Wuqiao acrobatics

Wuqiao acrobatics

Wuqiao acrobatics is a traditional folk acrobatics art in Hebei Province. Referring to the "acrobatics town" people are often referred to as Wuqiao County, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. According to the relevant historical records, Wuqiao acrobatics has the longest history. According to legend, Wuqiao is the feudal territory of the descendants of Sun Wu. There are indeed quite a few people surnamed Sun in Wuqiao. There are more than ten villages named after Sun, such as the former grandson, the later grandson and the Paifang village. To the southeast of the ancient city of Wuqiao is a group of Tuqiu legends, which are the sites where Sun Bin and Pang Juan set up the "phantom of enchantment" during the war. Ten miles south of Tuqiu, there is a village of Sun Gong Temple. To the east of the village, there is a Sun Gong Temple. The statue offered in the temple is Sun Bin. The reason why Wuqiao people practiced acrobatics early is said to be related to this.

In 2006, Wuqiao acrobatics was listed in the first national intangible cultural heritage list by the State Council.

The Origin of Folklore

Wuqiao people like acrobatics, which is related to their past living environment. Wuqiao County is located in the lower reaches of the ancient Yellow River. The Grand Canal in the West and the Sinusi River in the East occupy a large area of land, and the land is saline and alkali barren, floods are frequent, and the war is chaotic. People live in misery. When they have no way to go, they have to play tricks, knives, monkeys, puppies and other small animals, traveling in rivers and lakes, and selling art to make a living.

Wuqiao people practise acrobatics more, can acrobatics more. Legend has it that Ji Xiaotang, a scholar of the Tang Dynasty, went to Beijing twice to rush for an exam. Because he did not want to bribe, he won the scholarship and was removed from the ranks. In a fit of anger, he traveled all over the world alone. On this day, at the end of Nanshan Mountain, I met Lu Dongbin, the ancestor of acrobatics, and learned 360 tricks. After his graduation, he traveled to Wuqiao and settled down in a Taoist temple to collect apprentices and pass on art. From then on, more and more teachers and disciples, father and son, everybody learned and practiced from family to family, handed down from generation to generation. There are acrobats in ten townships of Wuqiao. The more concentrated acrobats are Gully Shop, Yuji, Tiecheng and other townships. It is said that there are only more than 300 families in Fantun Village. There are more than 20 people playing acrobatics in other countries. More than 50 people act as actors and teachers in domestic provincial and municipal acrobatics troupes. There are also acrobatics artists and acrobatics farmers and students in the village. There are no fewer than fifty villages like this in Wuqiao.

Performing venue

According to records, Wuqiao people practice acrobatics with ancient traditional customs. Wuqiao is a prosperous place for temple fairs. In the past, there were many temples in Wuqiao. There were many temple fairs. Up to now, there are no less than ten villages named by temples, such as Zhangxian Temple, Batian Temple, Shuangmiaowang, etc. There are more than ten villages named by temples, such as Dawu Temple, Zhangchao Temple, Shifo Temple, and so on. There are no less than ten villages named by temples, such as Dong Jia'an, Mou'an, Xiaoma Jia'an, etc.

The Temple Fair provides a place for acrobatics to perform and the acrobatics to attract pilgrims to the temple fair. The two complement each other. Over time, they become the traditional style of Wuqiao. According to Wuqiao County Chronicle, Wuqiao also has the traditional custom of "holding lanterns for three days, setting off fireworks, performing miscellaneous plays, noisy women and officials can't help nights" during the festival, and the custom of "red and white celebrations, festive harvest", when people rush to the streets, or wear masks of fierce animals, or wear seven-color clothes, competitive performance, all night long.

In temple fairs, besides doing things, entertainment performances are held. Among them, circus is the most popular and lion dance appears. Legend has it that the lion is a God and animal to avoid evil. Buddhism also regards it as a guardian god. People also regard it as a symbol of good luck. In the fragrance walking meeting, the lion with dignified appearance always opens the road ahead, followed by the skill of horseback.

