The human-dragon dance can be called the soul of folk dance in Leizhou Peninsula. It has a distinctive rhythm, strong drum beats, majestic momentum, and is inspiring. Leizhou Peninsula currently has the Donghai Island Human Dragon Dance and the Shentang Human Dragon Dance.
The Donghai Island Human Dragon Dance is a large-scale square dance. This dance is popular in Dongshan Town on Donghai Island.
Dongshan Town is located in the middle of the island and has always been a strategic military location. Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the "Human and Dragon Dance" on the east and west streets of the town will be performed for three consecutive nights, attracting people from inside and outside the island to come and watch. The human-dragon dance originated in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. At that time, King Fu Zhu Yousong led his remaining troops to retreat south, preparing to establish an anti-Qing and Fuming base in Hainan. According to legend, he walked to this place on August 15th. In order to allow the soldiers to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival, the local squire organized a performance of a juggling act popular among children. From this time on, the Human-Dragon Dance began to gradually take shape and has developed into what it is today. The human-dragon dance became popular during the Qianlong and Jiaqing years of the Qing Dynasty. In the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, the Leizhou garrison division moved to Dongshanwei and was renamed Dongshan Naval Battalion. It had 253 officers and soldiers and set up an examination room for Wu Xiucai in Dongshanwei. Since then, Dongshanwei has developed rapidly. At that time, there was a human-dragon dance team on both East and West Streets of Dongshanwei. Wu Xiucai's examination is usually held on August 15th. As a result, people watched the martial arts test during the day and the "Human and Dragon Dance" at night. The two human and dragon dance teams also competed with each other in their skills. For a time, Dongshanwei was bustling with activity. In this way, year after year, the convention has been established, and the human-dragon dance has continued to dance to the present day and remains unchanged for a long time.
Its traditional performance venues are the seaside and the small streets of Wei Town, and the traditional performance time is the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Only in recent years has it left the island and gradually entered "squares" and stages. The performance time is no longer limited to August 15th. It will dance whenever there are festivals or major celebrations.
The reason why the Human-Dragon Dance is called "Human-Dragon" is because the "dragons" in the performance are all made up of people, not objects. The dragon has a huge body, usually consists of fifty or sixty people, and some have hundreds of people, and it is majestic. "Human dragon" is divided into three parts: "dragon head", "dragon body" and "dragon tail". "Dragon head" includes three parts: dragon tongue, dragon eyes and dragon horns. These three parts are played by three children. The person who plays the role of the dragon head must carry these three children at the same time, and he must hold two shields in both hands at the same time. Therefore, the actor is required to be tall and strong, have good basic skills and be proficient in acting skills. The "dragon body" is the main part of the dragon. Each adult's shoulders support children who perform pitching movements one after another. The child wears dragon clothes, a dragon tassel and a dragon crown on his head, which are made of sections. The adult of "Dragon Tail" also has a child on his shoulders. When the "human dragon" dances, percussion instruments such as gongs and drums are rhythmically coordinated, and the children playing the role of the dragon hold up a lantern or flashlight to show the flash of the dragon's eyes. The dragon's body turns left and right, rising and falling. As the dragon's head slowly advances, the dragon's tail also swings left and right in line with the formation. The entire human dragon performs with great force and momentum, the scene is lively and has a strong local flavor. In recent years, some local folk artists have reformed and processed the structure, dance steps, dance postures, music style and rhythm of the human dragon dance, forming "Rising Dragon", "Dragon Nodding", "Dragon Crossing the Clouds", "Tornado Wave" " and other performance programs have made it more perfect, and it is known as "the unique one in the East China Sea".
The Shentang Human Dragon Dance (original type) originated from the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty (1523). Shentang villagers created the human dragon dance to celebrate the establishment of the Shentang Fair by the local official Chen Shikai (Chen Shikai was a Jinshi and a wealthy man). Jia Leiyang, the imperial edict went to Lingbi County, Anhui Province to serve as the county magistrate of Chengdu, Qiu Man).
