Stilts (Liaoxi stilts)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: stilts

Applicant: Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province

Item No.: 112

Project No.: Ⅲ - 9

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Liaoning Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province

Protection unit: Cultural Development Center of Taihe District, Jinzhou City

Brief introduction of stilts (Liaoxi stilts)

Applicant: Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province

Stilts, also known as "stilt Yangko", is a kind of folk dance which is widely spread all over the country. It is named for stepping on stilts. Stilts have a long history, which originated from a kind of technical performance in ancient operas. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were stone carvings of walking on stilts. Stilts were generally performed in the form of dance teams, with a number of more than ten to dozens of people. Most of the dancers played the role image in an ancient myth or historical story, and their costumes were mostly imitated from opera lines. The common props were fans, handkerchiefs, sticks, knives and guns, etc There are two forms of performance: "stepping on the street" and "abandoning the field". Abandoning the field has "big field" where the dance team dances while walking in various formation patterns, and "small field" where two or three people perform. Most of the characters dance with men and women, and sometimes sing while dancing. The stilts used in different places vary in height from 30cm to 300cm. From the performance style, it can be divided into "Wenqiao" and "Wuqiao", Wenqiao focuses on twisting and stepping and plot performance; Wuqiao focuses on showing off skills.

According to historical materials, the stilt Yangko in western Liaoning has a history of more than 200 years.

The feature of Liaoxi stilt Yangko is stilt height, the lowest is 90cm, and the highest is 240cm. Actors need to sit on the eaves and tie stilt legs. Because the stilts are high and elastic, in order to keep the balance of the whole body, the dancers must keep swinging their arms up and down to perform freely, which constitutes the basic movement law of "Da Da dance" on stilts in western Liaoning. Also because of the stilt height, Liaoxi stilt Yangko has formed the skills of throwing, crossing, squatting, parting and twisting, and the forms of beauty, wave, Qiao, Kuai and tease. The movements are natural and beautiful, and the scenes are warm and fiery. It has outstanding performance characteristics such as twisting China and the United States, waves in the United States, Qiao in the wave, Qiao in Kuai and Kuai in tease, which fully shows the heroic character of Liaoxi people.

Liaoxi stilt Yangko has its own unique way of inheritance. One is family inheritance, for example, Zhu Xiufeng (born in 1840), the first generation descendant of Santun village in Daxue Township, has passed on for five generations; the second is apprenticeship inheritance, for example, Zhu Youyu (born in 1864), the first generation descendant of fantun village in Yingpan Township, has passed on for four generations; the third is natural inheritance. As the stilt Yangge in western Liaoning is deeply loved by the masses, many fans have become self-taught talents in watching performances and become new soldiers.

Liaoxi stilt Yangko has an important cultural and artistic value, and has a wide range of mass influence in the local and inside and outside the province.

Due to the death of some old artists of Liaoxi stilt Yangko and the lack of successors, their performing skills, especially the unique "extra high stilt" in China, are in danger of being lost and need to be rescued and protected.

Chinese PinYin : Gao Qiao Liao Xi Gao Qiao