After the autumn harvest every year, there is a monthly temple fair in Huangzhen (now Ningjin County, Shandong Province) from August 15 to September 15. During the temple fair, acrobatics, magic props, knives, forks, danhuan and other stalls were sold; dogs, monkeys, snakes, bears were selected and purchased. At this time, acrobatics, magic, puppet and other artists have come, or build skills, or visit teachers and friends, or set up group shelters, temple fairs for the acrobatics industry, not interesting. After the meeting, all classes scattered around, near Tianjin and Beijing; far away from Guandong and south of the Yangtze River, they traveled far away with a flying fork or a puppy and monkey, drifting across the sea, traveling abroad, selling art and making a living. This ancient custom had been followed until the end of the 1950s.

artistic characteristics

In Wuqiao, acrobatics is commonly known as "play". The folk rhyme says, "Up to ninety-nine, down to go, Wuqiao plays, everyone has a hand." Wuqiao people have a special hobby for acrobatics. Whether in the streets and alleys, or in the field of wheat farms, or even at the dinner table and on the Tukang, they always turn over a string of heels and fights, fold several groups of Arhats, fight several rounds of fists and turn into several sets of magic tricks. Some children go to the store grain station to buy oil and vinegar, and put bottles filled with oil and vinegar on their little thumbs, without sprinkling. On rainy days, a group of pupils walk with umbrellas on the tip of their noses in the rain. Cave candles night is more interesting, eating cakes, hand-to-hand, drinking wedding wine, standing and so on is desirable, the bride empty-handed sweets filled the room, the groom officially clapped a cigarette in the air to fly in.

Historical Evolution

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wuqiao has developed into sixty large Acrobatic Circus groups, 472 acrobatic groups with three or five partners, 90 puppet operas, more than 2500 actors, and more than 400 veteran artists engaged in acrobatics in other countries.

In the 1950s, when Premier Zhou visited 14 countries in Western Europe, there were Wuqiao acrobats everywhere among the overseas Chinese. Premier Zhou praised them with joy: "Wuqiao is really a land of acrobatics!" "Acrobatics Town" thus got its name.

On November 5, 1984, when Comrade Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Wuqiao, he highly praised Wuqiao's acrobatics art, aroused the great enthusiasm of the people of Wuqiao to carry forward acrobatics culture and develop Wuqiao's economy, and acrobatics has since entered a stage of rapid development and prosperity.

In 1985, Wuqiao founded the first provincial acrobatics secondary school in China. Since the establishment of the school, 26 new high-quality and top-notch acrobatics talents have been sent to the acrobatics groups of Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangxi and Xinjiang provinces and regions. They have won 19 prizes in major domestic and international competitions and performances. As a result of outstanding achievements in running schools, it was admitted as a member of the World Circus School Federation in 1990. In 1991 and 1992, it was appraised by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Personnel as the "National Advanced Collective of Cultural Work" and "National Advanced Collective of Cultural Work for Children and Adolescents".

In 1987, the Ministry of Culture and the provincial government held the first Wuqiao Acrobatic Art Festival named Wuqiao in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital. It has successfully held five sessions so far, making our province the third largest international acrobatic venue in the world after Paris and Monaco.

The development of acrobatics has made Wuqiao acrobatics art more and more influential in the world, but this influence is limited to the development and exchange of art to a large extent. In 1991, under the correct guidance of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory of "centering on economic construction" and "building socialism with Chinese characteristics", the people of Wuqiao put forward a great idea, that is, "developing acrobatic cultural resources, developing tourism", establishing "Wuqiao acrobatic world", and realizing "acrobatic platform, economic singing". Purpose. The design plan is an overall planning area of 3000 mu with an investment of 100 million yuan. It consists of acrobatic tourist area, commodity distribution area and talent cultivation development area. It integrates six functions: tourism, museum, art exchange and competition, talent cultivation, commodity distribution and opening to the outside world. Acrobatics World Phase I Construction Project laid the foundation on April 28, 1992. It was completed and opened to the outside world in November 1993. More than ten scenic spots have been built. In the south, there are ancient-style buildings such as Jianghu Cultural City, Lv Zu Temple, Sun Gong Temple and Taishan Xinggong Palace; in the north, there are modern buildings such as Acrobatic Wonder Palace, Magic Labyrinth Palace, Acrobatic Hotel and Restaurant, which surround the Grand Central square. Between the north and the south, there are 16 towering marble acrobatic historical totem pillars, and the whole view is from the high altitude. The shape of an acrobatic unicycle not only reflects the development history of Wuqiao acrobatics, but also is extraordinary and magnificent.