On the 15th and 16th days of the eighth month of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people revel in the streets. When they forget their feelings, they lift their friends on their shoulders. Those who lie on their shoulders hold the latter’s feet with their hands. Clamp the former's neck and lift them one by one.
The "dragon head" is played by a strong young boy. A lively and cute little boy is chosen and tied with a red ribbon on the chest of the dragon head. The lit incense is given to the little boy to bite one to become the "dragon tongue". ", holding an incense stick in each hand as "longan".
Another little boy is riding on the dragon's head and shoulders, holding incense sticks in both hands as the "dragon horns", and the "dragon tail" is carried backwards by the dragon's feet. A light boy with good waist strength holds his hands together. A handful of incense is waved in the shape of a dragon's tail, and the dragon leader inserts the lit incense on the bamboo hat as a "dragon ball". This forms the predecessor of the "Human Dragon Dance" in Shentang. It does not require makeup or costumes, and the length is determined by the person. , taking pleasure in the people.
It has been followed for hundreds of years.
Today in building a harmonious society, Zhanjiang and Leizhou attach great importance to the construction of folk culture. In order to explore the traditional cultural heritage of nearly 500 years and create a cultural brand, Shentang broke the old form and modified the "Human Dragon Dance" in all aspects from clothing to movements without changing the original flavor of folk art. A new rehearsal guide is provided to integrate power, art and dynamics!
Now Leizhou City’s Shentang People’s Dragon Dance has been included in the “Guangdong Province Intangible Cultural Heritage” list, and will spare no effort to apply for the “World Intangible Cultural Heritage”! Eagle Dance is a set of traditional folk art created by the people of Zhanjiang during their long-term labor practice, based on martial arts and dance, and imitating the movements and demeanor of eagles and eagles fighting each other. It is spread in Xinhua, Riverbank, Lianjiang City, Anpu and other places.
The entire dance of "Eagle Dance" has a strong plot. The general idea is: The Big-Belly Buddha came from the sky to the jungle in the northern part of Leizhou Peninsula. The little monkey in the forest took him on a sightseeing tour in the forest. When they walked somewhere, they saw Kazuo Eagle sleeping soundly. At this time, the little monkey became playful. He motioned to the big-bellied Buddha to hide behind the tree, and he tapped the heads of the eagle and the male respectively. After the eagle and the male woke up, they mistakenly thought that the other was teasing them. So, a fight broke out. During the fight, both sides refused to give in and attacked each other with their own unique skills. Later, the eagles join the battle. Seeing that the war was getting more intense, the Big-Belly Buddha hurriedly came out to tell the truth, and the little monkey apologized to both parties. Then, the war turned into friendship, the warring parties shook hands and made peace, and a harmonious situation emerged in the forest. This story contains the people's yearning, vision and best wishes for a stable, peaceful and happy life.
The eagle's modeling characteristics are: sharp beak, wide wings, and sharp claws. The image is smart and brave. The male is made into a dragon head and a phoenix tail, a golden leopard body and a unicorn horn, which looks powerful and powerful. The performance routines are: awakening the eagle, fighting the four gates (spring, summer, autumn, winter or east, south, west, north), washing face and mouth, crossing the bridge, picking ground green, picking sky blue, etc. Among them, Cai Tianqing's action is thrilling. The actor playing the role of the eagle has to lie on a high pole without any protective measures. Then, everyone pushes it upright to show the spectacular scene of "the eagle striking the sky". The most difficult part is the climax of the whole dance.
According to villager Chen Zhaoming, around the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there were Eagle Dance activities in the two Tanwei areas. But it was just dancing on the ground. In the 1940s, Liang Rongzhang created the idea of ??using a 4-meter-high wooden pole to lift the eagle performer into the air, using abdominal strength without any protective measures. The difficult skills of pushing up wooden poles, performing high-altitude balanced rotations and picking green leaves have greatly improved the performance level of the Eagle Dancer.
