Wugong Dance
01 · Historical Records
Centipede dance is a folk dance transmitted in Chenghai District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province. It originated in the years from the Tongzhi to the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty and was created by Chen Chengjin of Ximen village together with his friend Shi Wen Yong.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Centipede dance is a large-scale animal dance performed in an open square; the centipede prop used in it consists of a head, a body and a tail, and measures 22 metres in total length. The body of the centipede is flattened and rounded, joined from 28 segments of stiff and soft cloth frames, 80 centimetres wide and 60 centimetres high, bending and extending freely. In performance, one performer holds a coloured pearl and leads the way at the front, and 15 performers carry the centipede in their wake; the performer with the pearl hides under the centipede's belly, bends at the waist and the knees, and, using movements such as "double descent to the hall", "T-shaped horse stance", "bow stance" and "Guanyin seated on the lotus", makes the whole centipede wind and weave through space, dancing with vigour and agility, and forming design patterns such as "2", "3", "6", "7", "8", "water ripples" and "plum blossoms dotted on a coiled branch". In night performances the huge centipede pitches and dives as it weaves along, its two eyes flashing with green light, its body brilliantly lit and translucent, its scissor-shaped red tail raised high and swaying freely; set off by the accompanying drum music and the cheering fireworks, the scene becomes all the more grand and magnificent, presenting an awe-inspiring scale. The head, body and tail of the centipede prop are linked by stiff and soft cloth frames; its twenty-eight-segment body is eighty centimetres wide and sixty centimetres high, and the whole prop is twenty-two metres long, bending and extending freely. When it dances at night its two eyes flash with green light, its body is brilliantly lit and translucent, and its scissor-shaped red tail is raised high. The performance is formed by a team of sixteen: one performer holds the coloured pearl at the front to lead, and fifteen performers each carry one segment behind, while the performer with the pearl hides under the centipede's belly, bends at the waist and the knees, and steers the whole centipede as it winds and weaves.
The twenty-two metre, twenty-eight section centipede
Head, body and tail make up a prop twenty-two metres long; the flattened body joins twenty-eight hard and soft cloth frames, eighty by sixty centimetres and freely bending.
The operators' postures
Hidden beneath the belly, the pearl bearer bends and crouches in postures such as the double descent, T-stance, bow stance and Guanyin on the lotus to steer the centipede.
The numeral and wave patterns
The dance shapes numerals 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 along with water ripples and coiled plum-blossom dots, the ranks opening and closing at the pearl's lead.
Pearl leading, fireworks at night
One dancer leads with the pearl and fifteen carry the centipede; at night its green eyes and glowing body turn the dance majestic against drums and fireworks.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This dance imitates the movements and habits of the centipede with remarkable fidelity; as soon as it appeared it delighted the local people, spread rapidly, and has been passed on continuously ever since. Centipede dance takes its origin in Ximen village, Chenghai District, Shantou City; it was created by Chen Chengjin and Shi Wen Yong in the years from the Tongzhi to the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, and has since been performed without interruption at the deity-procession gatherings and festivals of the towns and countryside of Chenghai. Night performances require drum music and cheering fireworks, and the formations produce the numbers "2", "3", "6", "7" and "8" as well as patterns such as water ripples and plum blossoms dotted on a coiled branch. The inheritor Chen Xishun drew on the standard sequences of the Chinese dragon dance and absorbed the footwork of southern martial arts, making the centipede's characteristic mixture of strength and gentleness all the more pronounced.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Centipede dance is an important part of the traditional culture of the Chaoshan region. It combines music, dance and martial arts into one, is highly appealing to watch, and also provides important reference material for research in folklore and in the local culture of the Chaoshan region. At present this outstanding folk art has few inheritors and urgently needs protection. Chen Xishun (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1952, native of Chenghai County, Guangdong Province. He drew on the traditional sequences of the Chinese dragon dance, imitated the expressions and habitual movements of the centipede, and selected and refined them, turning a "hundred-footed venomous insect" into an ethereal animal that is auspicious and lucky, martial and magnificent, so that his performance is both traditional in character and innovative. He absorbed the footwork of southern martial arts, greatly improved the performance movements of the centipede dance, highlighted its characteristic blend of strength and gentleness, added many demanding performance techniques, and gave this dance greater artistic beauty and emotional appeal. Over the years he has actively organized youth performance teams and striven to train a younger generation of performers. Representative inheritor of Centipede dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fourth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Xishun 04-1572
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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