Lantern Dance (Putian Jiuli Lantern Dance)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lantern Dance (Putian Jiuli Lantern Dance)

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Project No.: 642

Project No.: Ⅲ - 45

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: Village Committee of Heping Village, Huangshi Town, Licheng District, Putian City

Brief introduction of Lantern Dance (Putian Jiuli Lantern Dance)

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Lamp dance has existed since ancient times. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a record of "lamp dance" with lamp as props. During the new year's Festival (especially the Lantern Festival) or the rituals of praying for rain, offering sacrifices and begging for a good harvest, the palace and the folk often perform lantern dance. At first, the lantern dance was characterized by the placement of characters, and then gradually developed into a folk dance style with the arrangement of colored lights to construct patterns and create artistic conception, which spread all over the country. According to the shape of lantern, lantern dance mainly includes dragon lantern dance, lion lantern dance, fish lantern dance, clam lantern dance, butterfly lantern dance, hundred bird lantern dance, lotus lantern dance, chrysanthemum lantern dance, wax lantern dance, boat lantern dance, lantern dance, cloud lantern dance, Hydrangea lantern dance and other forms of lantern dance. There are many forms of lantern dance, usually performed in group dance at night. As the actors walk and dance, the formation is constantly changing, and fireworks are also set off during the dance, making the scene spectacular. This kind of folk dance style mostly appears in the Han area, but also popular in some minority areas.

Jiuli lantern dance, which is popular in Goubian village, Huangshi Town, Licheng District, Putian City, Fujian Province, is a wonderful flower in Fujian folk dance garden. It originated from the Lantern Festival's various lantern dance performances. Through generations of folk artists, it gradually formed a complete set of dance performance forms and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The fish lantern used in the nine carp lantern dance is well made. First, bamboo strips are used as the skeleton and tied into the shape of carp. Then, red paper is pasted on the outside and fish scales and fins are painted. The red carp lamp is generally 1.5 meters long and 40 cm wide. During the performance, a fish lantern team was composed of more than ten fish lanterns, with the first one slightly larger. Nine carp lantern dance has a set of prescribed movements, and the performance needs to be accompanied by gongs, drums, cymbals, cymbals, etc. When the lantern is dancing, I can see the big red carp shuttling up and down in the night, playing leisurely, and the cheerful feeling is deeply infected. Most of the performers of Jiuli lantern dance are young adults in rural areas, and the older ones are generally responsible for beating gongs and drums. If there is a dragon dance team in the neighboring village during the performance, there is another dance method of fish and dragon to show the sincerity of friendship.

Jiuli lantern dance involves folklore, archaeology, martial arts, art and many other research fields, with the characteristics of mass, entertainment and appreciation. Among them, the rare Jiuli props and rich folk dance vocabulary and performance program are highly praised by relevant experts and scholars. Today, this unique folk dance is only preserved in the family style natural village in the north of Goubian village, and the props production skills and dance pithy formula are also inherited within the family. With the aggravation of cultural marketization, the traditional nine carp lantern dance in Putian is declining rapidly, and the talent of performance and prop production is decreasing. The development prospect is not optimistic, so it is urgent to rescue and support.

Chinese PinYin : Deng Wu Pu Tian Jiu Li Deng Wu