Unearthed relic

During the construction of farmland in 1958, an ancient tomb of the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550 A.D.) was found in Xiaomachang Village, Wuqiao County. The murals of ancient tombs depict acrobatics vividly and artistically. Among them, acrobatic performances such as handstand, belly top, equestrian and scorpion climbing are more realistic. In addition, according to Wuqiao County Chronicle, Fan Jingwen (Wuqiao County) of Ming Dynasty, an old courtyard official, wrote about the grand occasion of watching circus at the altar (outside the South Gate of Wuqiao old county town): "At the moment, the number of healthy children are there, seeing the horses they ride, soaring, taking their lives and galloping along the road. Thus, people and horses get together, according to the saddle breeze, the foot and cucumber flying, anxious to fog, carefully argue, see immediately dance, or turn over or lie down, or fold or sit or ride, or rob or take off, or jump, or suddenly side, when hands scattered, when tiptoe boots, when standing away from the pedal, think that the situation will fall off, and the circle is more familiar, the viewer is all babbling, but the look is worse. It can be seen that Wuqiao folk acrobatics has a long history and deserves it.

Achievement of honor

In 1987, the sloshing board created by Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School won the Golden Lion Award in the 1st Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival of China.

Wuqiao County New Art Acrobatic Troupe's "Pedal Skills" program won the Silver Lion prize in the first China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival competition.

In 1989, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "Top Skills" The Second First China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival Competition Bronze Lion Award.

In 1991, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "Skills in the Air" and won the Silver Lion Prize in the Third China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival.

In 1995, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "High Car Skills" and won the Silver Lion Prize in the Fifth China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival Competition.

In 1997, "Picking the Moon" created by Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School won the Silver Lion prize in the 6th China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival.

In 1998, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created the "Double Swing" and won the Third Zunyi Youth National Competition Silver Lion Award.

In 2002, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "High Chair" and won the fourth Zunyi Youth National Competition Bronze Lion Award.

In 2003, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School edited Tianyuan evening party and participated in the opening ceremony of the 9th Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival.

In 2005, Wuqiao County Acrobatic Troupe and Wuqiao Acrobatic School won the gold medal of the 10th China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival.

In 2007, Wuqiao County Acrobatic Troupe won the gold medal of the 11th China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival.

In 2006, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "Window Flower - Jujitsu Modeling" and won the gold medal of the 5th Wenhua Award National Youth Acrobatic Competition.

In 2008, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School created "Pursuing Dreams - Pushing People on Diabolo" and won the Gold Prize of the 7th Wenhua Award National Acrobatic Competition.

In 2009, the straw hat created by Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School won the Silver Lion prize in the 12th Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival.

In 2010, Wuqiao Acrobatics School won the gold medal of the 31st "Tomorrow" Acrobatics Competition in France.

In 2010, Wuqiao County Acrobatic Troupe's "Brave - Cyclists" won the eighth Wenhua Award in the National Acrobatic Competition Silver Award.

In 2010, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School and Tianjin Acrobatic Troupe won the Gold Prize of the Eighth Wenhua Award National Acrobatic Competition.

Protection status

The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, Wuqiao acrobatics was approved by the State Council and listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. On June 5, 2007, Wang Baohe of Wuqiao County, Hebei Province, was confirmed by the Ministry of Culture as the representative successor of this cultural heritage project, and was listed in the first batch of 226 representative successors of national intangible cultural heritage projects.