Dragon Dance (Kaihua fragrant grass dragon)

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

Applicant: Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province

Item No.: 107

Project No.: Ⅲ - 4

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province

Protection unit: Kaihua Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Introduction to Dragon Dance (Kaihua fragrant grass dragon)

Applicant: Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province

It is a folk custom during the Mid Autumn Festival in 18 towns of Kaihua County, especially in Fuhu village of SuZhuang town.

Kaihua fragrant grass dragon is made of straw and inserted with dense incense. When dancing, it lights all the incense and turns into a fire dragon. In the dim moonlight night, it is full of smoke, elegant fragrance, flying clouds and flying wildly, which is magnificent.

Before the dragon dance, we should first "sacrifice the dragon": we should set up a pig head incense table, burn incense and candles, recite sacrificial temple, and play music with firecrackers. At the end of the dragon dance, the grass dragon is sent (thrown) into the river, which means the Dragon returns to the sea.

According to the genealogy of Wang family in SuZhuang town (compiled in the 28th year of Kangxi), in 1362, the leader of the red scarf army, Zhu Yuanzhang, fought with Chen Youliang in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and retreated to Yuntai, Zhejiang Province (now SuZhuang town of Kaihua) to recuperate. During the Mid Autumn Festival, local people killed pigs and sheep, danced incense grass dragons and rewarded the red scarf soldiers. After Zhu Yuanzhang watched, he called the grass dragon "dragon of God". In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), Zhu Yuanzhang sent Ye Chen, a member of Zhongshu society, to SuZhuang to make Jinxi village Fulou village. The villagers believed that "dragon" should be accompanied by Luan, so they made "BaoFan", "osmanthus tree", "figure", "auspicious plaque", as well as "Butterfly", "bird", "Swan", "fish, shrimp, mussel, turtle" and other animals dancing with grass dragon, adding the characteristics of grass dragon in SuZhuang. This performance form has been passed down to now.

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