Duixie
01 · Historical Records
The traditional duixie performance form is the same as the Qiang people's saling and the dance forms in the murals of the palace and fort ruins of the Guge kingdom; male and female dancers cross their joined hands in front of or behind the body, by which it is distinguished from other circle dance forms.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Duixie is divided into a southern school and a northern school. The performance of people of the Duinan area belongs to the southern school and is relatively graceful; the performance of people of the Duibei area belongs to the northern school and tends towards the bold and magnificent. A duixie performance can be divided into a first and a second part: the first is mainly singing, with a slow rhythm and melodious dance postures; the second is mainly dancing, with a lively rhythm and free and easy postures rich in appeal. Duixie is widely transmitted in Tibet and has a history of more than seven hundred years. It is most flourishing in Shigatse, commonly seen in open spaces, on the streets, in courtyards and among the linka groves. Duixie transmitted in Lazi County uses the six-string lute as its accompanying instrument, and the performers play, sing and dance at the same time. The number of performers may be large or small: one person may play, sing and dance alone, or two or more people may combine playing, singing and dancing. In Lazi County 80 per cent of the people can play and sing the six-string lute, and whenever there is a major festival celebration the county holds duixie performances. In the course of its long development, through the refinement and standardization of the people and the artists, the Lazi duixie gradually formed a set of conventionalized performance patterns which, by difference in content and form, can be divided into more than fifty types. The Lazi duixie has rich content, beautiful melody, lively performance rhythm and smooth, free and easy movement; it has three principal performing postures — behind the head, at the waist and in front of the chest — presents a distinctive artistic style, and enjoys extremely high fame throughout the Tibet region and beyond, at home and abroad.
The southern and northern lines
Two lines are distinguished, the southern being graceful and the northern robust, differing in melodic direction, the force of the steps and the carriage of the upper body.
Three performing postures
Three principal postures, behind the head, at the waist and before the chest, combine with shifting plucking positions of the zhanian to produce the form's distinctive style.
More than fifty types
Through long polishing by villagers and artists it became a codified performing pattern divisible into more than fifty types by content and form.
The zhanian and playing while singing
The Lhatse form is accompanied by the six-string zhanian and performed while plucking, singing and dancing; over eighty per cent of the county's people can play it.
Lhapa and the Xingxing prize
Born in Lhatse in 1948, Lhapa took up the zhanian at thirteen, performed alone by fifteen and won a gold medal at the thirteenth national Xingxing awards in 2004.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Duixie, popular in the Tibetan areas, is the earliest circle dance to appear with six-string lute accompaniment; it was originally distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, in the area west of Shigatse and in the Ngari region, and afterwards gradually became widespread throughout Tibet. Dui refers to the higher places of Tibet, including the area from Lazi to Dingri County in the Shigatse region of the upper Yarlung Zangbo River and parts of Ngari; xie means song and dance. Duixie is a folk art combining song and dance, narrative singing and instrumental performance that is popular among the people of this region.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Duixie.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Duixie is an important expressive form of Tibetan traditional culture. It not only has high artistic value but also plays an irreplaceable role in research into Tibetan history and culture, folklore and primitive religion. As the times develop and modern culture strikes at it, the survival of the Lazi duixie is in crisis, and rescue and protection are urgently needed. Laba (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): a man of the Tibetan ethnic group, born in July 1948, native of Lazi County, Tibet Autonomous Region. At thirteen years old he took up the six-string lute and learned zhanyin-qin duixie together with the adults; through his own efforts he soon mastered the various playing techniques of the zhanyin lute and the complex and varied footwork of stepping and kicking that the duixie dance requires. Representative inheritor of the third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project duixie (Lazi duixie). At fifteen years old he was able to perform independently, took part many times in artistic performances held in Lhasa and other places, and won numerous honours and medals. In 2004 he won the gold award of the thirteenth National Qunxing Awards organized by the Ministry of Culture. He is dedicated to the inheritance, development and innovation of the art of duixie and to training successors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Laba 03-0945
- Chenbangwen 05-2276
- Zhaxiwangla
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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