Cangzhou Laozi
01 · Historical Records
It originated in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing dynasty and was active for a time in the late Qing and early Republican period, and it flourished most in Nanpi County and Cang County.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Luozi, also called "yezi", is one of the representative folk dance genres of Hebei Province. In a Cangzhou luozi performance, pairs of young men and women, holding "coloured fans", "bamboo clappers" and "overlord whips", sing and dance together, which makes for a very lively scene. In the early stages of its development, Cangzhou luozi had only four performers handling whips; by the late Qing and early Republican period, luozi artists who farmed and performed in half measure had appeared, and a performance format gradually took shape with ten performers handling whips, six handling clappers and four handling fans. Luozi is divided into the civil and the martial: the kind centred on singing is called "civil luozi", and the kind in which martial arts and operatic tumbling are interwoven is called "martial luozi". In its earliest performances Cangzhou luozi was performed in everyday clothing; later, in order to beautify it, operatic costumes were adopted. Female roles are made up like the martial dan or the huadan, while male roles resemble Huang Tianba and Yang Xiangwu as they appear on the operatic stage. The postures, rhythms, beat patterns and linking movements of luozi carry the distinctive features of martial arts; every movement takes two beats, the first half of the beat being the "lift" that starts the action, the weak beat carrying the process of the movement, the whole movement being completed on the first half of the strong beat of the next bar, and the second half of that beat beginning the "lift" that starts the next movement, and so on continuously in repetition until the end. The traditional programmes of Cangzhou luozi mostly present love stories and the miserable life of working people in the old society, reflecting the longing for freedom, happiness and a good life; there are representative works such as "Moli Flower", "Flying the Kite", "Sighing for the Lover", "Embroidering the Handkerchief" and "The Nun Yearns for the Mortal World". "Moli Flower" and "Flying the Kite", after being refined and reorganized, became more beautiful and moving, and became repertoire pieces of the traditional dance that have been performed year after year without declining.
Civil and martial luozi
Cangzhou luozi divides into a civil form centred on singing and a martial form interwoven with martial arts and operatic somersaults.
Ten whips, six clappers, four fans
From four whip dancers at the outset, the form grew by the late Qing into ten whips, six clapper players and four fan dancers.
Seizing the beat and the pickup
Every action seizes two beats: the pickup falls on the second half of the snatched beat, the movement travels on the weak beat and completes on the strong beat of the next bar.
The traditional programme
The traditional pieces mostly tell love stories and the hardships of labouring people; Jasmine Flower and Flying the Kite became enduring concert staples.
The whip techniques
Zhang Hongtong's art centres on the whip; his signature strokes include winding about the head, wrapping the brain, the flower flourish and the broadsword sweep.
Tiger stance, stomp, arrow step and stage step
Upper-body action is carried by the whole torso while the legs keep the bent-knee tiger stance, stomp, arrow step and stage step, giving a moving-above, steady-below posture.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Since the beginning of the 20th century, luozi has, in its continuous development, adapted itself to local conditions, improved with the times, appropriately absorbed certain movements and techniques from operatic art and transformed itself, and so became a folk dance with marked local characteristics; it has important value for studying the changes in local social history and the development of operatic culture.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Cangzhou luozi was transmitted and developed through generations of artists, and became a folk dance deeply loved by the broad masses. At present, under the influence of the trend towards cultural standardisation and of the market economy, the ecological environment of Cangzhou luozi is deteriorating day by day, the performing troupes are in very poor economic condition, there is a shortage of successors, and the future is worrying; it urgently needs rescue and protection. Zhang Hongtong (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1950, a native of Nanpi County, Hebei Province. His technique centres on the whip and his movements are valiant and vigorous; the most representative of his movements is the "stroking of the whip", with specific movements including "winding the head whip stroke", "wrapping the head whip stroke", "twirling the flower whip stroke", "single-sabre whip stroke", "single-sabre sweeping-hall whip stroke" and so on. These movements are expressed chiefly through changes in whole-body movement, while the lower limbs basically maintain bent-knee positions such as the "tiger step", the "stomp", the "arrow step" and the "platform step". Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the national intangible cultural heritage project Cangzhou Luozi. His performances have won provincial, municipal and county-level awards many times, and he has trained a large number of successors in luozi.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Hongtong 03-0933
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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