guangde City), Anhui Province. By the Daoguang reign the performer Yang Jiulin developed the 'four transformations' of the dragon lantern, and at the same time made 12 flower-vase lanterns and 2 head-banner lanterns, and it evolved into the dragon-transforming lantern.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

In the Jiajing reign of the Qing dynasty the Yang clan ancestors of Shangshe Village strung the flower lanterns performed at temple fairs into the shape of a dragon, made a dragon head and dragon tail, and called it the 'flower dragon lantern'. In the Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern performance, two people carry the head-banner lanterns to lead the procession. When calling at the doors of the households, the flower-lantern figure first 'moves in formation' around the hall columns of the main room, with the four-corner formation, the scissors formation, the ingot formation, the fence formation and others. There are two forms of the dragon transformation: first, the dragon is joined on in the reception hall behind the main room of a wealthy household, and for houses with no reception hall the dragon is 'transformed' behind the 'clouds' formed by turning the flower vases around; after the transformation the dragon dances in the main room, bows once more to the host and receives the host's reward. Hence the saying that 'inside the door it is a flower lantern, outside the door it is a dragon lantern'. When calling at the door, if the household is that of a boy studying for the examinations, on entering one must 'step over the inkstone' and 'present the brush' to the scholar, wishing him a future as splendid as brocade; if the household is newly married but not yet with a child, a pair of baby shoes is presented, meaning that the dragon king has brought a son; if the household is in trade, one paper ingot is presented to wish the host a broad flow of wealth, and the host presents a red envelope to the dragon's head. The characteristic of the Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern lies in its 'four transformations': during the dance the treasure basin becomes the dragon's head, the longevity peach lantern becomes the dragon's pearl, the bat lantern becomes the dragon's tail, and the nine flower lanterns become the dragon's body. Its traditional performance sites are mainly the hall courtyards of ordinary dwellings, and they also include squares, temples and clan halls. Every year in the first lunar month the dragon-transforming lantern is active in the area of Shangshe Village. In the third lunar month it also goes to Baiyun Temple at Xiaoshu to take part in the temple-fair performance. In addition, a middle-school dragon dance team and a dragon dance art troupe have been established to train successors, to attract more young people to take part, and to pass on the incantation of the 'four transformations' to the new generation. Today's Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern has already become one of the distinctive forms of local cultural activity in Anji. The Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern is a traditional dance collectively created by the people of Shangshe Village and widely transmitted, and it concentrates the wisdom of the people and the experience of social life. This heritage item has become an important mode of interaction among village members, and it has powerfully promoted the harmonious development of relationships among villagers. As its influence keeps growing, the Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern has become one of Anji's distinctive cultural activities.

The four transformations

Its hallmark is the four transformations: the treasure bowl becomes the dragon head, the peach the pearl, the bat the tail and nine flower lanterns the body.

The courtyard formations

When paying door-to-door visits the lanterns first trace courtyard formations - four corners, scissors, ingot and fence patterns - around the pillars of the main hall.

The house-visit protocol

For a scholar's household the dragon steps over an inkstone and presents a brush; for newlyweds it gives baby shoes; for a merchant, a paper ingot.

Entering as lanterns, leaving as a dragon

The dragon is joined either in the rear hall or hidden behind reversed vase-clouds, then danced in the main hall before thanks are given, hence entering as lanterns and leaving as a dragon.

The placard lanterns and twelve vase lanterns

In the Daoguang era the artisan Yang Jiulin devised the four transformations and added twelve vase lanterns and two placard lanterns, turning the flower-dragon into the transforming lantern.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern arose in Shangshe Village, Meixi Town, Anji County, and is transmitted around Anji, Changxing and Guangde in Anhui. The Yang clan in the village is the main line of transmission; every year in the first lunar month the lantern calls at the doors of the households in the village, and in the third month it goes again to Baiyun Temple at Xiaoshu for the temple-fair performance. The red envelopes received from the door calls are discussed and apportioned by the lantern team, and are used to repair the props and to make the lanterns in the following year. The locality has also set up a middle-school dragon dance team and a dragon dance art troupe, passing the incantation of the 'four transformations' to a new generation and also making the dragon-transforming lantern one of the distinctive forms of local cultural activity in Anji.

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

Locally a dragon dance culture museum has been built, dedicated to preserving the props of the dragon-transforming lantern and to the collecting and sorting of data and materials. Yang Senfang (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in April 1941, a native of Anji County, Zhejiang Province. Beginning in 1956 he joined the dragon dance team and learned the performance and making techniques of the dragon-transforming lantern from his uncles Yang Liuchun and Yang Xiuchun. Through study and practice he has thoroughly mastered the many dance forms of the Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern. In 2005 he founded the Shangshe Dragon-Transforming Lantern Art Research Association and served as its artistic director, sorting out important materials such as the performance formations and the characteristics of the transformations of the Shangshe dragon-transforming lantern. Representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage item Lantern Dance (Shangshe Dragon-Transforming Lantern) in the fifth national batch. Beginning in 1991 he devoted himself to the excavation, protection and transmission of the dragon-transforming lantern. He has also been committed to training a new generation of inheritors, and has led his team to take part in performances on many occasions, receiving widespread acclaim.

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 ↗

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。