Xibe Beilun Dance
01 · Historical Records
Xibe Bailian dance took shape in the early stage of the development of the Xibe people. When the ancestors of the Xibe lived a fishing and hunting life around the Greater Khingan Mountains they already had a form of entertainment for building strength and keeping fit, and relics of it are preserved in Xibe Bailian dance, which thus displays a strong quality of imitation.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xibe Bailian dance is the collective name for the folk dances of the Xibe people. It is current in counties and cities such as Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in the Ili area of Xinjiang, as well as in scattered Xibe settlements such as Tacheng Prefecture and Urumqi City, and the Xibe call it the “dance of life”. Xibe Bailian dance is an improvisational folk dance with a strong popular and self-amusing character; everyone may perform freely according to his or her own strengths. There are roughly a dozen varieties of Xibe Bailian dance, mainly including Xibe Bailian, suited to middle-aged and elderly people; the bright and impassioned Duohuolun Ahesul; the ceremonial dance Duoruoluo Bailian; the hand-clapping dance Galashixi Kalare Bailian; and the bride-fetching dance Hehehulare Bailian. The melodies of the Bailian dance tunes flow smoothly, are cheerful and bouncing, and the tunes are simple but strongly rhythmic; after being organized by folk artists they formed relatively fixed dance tunes, played on the dongbuer, a plucked instrument of the Xibe people. The dance forms of Bailian dance embody the life customs and spiritual outlook of the Xibe people, reflecting the Xibe people's mode of living in harmony with nature and their life ideal of pursuing a good and happy life.
The dongbuer
The dongbuer is the Xibe plucked instrument that carries the dance, its melodies flowing and leaping, simple in tune but strongly rhythmic.
Named beilun dances
There are some dozen forms, among them the sedate Xibe beilun, the brisk Duohuolun Ahesuer, the salutation and clapping dances and the summon-the-bride dance.
Fishing and hunting echoes
Formed in the Xibe's early period, it preserves something of the fishing-and-hunting pastime of their ancestors in the Greater Khingan and is strongly mimetic.
A dance of life
The collective name for Xibe folk dance and called by them the dance of life, it is improvised, popular and self-entertaining, each dancer free to show their own strength.
Yuexiang, field songs and handuchun
Born in Qapqal in 1937, Yuexiang taught herself the dance from twelve and combined it with field songs and handuchun opera in her research and choreography.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Bailian dance is current in Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in the Ili area of Xinjiang, and, as the Xibe dispersed, is also seen in Huocheng, Gongliu, Tacheng, Urumqi and other places; among its varieties, Xibe Bailian, suited to middle-aged and elderly dancers, the bright and impassioned Duohuolun Ahesul, the ceremonial dance Duoruoluo Bailian, the hand-clapping dance Galashixi Kalare Bailian and the bride-fetching dance Hehehulare Bailian circulate most widely. Bailian dance is mostly accompanied on the dongbuer; the melodies of the dance tunes flow smoothly with strong rhythm and became relatively fixed after being organized by folk artists. Dancers often pair off two by two and improvise, each adding or reducing movements according to his or her own strengths, and the ceremonial dance and the hand-clapping dance also carry distinctly formalized ritual etiquette.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present most of the folk artists who can dance Bailian in its original style are already old, and the Bailian dance danced by young people has varied considerably, so the original form, the expressive vocabulary and the artistic style of Xibe Bailian dance are steadily being lost. Under these circumstances inheritors should be trained in good time, so that this ancient ethnic folk art can be rescued and protected without delay. Yuexiang (associated inheritor, as recorded in the official file): Female, Xibe ethnicity, born in September 1937, native of Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. She began to learn Bailian dance by herself at the age of twelve, her dancing formed a school of its own, and she gradually accumulated comparatively rich experience of Bailian dance. On the basis of the traditional routines she combined Xibe Bailian dance with field songs, Handuchun and the like, conducting research and creation; she stands out among the many Bailian dance artists of Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County. Representative inheritor of Xibe Bailian dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the third national batch. Though now advanced in years, she still teaches Bailian dance to young people with undiminished enthusiasm.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yuexiang 03-0953
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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