acrobatics on a high flag pole

acrobatics on a high flag pole

The banner is a kind of flag with different sizes. Zhongbian is a kind of flag with gorgeous decoration, honor features and competition strength. Zhongbian originated from the flagpole of the Royal Guard of honor, and later evolved into a performance in folk temple fairs. Playing and dancing are traditional acrobatics.

On May 20, 2006, Zhongbo of Tianqiao was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list with the approval of the State Council.

On June 7, 2008, Zhongbiao (Zhongbiao, Zhengding Gaozhao and Jianou Qiaobiao in Antou Tun) was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list with the approval of the State Council.

brief introduction

Zhongbian in northern China is a traditional sport which combines sports with entertainment, strength and skills. The project has a long history and is very popular among Hui, Manchu and Mongolian people.

Zhongbian is an ancient folk art in China and a precious heritage of Chinese folk art. According to historical records, Zhongbian originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has a history of more than a thousand years. In his early years, Zhongbian was called "the Great Governor's Banner" or "the Great Executive Banner". It was used for military honor and command, etc. Later, it spread to the people and evolved into the present Zhongbian. It is not only a traditional folk art with a long history, but also a kind of acrobatics, traditional entertainment and sports.

origin

Zhongbian originated from the flagpole of the Royal Guard of honor, and later evolved into a performance in folk temple fairs. As a microcosm of the old Beijing culture, Zhongbian, a bridge in Beijing, has become one of the first projects recommended by the national intangible cultural heritage list, and has attracted worldwide attention.

Historically, the Zhongyu and wrestling of the "Baosan" flyover are the most famous, while the "Baosan" Zhongyu has only one heir, Fu Shunlu, who also handed down the housekeeping skills of the "Baosan" to his sons Fu Wenyou and Fu Wengang.

Zhongyi, formerly known as the great deacon, originated from the flagpole of the royal flag during the March and hunting of the imperial honor guards in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to relieve the emperor's depression during the March or hunting rest, the flag bearers waved and waved flags to cheer the emperor and inspire the fighting spirit of the three armies. During the reign of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, adding umbrellas to the original flagpole made it more beautiful to play. Later, the large flagpole with umbrellas was used by the royal palace as a guard of honor to greet diplomatic envoys, which became more majestic and solemn, hence the name of the great deacon. Every year in the palace, great deacons are played to celebrate important celebrations.

The backbone of Zhongbo is a bamboo pole three feet long (more than 10 meters long), with a flag hanging on its top. The front of the flag is embroidered with blessings and auspicious patterns, and sometimes the name of the performing group is embroidered on the reverse. Zhongbian is divided into single training, double training and collective training, with more than 50 movements. Performers or crowns on the forehead, or stretching towers, thrilling movements continue, but always stay close to the body, poles do not fall to the ground. More than ten meters high, tens of kilograms of weight in the hands of the performers, shoulders, forehead, chin, neck back and other places up and down, alternately move.

Historical Origin

The banner is magnificent in shape and clear in title. It is often used in honor activities. Flag-bearers can show their bravery and wisdom by playing banners. Therefore, Zhongbian was a necessary item for Buddha and celebrations in Qing Dynasty. Each group has its own flag in the walking meeting, and they compete to practice their stunt skills, gradually forming a quite unique acrobatic program.

Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng of the Ming Dynasty (Emperor Beijing Scenery) have been recorded. The Qing Dynasty Bamboo Branch Ci of Bai Opera recorded: "The banner is four or five feet tall, on the front of the hanging bell, the athletes dance for generations, the command is very satisfactory, accompanied by the sound of golden drums, the viewer like a wall Yan."

During the reign of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, adding umbrellas to the original flagpole made it more beautiful to play. Later, the large flagpole with umbrellas was used by the royal palace as a guard of honor to greet diplomatic envoys, which became more majestic and solemn, so it was also known as the great deacon. Every year in the palace, great deacons are played to celebrate important celebrations. During the reign of Qianlong, the Zhongbian Society was under the jurisdiction of the Yellow Banner Inside, one of the eight classes of the society, which was crowned by the emperor and flourished for a time.

It is Wang Xiaopi who plays an important role in the development of Zhongpai. At that time, there were performances of Zhongbian in all parts of China, but the forms of performances were different. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Xiaopi, an old Tianqiao artist, learned this art from his brother, who played the deacon in the palace, and renamed the great deacon Zhongbian, which became a performance of a commercial nature, and introduced it to the people. Later, Bao Shanlin became an apprentice and passed on his stunt to Bao San. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Eight Banners'sons and daughters went to the flyover market to sell their art for their livelihoods, among which the most popular, popular and popular items were wrestling, performed by Shen San (Shen Yousan), Bao San (Bao Shanlin), Zhang Douzi (Zhang Wenshan).

