Xuan Dance
01 · Historical Records
Its origins can at present be traced back to the period of the ancient Zhangzhung civilization; it was further developed during the period of the Guge kingdom, and it has a history of more than a thousand years up to the present. Xuan dance has a long history and rich content; it had already appeared before the Tubo dynasty. According to the Drigung Lineage Record compiled by Drigung Dainzin Pema Gyaltsen, the twelfth Drigung dharma heir, the greatly invested national preceptor Dondrup Jib, who lived around the fourteenth century, regulated and developed the original Puduiba xuan dance in its content, movements and costume, greatly enhancing its artistry and its value as a spectacle, making it richer and more complete and thus bringing it to its height.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xuan dance is a folk dance peculiar to Tibet, current mainly in the canyon areas on the China-India border within Zanda County. Traces of xuan dance are clearly preserved in the murals of the main hall of the Red Temple at the Guge ruins; the murals show a grand ceremonial occasion held by the king of Guge to welcome Master Atisha, in which ten women dressed in brilliant costumes are dancing xuan dance. Historical records show that in 1042 xuan dance was performed as a ritual dance at the ceremony welcoming Master Atisha at Toling Monastery. Puduiba xuan dance is an ancient form of song and dance for self-enjoyment among the Tibetans; “xuan” is a Zhangzhung word meaning song and dance. Puduiba xuan dance first arose among the folk and was transmitted for a long time in the Menba township area along the river at Drigung on the upper Lhasa River. It is mostly performed at religious celebration occasions, and won the favour of the masses with its distinctive and magnificent costumes, its beautiful and moving songs and its elegant and steady steps. Puduiba xuan dance integrates speech, singing and dance, and its dance style blends the essence of the folk dance of Ü-Tsang in central Tibet and of the Ü-Khor area. It moves to the rhythm of speech and song, taking steps that are markedly lively and cheerful; the movements are few and simple, but its flavour is rather difficult to master. The dancers dance while singing; those who are not singing dance to the accompaniment. The dance embraces material from religion, ritual, custom and festivals of every kind; its style is elegant and steady, beautiful and free. Among the Tibetans there was a saying, “the xuan of Puduiba, the opera of Yangri Gang, the zhuo dance of Zhangda”, which sets Puduiba xuan dance on a level with the famous folk arts of Yangri Gang and Zhangda, two places also along the river at Drigung on the upper Lhasa River, which shows its status and influence. In the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Puduiba xuan dance went to Samye Monastery to take part in the all-Tibet great festival of song and dance, and received high praise. Puduiba xuan dance may only be performed at major ceremonies such as the welcoming of the Drigung dharma king, the dharma king's enthronement ceremony and the consecration of a monastery. The costumes of this dance are so magnificent that ordinary families cannot afford them; in the places where it is current, the great households of Bangduk Cang, Tixue Cang, Zathang Ben Cang, Zhongdui, Zhongmai and so on could only perform Puduiba xuan dance in the form of a corvée service.
The Drikung lineage and the codification of Xuan
According to the Drikung lineage record, the twelfth throne holder Dondup Gyalpo codified the dance's content, movement and costume in the fourteenth century.
Menba township along the Drikung river
It spread in Menba township along the upper Kyichu river, celebrated in the saying that pairs Puduiba Xuan with Yangrigang opera and Zhangda Zhuo.
Performed as corvée
Restricted to major Drikung ceremonies, its costly costumes meant the great households performed it as a corvée duty.
Angga and Luojie
Angga (1932-2011) performed with measured grace; Luojie collected the texts and revived the dance from 2005, training over forty inheritors.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Puduiba xuan dance integrates the principal Tibetan folk arts such as opera, dance and narrative singing, and has marked regional and folkloric characteristics, providing valuable material for research in ethnology and folklore.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xuan Dance · Xuan Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present the elderly artists who were skilled in Puduiba xuan dance have died one after another; the phenomenon of the art dying with its bearer has thrown the survival and development of Puduiba xuan dance into great difficulty, and urgent rescue and protection are needed. Angka (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): from childhood she learned and took part in Puduiba xuan dance and other kinds of folk dancing. Her dance blends the essence of the finest xuan dance from all parts of Tibet and embraces material from the religion, ritual, custom and festivals of the Tibetan people; her performance movements are unhurried, well measured in tension and relaxation, and lose neither elegance nor nobility. Through lyrics praising the scenery of her homeland, praising a good life, extolling eminent lamas and high monks, and praying for blessings upon the estate, the artistic features and cultural content of Puduiba xuan dance are expressed. Female, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in 1932, died in February 2011, a native of Mozhugongka County, Tibet Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project xuan dance (Puduiba xuan dance). She was eager to teach Puduiba xuan dance to the younger generation, and did a great deal of work for the transmission of this ancient art. Luo Jie (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in January 1945, a native of Mozhugongka County, Tibet Autonomous Region. He has loved folk art since childhood, and from the beginning of the 1980s began collecting local folk literature, folk song and dance and narrative singing materials, including the lyrics and historical legends of Puduiba xuan dance. He is devoted to the transmission, organization and documentary recording of Puduiba xuan dance; from 2005 he began organizing its restoration, working in consultation with elderly artists such as Gongjue Peijie over the classics and collecting and organizing textual materials on the history, legends and lyrics of Puduiba xuan dance. Representative inheritor of the fourth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project xuan dance (Puduiba xuan dance). He has trained more than forty young inheritors, so that Puduiba xuan dance has its successors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Angga 03-0944
- Luojie 04-1578
- Zhuoga 05-2275
- Renzengwangmu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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