Lantern Dance (carp Lantern Dance)

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

Applicant: Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province

Project No.: 642

Project No.: Ⅲ - 45

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Jiangxi Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province

Protection unit: Ji'an Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Brief introduction of Lantern Dance (carp Lantern Dance)

Applicant: Ji'an County, Jiangxi 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.

Carp lantern dance is a kind of performing Folk Lantern Dance which is popular in Pengxia village, Gujiang Town, Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province. The historical origin of carp lantern dance can be traced back to the totem "fish dance" of the fish people in ancient times 7000 years ago. It takes an AO fish as the head and a green shrimp as the tail, with nine carp in the middle. The fish and shrimp are closely united and advance with their tails in order to reach the dragon's gate, which is a symbol of happiness.

The Lantern Dance of carp is composed of a solemn and high spirited turtle, nine lively golden carp and a naive and naughty shrimp. In order to reach Longmen, a happy and beautiful place, they are closely united, biting each other's tails. On the way forward, they sometimes lost their way, sometimes they met the invasion of the enemy squid, but under the leadership of Aoyu, they fought bravely and finally reached Longmen. The movement structure is composed of 16 links: the entrance of the turtle, the exit of the carp, the single demolition of the bamboo tower, the double demolition of the bamboo tower, the oblique demolition of the bamboo tower, the double oblique demolition of the bamboo tower, the three balls, the floating belt, the turning of the pool in the upper water, the chopping of firewood, the hunting of food, the jumping of the dragon, the crossing of the dragon, the accumulation of the tower, the tuanlong and the biting of the tail.

The theme of carp lantern dance is positive, and its artistic image is vivid and beautiful. It catches the characteristics of water and the living habits of fish and shrimp, and creates beautiful dance movements delicately, integrating real life with artistic creation. In the performance, the fish lights sometimes swim back and forth, sometimes roll up and down, showing the happy scene of fish and shrimp freely playing and jumping, giving people a pleasant artistic enjoyment. Every year on the Lantern Festival, gujiang people perform 16 parts of carp lantern dance in villages, streets and squares to pray for good luck. When performing at night, the artistic charm of lantern dance is more prominent.

For hundreds of years, the folk performance of carp lantern dance has maintained the close relationship among the villagers along the Lushui River. It has played a positive role in the process of moving out of isolation, friendly communication with the indigenous people and finally integrating into the local society. At present, the activities of carp lantern dance are shrinking, the connotation of folk customs is gradually weakening, the performers are aging, and the inheritance is poor. The survival and development of this kind of folk dance is full of crisis, which needs to be protected.

Chinese PinYin : Deng Wu Li Yu Deng Wu