In the 1950s, Mr. Bao Shanlin was in charge of the footbridge crossbow, while Chen Jinquan, Ma Guibao, Fu Shunlu and Xu Mao, the third generation successors, attracted a large number of professional and amateur experts from all over China to discuss their skills.

From 1960s to 1970s, the overpass market was cancelled, various kinds of literary and artistic performances were banned, and the Baosan Wrestling Ground was cancelled at the same time. After the reform and opening up, the Xuanwu District Cultural Committee has carried out a series of cultural activities to excavate, sort out and protect the folk customs of overpasses with the aim of promoting the culture of Xuannan. Fu Wengang, the son of Mr. Fu Shunlu, founded the "Baosan Folk Culture and Art Troupe of Beijing Fu's Flyover", which made a number of flyovers survive and be inherited.

artistic characteristics

They are divided into three categories according to their size: Shuo Yi, Zhong Yi and Xiao Yi. Shuangyi is generally heavier and higher, usually more than 12 meters; Zhongyi is generally about 9 meters, most performers choose Zhongyi, so the term "playing Zhongyi" has spread; while Xiaoyi is only 3-4 meters, usually in small performances, such as theatres, teahouses and so on. In the early stage of play, there was the name of a building and a shoulder. In the middle of Qing Dynasty, there was a performance of "shoulder skating" in Beihai Park in winter. The main stem of Zhongbo is a bamboo pole three feet long (more than 10 meters). On the top of the pole hangs a long brocade banner of 0.5 meters wide and 5.5 meters long. The front of the banner is embroidered with blessings and auspicious patterns. On the back, sometimes the name of the performing group is embroidered, so it is also called the flag. Zhongbo weighs more than 30 kilograms net. It is made of two bamboo poles. The size and flexibility of the poles are also exquisite. It takes about four years to make a finished product from a drum. Its manufacturing and processing procedures are still ancestral and refuse to leak.

From the technical point of view, Zhongyu includes techniques such as lifting clouds and hanging legs (kicking, drawing and kneeling). It not only trains people's courage, strength and skills, but also combines civil and military skills. In addition, Chinese wrestling and Qigong are also the basis of the practice of Zhongyu. Zhongbian is divided into single training, double training and collective training, with more than 50 movements. Performers or crowns on the forehead, or stretching towers, thrilling movements continue, but always stay close to the body, poles do not fall to the ground. More than ten meters high, tens of kilograms of weight in the hands of the performers, shoulders, forehead, chin, neck back and other places up and down, alternately move.

When performing in Zhongbian, the artists hold up the pole in their hands and dance in many patterns. Their acting styles have their own image names. The pole is thrown up and held up with the head to hold the tripod for the overlord. The bamboo pole is supported on the ground with one leg and supported by one hand to support the golden chicken. In addition, there are dragon head, tiger tail-flicking, Fenghou hanging seal, Suqin sword-back, Taigong fishing, engine and other styles. There is also a layer or even several layers of round ornaments consisting of glaze, brocade, bells, flags and tassels on the top of the elegant central pole, which is called the Muluo Cover. It is not only colorful, but also makes a pleasant sound.

The performance of Zhongbian requires stability, accuracy and speed, and hand-eye coordination. During the performance, the performer uses the palms, backs, shoulders,

The forehead, jaw and other parts complete lifting, top, toothsword, brain sword, single mountain and other movements, constantly shaking, throwing, falling. The performance of Zhongbian is guided by throwing high and standing steadily. Performers or crowns on the forehead, or stretching towers, thrilling movements continue, but always stay close to the body, poles do not fall to the ground. More than ten meters high, tens of kilograms of weight in the hands of the performers, shoulders, forehead, chin, neck back and other places up and down, alternately move. During the performance, colored silk facets were waving in the wind and copper bells were ringing on the roof.

Although wrestling and crossbow are two items, they are closely related. In addition to practicing basic skills, wrestling must also be practiced. This is a tradition.

The performance of the crossbow was first performed in the wrestling arena. Because Baosan had practiced wrestling before he practiced it in practice, it can be said that it is a combination of wrestling and Zhongyu. Therefore, Bao Sanshou's disciples must have practiced wrestling, so the phenomenon of "Beijing wrestling in practice" appeared in the capital city at that time, which also became a tradition. Until Beijing, all of them have practiced wrestling, and wrestling is not necessarily a medium-sized wrestling. Both middle wrestling and wrestling are very skilled sports, so we should learn to borrow strength. The performance of Zhongbian is guided by throwing high and standing steadily. When performing, if encountering archway, performers have to throw up the middle height and run across the archway to the opposite side to catch it, which is very difficult. During the drill, the crossbow should be fast, steady and accurate, and the hand-eye coordination should be consistent. And wrestling training can improve people's limb movement ability, exercise muscles and bones, enhance waist and leg strength, and cultivate visual ability, judgment, accuracy, flexibility and coordination. So practicing wrestling is the basis of learning to play. Wrestling and crossbow have also become the most important representative items in folk performances. Later, Fu Shunlu, who often went to Baosan Fair to help him, became fascinated with Zhongyi. After recommending Baosan as a teacher, he got Baosan's true biography and became the third generation heir of Baosan in Tianqiao Fair. At that time, he was called the "platform pillar" of Baosan Fair.

