Lantern Dance
01 · Historical Records
Before 1949, the principal group of transmitters of Wu Xia Nao Nian in the urban districts of Jingzhou was the shoemaking workers who had moved into the city from the lake region.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Wu Xia Nao Nian, also called "five shrimps clamouring for the new year", is popularly known as the "shrimp lantern". It is a traditional lantern dance originating in water-town scenes of life, and it flourishes in the central urban area of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, and in Honghu City, Jiangling County, Shishou City, Jianli County and other places. Jingzhou has a well-developed water system, with large and small rivers running across and intersecting one another, and lakes, reservoirs, ponds and weirs scattered everywhere; it has long been known as a "land of fish and rice", and this created the conditions for the emergence and development of Wu Xia Nao Nian. Wu Xia Nao Nian combines the lantern craftsmanship of Jingchu with wind-and-percussion folk music, and forms an organic part of the local water-town year-festival activities. Its principal props, the shrimp lantern and the catfish lantern, are made by binding bamboo strips into a frame and covering it with silk cloth which is then painted. The shrimp body is joined section by section with flexible joints so that it can bend and twist, and a number of small bronze bells are fitted inside, which ring when the lantern is danced. The head, tail and fins of the catfish can all be made to move, and the images are lifelike, fully expressing the exquisite skill of the folk craftsmen. The Wu Xia Nao Nian lantern dance consists of dancing the shrimp and dancing the catfish, and is performed by eleven people, who imitate the state of fish and shrimp through dance movements and present the scene of fish and shrimp playing happily in the water. The basic set of moves is: above, strike the snowflake to cover the top; below, strike the withered tree clasping its roots; left, strike left and insert the flower; right, strike right and insert the flower; one conceals the heavens to cross the sea, one wraps the waist with a jade belt. The shrimp-dancing movements can be summed up in five kinds: "frontal flower", "withered tree clasping its roots", "shoulder flower", "jade belt round the waist" and "snowflake covering the top". The catfish-dancing movements include "short-steps", "ground leap" and "shoulder stacking". The dance formations include "great square", "double gate", "double wings", "saddle", "brush rest", "chrysanthemum blooming" and others. In performance it is accompanied by percussion, with a variety of gong-and-drum patterns used to set off the atmosphere. Wu Xia Nao Nian takes the shrimp and the catfish as its objects of imitation and is a vivid portrayal of the people of the Jingchu water town praying for fish and shrimp to fill their boats and welcoming a good harvest; it has a strong flavour of everyday life and a broad popular base. It is active above all during the annual cycle of festivals and seasons, creating atmosphere and bringing the performance to its climax, and bringing good wishes to thousands of households. According to documentary records, Wu Xia Nao Nian was already flourishing in Jingzhou as late as the late Qing dynasty. At that time there was a rule in the shoemakers' shops of Jingzhou that an apprentice had to learn the craft of making shoes from his master as well as the Wu Xia Nao Nian lantern dance. Wu Xia Nao Nian artistically presents the scene of shrimp and catfish living together in harmony, and embodies the Confucian philosophical idea of harmony without uniformity. It is performed at traditional year-festivals such as the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival, it is welcome and enjoyable to the masses, it is the bond that links the feelings of the local people and an important carrier of cultural identity, and it plays a positive role in enriching the cultural life of the people and in promoting social harmony.
Making the shrimp and catfish lanterns
The shrimp and catfish lanterns are bamboo frames covered in painted silk; the catfish's head, tail and fins all move, showing the makers' skill.
Segmented shrimp body and bronze bells
The shrimp body is jointed so that it bends and twists, with small bronze bells inside that ring as it moves in time with the drums.
The five shrimp movements
The shrimp movements come down to five: frontal flower, dead tree coiling roots, shoulder flower, jade belt round the waist and snowflake overhead.
The catfish movements
Eleven performers make up the shrimp and catfish sections; the catfish dances the dwarf step, the ground flop and the shoulder stack.
The dance formations
The formations include the great square, double gates, double wings, saddle, brush rack and chrysanthemum opening, paced by a range of drum patterns.
The shoemakers' guild rule
Documented as flourishing in Jingzhou by the late Qing, the dance was taught in shoemaking workshops, where apprentices learned it alongside their trade.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the range of transmission of Wu Xia Nao Nian expanded to the broad masses of the local people.
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
At present, the subdistricts and schools of the urban area of Jingzhou all have relatively fixed performance teams, and the state of transmission is good.
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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