The current head coach of the Eagles in Zhuyuan Village is Liang Rongzhang’s son Liang Baochen, who is now 63 years old. In 1988, he led his team to create the first double eagle to lift up the pole and increase the height of the pole from the 4 meters of his father's generation to 6 meters, making the Eagle Dance more thrilling, exciting and highly enjoyable to watch. The team he led participated in the first and second Guangdong Provincial Folk Art Festival, and was included in the Guangdong volume of "Chinese Ethnic Folk Dance Collection", Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture [1997] No. 52 "About naming the first batch of Guangdong Province "Decision of the Hometown of National Folk Art", Zhanjiang City and Lianjiang City successively named Xinhua Town the Hometown of Eagle Dance. This program was once broadcast on CCTV's "East, West, South, North, and Middle" program.
(For information, refer to "Zhanjiang Evening News" on February 10, 2002) Piaose, clay sculptures, and flower bridges are known as the three wonders of Wuchuan. If we look at the performance space, these three wonders happen to be water (flower bridge), land (clay sculpture), and sky (piao color). The "Three Wonders" performance is held every year during the Lantern Festival. At that time, the streets and alleys of Wuchuan were crowded with people, and it was called the "Wuchuan Carnival." It is precisely because of this comprehensive and three-dimensional "three wonders" that Wuchuan City was named the Hometown of Chinese Folk Art by the Ministry of Culture.
Silk and bamboo gongs and drums are played repeatedly, and tourists arrive at dawn, most of them in the city. They can be found in the villages and ponds in various villages. This is called Nuo, which is called to relieve disasters. Some people perform Nuo on the 28th or the 12th of February...
The "Soldier Examination" sacrificial activity in Jiuxian Village is divided into six stages: Examination of soldiers, scattering grain, setting off for the expedition, rolling a bed of thorns, sending people to give blessings, and paper boats to ward off disasters. The dance is presided over by the dance leader from beginning to end, starting at Chen time in the morning and ending at Xu time in the evening.
The Nuo dance in Dongling Village is called "Kaobing", or "training" and "exorcism". It consists of five dances: "Che", "Mai", "Li", "Liu" and "Hong". It is composed of four generals (also known as "fierce generals" by the villagers), Tugong and Tutu women. Legend has it that these five generals were the generals under Kang Huang, the famous anti-Liao general in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is understood that the Nuo dance in Dongling Village, Zhanjiang was caused by his ancestors who moved from the north to Putian, Fujian during the Song Dynasty. They entered Zhanjiang during the Ming Dynasty and settled here in the late Ming Dynasty. Kaobing Nuo masks were carved in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and have been around for 400 years. For many years, Nuo dance masks have been kept in Linggang Temple.
In March 1999, Yangcheng Evening News published a full-page report on Dongling Nuo Dance, which has a long history in Dongling Village and is known as "a living fossil in the history of dance" (Yangcheng Evening News, March 6, 1999 After the Eighth Edition of Japan (Visual News), Dongling Village and Dongling Nuo Dance received widespread attention from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. In the past ten years, many experts, professors, scholars and reporters have visited the village to inspect, interview and take photos. In 1992, Dongling Kaobing Nuo Dance was approved to be included in the national key scientific research project "Integrated Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dances. Guangdong Volume", which attracted attention at home and abroad.
In November 2001, the academic paper "Kaobing Nuo in Dongling Village, Huguang Town, Zhanjiang City" was published in Taiwan's "Folk Customs and Folk Arts". Professor Kang Baocheng, director of the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center at Sun Yat-sen University, also went to Dongling Village for field inspections and conducted research on the phenomenon of Nuo dance. In addition, the mask images of the five Nuo dance generals who "examined the military" in Dongling Village were once adopted by Guangdong Telecom Co., Ltd. and printed on the cover of the 200 telephone card. In April 2007, the "Kaobing" Nuo dance was included in the first batch of intangible cultural heritage masterpieces in Zhanjiang City. In January 2008, the Dongling Nuo Dance Team was rated as the most dynamic folk art team in Zhanjiang City.
