Dragon Dance

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Dragon Dance

Applicant: Shanwei City, Guangdong Province

Item No.: 107

Project No.: Ⅲ - 4

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Guangdong Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Shanwei City, Guangdong Province

Protected by: Lufeng Cultural Center

Introduction to Dragon Dance (Shanwei rolling Golden Dragon)

Applicant: Shanwei City, Guangdong Province

Dragon dance, also known as "Dragon Dance", is also called "Dragon Dance", "dragon lantern dance" or "dragon lantern dance" among the people. It is widely distributed in all parts of the country and among all ethnic groups. Its variety of forms is incomparable to any other folk dance. As early as the Shang Dynasty, oracle bone inscriptions have been used to offer sacrifices to the dragon and pray for rain by several people; the records of Dong Zhongshu's Chunqiu Fanlu in the Han Dynasty have clearly recorded all kinds of dragon dances to pray for rain; since then, it has been common to record the palace or folk dragon dances in the poems of all dynasties. Until now, dragon dance is still one of the popular dance forms in folk festivals. The basic performance means of dragon dance are its props modeling, composition changes and action routines. According to the different materials of dragon shaped props, they are divided into cloth dragon, yarn dragon, paper dragon, grass dragon, Qian dragon, bamboo dragon, brown dragon, bench dragon, shutter dragon, lotus dragon, fire dragon, chicken feather dragon, meat dragon and so on; the northern dragon dance is generally tall and thick, with simple and vigorous style; the southern dragon dance is exquisite and delicate, lively and agile. Dragon dance can be divided into yellow, white, green, red, black and so on in color, and Huanglong is the most noble. The composition and action of dragon dance generally have the characteristics of "round song", "tumbling", "entanglement", "interpenetration" and "jumping". The traditional performance procedures of dragon dance are generally: "invite the dragon", "give the dragon", "dance the dragon" and "send the dragon". There is a folk saying that "seven or eight years old play grass dragon, fifteen or sixteen play little dragon, young adults dance big dragon". When the number of dragon dancers is small, one person will dance two dragons, and when the number of dragon dancers is large, one hundred people will dance one dragon.

Dragon is the totem and ancestor of the Chinese nation; dragon dance is the symbol of the Chinese spirit, which embodies the spirit of unity and development of the Chinese nation, and contains the cultural connotation of harmony between man and nature and the benefit of mankind. It is the most common way of entertainment for the Chinese people in auspicious and blessing seasons. The atmosphere is warm and inspiring. It is a very precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

According to the records of Huang Tianshu, an old man in Nanxi village, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, and the narratives of some insiders, "gundi Jinlong" was founded in the Southern Song Dynasty. During the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, Huang Guangzhao Gong and his party moved from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province to Nanxi village, Lufeng, Guangdong Province, bringing the biography of gundi Jinlong. Huang's Nanxi "gundi Jinlong" has been bred for seventeen generations. Later, Jinlong artists and traditional Wushu masters from the village spread to Shengou village, Tanxi Town, Lufeng; Anbo, xiaanlian, Dingtan and Antang villages, Daan town; Liangjun and Xiacun villages, southwest town; shangshenshan village, Chengdong Town, Lufeng.

Nanxi village "rolling Golden Dragon" performance, by two people into the "dragon quilt cover", one dance dragon head, one dance dragon tail. The whole performance process is divided into "opening ceremony", "encircling and patrolling the cave", "swimming in the pool", "stretching tendons and washing scales", "stung and smelling thunder", "dancing against thunder", "flying in the clouds" and "returning to the ceremony at the end". In the performance, the dragon dance is imitated, such as flying, playing in the water, meditating and waking up, gentle and quiet, brave and enterprising. The accompaniment is "Pai Da Gong and drum" of hailufeng Zhengzi opera, which is majestic, loud and open. The Da suona plays different tunes according to different performance plots, including "Gong e yuan", "crying for the emperor", "hillside sheep" and "Ba ban tou". The basic characteristics of this dance are rich expression, many routines, wonderful dance and good skills.

In 1996, Nanxi village was awarded the title of "hometown of ethnic and folk arts" by Guangdong Provincial Department of culture, and gundi Jinlong was included in "Chinese Dance annals", and has won many awards in major national and provincial activities.

Chinese PinYin : Long Wu Shan Wei Gun Di Jin Long