Shibahudie
01 · Historical Records
It originated in the god-entertainment activities of the Hu Gong temple fair at Fangyan in the Song dynasty. In the autumn of 1946, villagers such as Wang Chunshan of the village drew inspiration from the opening and closing motion of the shell-dance performers, who carry clam-shell props on their backs, made butterfly props and put them to use in a carefully arranged dance formation; from this the Eighteen Butterflies came into being, brilliant and varied and at the same time distinctive in its own way.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The folk dance Eighteen Butterflies, also called "Colourful Butterflies Welcoming Spring", is transmitted within the territory of Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province. The Eighteen Butterflies can be performed on the stage, in the public square, in a scenic area or even in the streets and lanes; in performance eighteen young girls, whose bodies are covered with butterfly forms made of bamboo strips and silk, play the colourful butterflies and dance gracefully together with a flower fairy, and during the dance the formation changes continuously, arranging itself into various beautiful patterns. The performance of the Eighteen Butterflies unfolds around three episodes, "calling spring", "loving spring" and "frolicking in spring": "calling spring" concentrates on the artistic conception of the colourful butterflies welcoming spring; "loving spring", through the deeply affectionate dance of the butterfly longing for the flower and the flower longing for the butterfly, sincerely praises a beautiful life; "frolicking in spring" pushes the whole dance to its climax with a lively performance scene, graceful postures, bright colours and a merry rhythm, showing strong entertainment value and visual appeal. With its brilliantly variegated costumes and props, its graceful dance movements and its melodious music, the Eighteen Butterflies conveys the delicate and elegant charm of Jiangnan and reflects the wishes of the people for a good life.
The three episodes of spring
The dance unfolds in three episodes: calling spring, loving spring through butterfly and flower, and celebrating spring in a fervent climax.
Eighteen girls as butterflies with the flower spirit
Eighteen girls wear bamboo-and-silk butterfly props and dance with the flower spirit, their ranks shifting into a succession of graceful patterns.
The bamboo-and-silk butterfly props
The butterfly props are made of bamboo splint and silk; Wang Chunshan and others devised them in 1946 after watching the opening and closing of clam-dance props.
Wang Chunshan and the clam-dance inspiration
Rooted in the Fangyan temple fair, the dance took its present form in 1946 when Wang Chunshan drew on the clam dance to make butterfly props and rework the formations.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Eighteen Butterflies is transmitted within the territory of Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province, and emerged from the god-entertainment activities of the Hu Gong temple fair at Fangyan in the Song dynasty. In the autumn of 1946, villagers such as Wang Chunshan, inspired by the opening and closing motion of the shell-dance performers who carry clam-shell props on their backs, made butterfly props out of bamboo strips and silk and rearranged the dance formations; from this this dance came into being. Since then the performance teams of Yongkang's towns and countryside have mostly taken local young girls as their backbone; in performance one flower fairy works together with eighteen colourful butterflies, the formation can be deployed both on a public square and on a stage, and the Fangyan temple fair remains its most regular performance occasion. Changes of formation depend on the degree to which the butterfly wings open and close and on the order of movement positions; the eighteen performers must keep equal distances from one another, and two lead butterflies in the front row usually lead the way; the flower fairy answers the butterflies with a folding fan, and the painted wing surfaces of the butterfly props have patterns of their own in each team.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Eighteen Butterflies vividly presents the traditional thought and values of the Chinese nation; it advocates truth, goodness and beauty, it praises the harmony between human beings and nature, it fully expresses in artistic form the soft, gentle beauty of Jiangnan culture, and it is honoured as "an exotic flower of Jiangnan culture". At present, this excellent folk dance art lacks successors in its transmission and urgently needs protection.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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