Stilts (shangkouzi stilts)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: stilts (shangkouzi stilts)

Applicant: Dawa County, Liaoning Province

Item No.: 112

Project No.: Ⅲ - 9

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Liaoning Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Dawa County, Liaoning Province

Protected by: Panjin Cultural Center

Introduction to stilts (shangkouzi stilts)

Applicant: Dawa County, Liaoning Province

Stilts, also known as "stilt Yangko", is a kind of folk dance with a long history, which is widely spread all over the country. It gets its name because it often uses both feet to step on stilts when performing. Stilts are usually performed in the form of dance teams, with more than ten to dozens of performers. Most of them play characters in ancient myths or historical stories. Most of their costumes imitate the costumes of traditional opera. The commonly used props in the performance include fans, handkerchiefs, sticks, knives and guns, etc. Stilt has two forms of performance: "stepping on the street" and "abandoning the field", of which "abandoning the field" is divided into "big field" and "small field". The "big stage" is performed by the dance team, and various formation patterns are carried out while dancing; the "small stage" is performed by two or three people, mostly men and women, sometimes singing while dancing. Stilts used in various places range from 30cm to 300cm. According to the performance style, stilts can be divided into "Wenqiao" and "Wuqiao". Wenqiao focuses on twisting and stepping and plot performance, while Wuqiao focuses on dazzling performance.

Shangkouzi village, Xi'an town in the east of Dawa County, Liaoning Province, borders Liaohe River in the East, Bohai Sea in the west, Dashi city in Yingkou in the south, Taian County in the north and Haicheng across the river. Shangkouzi stilt Yangko of Daliaohe River is from this area, which is famous for its unique performance style, known as "a flower in southern Liaoning".

Shangkouzi stilt Yangko is a folk dance form with strong local characteristics, which has a history of more than 300 years. It is said that during the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, LAN Xiaoer, a young man from Guannei, brought stilt Yangko to Dawa County. Since then, stilt Yangko has been popular in southern Liaoning for a long time. During the reign of Guangxu, folk art factors such as playing children, gege tune, trumpet play and Errenzhuan were integrated into it, resulting in a group of folk stilt artists headed by Gao Zhenfeng. Shangkouzi stilt Yangko entered a new stage of development. During the period of the Republic of China, shangkouzi stilt Yangko was influenced by Liaohe culture, and several generations of famous artists appeared. After the founding of new China, there were more and more stilts in Dawa County, basically one in each village. By the 1980s and 1990s, the stilt Yangko team in Dawa had been further improved. In the 1990s, the stilt Yangko technique has restored its original style. At present, there are 32 members of shangkouzi stilt Yangko team, with an average age of 28 years old. Under the organization of the inheritors of stilt Yangko, the performance is becoming more and more popular. Shangkouzi stilt Yangko has flexible movements and exquisite skills. It organically combines the "twist, wave, tease and phase" in stilt, and adds some complex modeling movements in Shangxiang and qiandachang. At the beginning of the 20th century, the "falling chamber" was added in the small field of two or three people, and the acrobatic elements with greater difficulty were added in the movement, and the leg crossing was increased. Shangkouzi stilt Yangko performance is hot and enthusiastic, and its style is jubilant, which is deeply loved by the local people.

Shangkouzi stilts have been popular for more than 300 years. As early as the Qing Dynasty, the ancient stilt art spread on both sides of Liaohe River. Located in shangkouzi village of Xi'an town on the West Bank of Daliao River, there were famous stilt artists such as LAN Xiaoyi, Dazhou (stage name), Gao Zhenfeng, etc.

Chinese PinYin : Gao Qiao Shang Kou Zi Gao Qiao