Inheritance Significance

The banner in the overpass is the traditional stunt of the old overpass. Its performance form is that the performer touches a banner about 11 meters long with his hands or other parts of his body, and keeps the banner from leaving and the pole from falling to the ground. Fu Wengang, 44, is the fourth generation of this stunt. He is also the founder and leader of Baosan Folk Culture and Art Troupe of Beijing Fu's Flyover. Although Fu Wengang has 20 students and 8 apprentices, he is still worried about the inheritance of Yu in the overpass, because fewer and fewer people are genuinely gifted and willing to inherit this skill.

Dancing banners have gradually become non-professional, professional artists are scarce, and the overpass acrobatics environment and performance form have changed, playing in the banners is still in an endangered state, which needs further protection. Fu Wengang considers developing Zhongyi through the production of cultural accessories of Zhongyi.

The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, the intangible cultural heritage was approved by the State Council and listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. On June 5, 2007, the Ministry of Culture confirmed that Fu Wengang of Beijing was the representative successor of this cultural heritage project, and was included in the list of 226 representative successors of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects.

Famous Heirlooms

Baosan Zhongbiao Archway

Bao San: Bao Shanlin is a famous wrestling and crossbow artist both at home and abroad. In the 1920s and 1940s, Baosan was known as the King of Lie in the capital. At the age of 16, he was a close disciple of the Eighth Master of the Qing Dynasty. After hard study and hard training, his Kungfu reached an astonishing level in the early years of the Republic of China. Later, Wang Xiaopi formally accepted Bao San as an apprentice, and passed all his life's skills to Bao San. Once, in the Beihai performance, Baosan had two archways in the East and west. Zhongyi was thrown vertically. Baosan flew through the archway and steadily caught Zhongyi. From then on, Baosan became famous as the capital city.

After liberation, Baosan received Chen Jinquan, Ma Guibao, Fu Shunlu and Xu Mao as apprentices. He devoted himself to the study of wrestling techniques and the inheritance of folk culture. But Fu Shunlu was the only one who inherited Baosan's stunts in wrestling and middle crossing. Because of Baosan's contribution to folk art, he was honored to be elected as a member of the First Xuanwu District Political Consultative Conference, and served as a national first-level judge. He was also honored to participate in the National Day celebration.

Fu Wengang, the fourth generation heir

Fu Wengang said, "Xueyi, I never liked it until today can not do without it." When he was 15 years old, his father made him a 4.5-meter-long small middle platform. In 1986, Fu Wengang performed various actions of Zhongbang on an eight-immortal table at the First Longtan Lake Folk Flower Competition, which was highly praised by experts and won the "Personal Performance Award". In 1988, Fu Wengang took over his father's Zhongyi and, under the Commission of the Dongcheng District Government, set up the Drum Tower Flyover Fault.

In 2002, Fu Wengang organized the successors of the old artists of the former flyover and established the "Baosan Folk Culture and Art Troupe of Beijing Fu's flyover". In addition to wrestling and crossbow, the troupe also includes Qigong, colorful tricks, pulling foreign films, double reeds, allegro, storytelling and drum singing. Fu Wengang led his disciples to participate in the "Beijing Landscape Dance Australia" event. He was also invited to perform in Canada, the United States, Russia and other countries to show Chinese traditional culture and art. Fu Wengang considered developing Zhongyi through the production of Zhongyi cultural accessories. "Zhongyi has beautiful shape and momentum, and can be made into small crafts, so that more people can understand it." Such a high-tech and high-risk folk art can not make ends meet by acting alone. Fu Wengang received eight apprentices and more than 20 students. Most of the apprentices were the only sons of friends. He liked Zhongbian and followed suit. In order to attract more talents, Fu Wengang danced Zhongbo into universities such as Tsinghua University and Beijing Forestry University. Thousands of students enjoyed this wonderful activity in the campus gymnasium. After that, many colleges and universities found Fu Wengang, hoping to inherit the national culture through joint education.

Fu Wengang also held a formal worship ceremony in accordance with the old tradition. On the eve of the teacher's visit, Fu Wengang was just going to introduce his new disciples to Master Baosan and Father Fu Shunlu, who were honored and kowtowed by their cards. At the worship banquet, red carpets were laid on the floor, and friends and relatives gathered. Teachers and apprentices had big red posts on their heads. Under the guidance of the recommenders, they exchanged posts. The apprentices kowtowed and offered tea to the master in front of everyone.