Now Nanxing Town and Songzhu Town, Leizhou City, Leizhou Peninsula; Dahuang Township, Xuwen County; Shidong Village, Shijiao Town, Lianjiang City; Jiuxian Village, Dongling Village, Huguang Town, Mazhang District, etc. The tradition of Nuo dance sacrifices is still followed. At present, the "Kaobing" dance of Jiuxian Village and Dongling Village, Huguang Town, Mazhang District was compiled into a volume by the provincial, municipal and suburban culture in 1992, with music scores, shapes, props, movements, illustrations, performance notes, etc. As well as explanations and artistic introductions, they were all selected and included in the "Collection of Chinese Ethnic Dances·Guangdong Volume" by the Central Ministry of Culture. The Pixiu Dance is a unique folk square festive dance in Meiyan Town, Wuchuan City. Pixiu is a beast in folklore, said to be more powerful than a lion. The story of Pi Xiu and the dance of Pi Xiu have been circulating in Meiyan Town, Wuchuan City for a long time.
The Pixiu dance consists of dozens of people supporting each other with shields, forming a three-story human tower. The first layer consists of 28 big men forming the bottom layer, then 8 people form the second layer, and 8 people form the third layer. Pixiu (played by two people) climbs to the top of the "tower" from the human ladder, dances and picks green flowers on it. During the dance, the human tower slowly rotates and moves to the rhythm of gongs and drums. The dance uses percussion accompaniment of gongs and drums. From the appearance of the brave animal, pounce on food, tumbling, scratching, playing in the water to climbing to the top of the tower to pick green leaves, the movements are light, soft, slow, urgent, strong and vigorous. The complete set of movements includes Pixiu crossing the mountain, crossing the bridge, climbing the hill, stacking the pai mountain, climbing the pai mountain, etc. The style of this dance is a combination of hardness and softness, with hardness as the main focus. Through the overlapping of the human body, high-altitude dancing, and the use of acrobatic performance skills, the dance greatly increases the sense of space, and has the characteristics of strangeness, danger, and interest. Leizhou stone dog is a kind of stone carving art.
According to "Lei Zu Zhi", Leizhou is the birthplace of the ancient Southern Barbarians. "In the old days, there were Yao, Tong, Dong, Liao and Li" and other ethnic minorities living together. Among them, the Yao people regard dogs as "dogs." totem".
In the Tang Dynasty, it is said that the birth of Lei Zu Chen Wenyu was due to the discovery of the nine-eared dog; the origin of the name "Leizhou" has a legend that Leizu was born from the stone eggs discovered by the nine-eared dog. Appeared in both hands. The spirit dog discovered Lei Zu and guarded Lei Zu as he grew up, so it was regarded as a god who protects humans.
According to a preliminary analysis of the physical objects and the environment in which they were found, Director Chen Zhijian of the Leizhou Museum speculates that the oldest existing stone dogs may date to the Tang Dynasty. In the minds of Leizhou people, the stone dog was first worshiped as a totem, and then became an auspicious animal. People place these stone dogs of different shapes and forms at the entrance of the village, beside the well, in front of and behind the house, hoping that the stone dog can ward off evil spirits and suppress demons for them, and bless them with peace. In addition, it is said that stone dogs also have the "function" of reproductive protection.
The shape of the stone dog has also gone through a process from abstraction to concreteness. So far, the largest stone dog found is more than 2 meters tall and weighs more than 1,000 kilograms, while the smallest is only a few centimeters tall. The material of stone dogs is mostly local red sandstone. In the Stone Dog Museum in Leizhou City, there is also a small stone dog carved in coral rock.
It is estimated that there are about 15,000 to 25,000 ancient stone dogs existing in Leizhou City. In order to protect these precious historical relics, the Leizhou Municipal Government began a large-scale collection work in early 2001. And at the end of November 2001, the Stone Dog Museum was built. More than 300 stone dogs collected will be officially settled in the museum for visitors to visit. According to the person in charge of the museum, in the future, they will continue to collect stone dogs scattered among the people, and there are plans to build a stone dog park. Centipede Dance is a mass cultural and sports activity in Wushi Town, Xuwen County, southern Leizhou Peninsula. It is usually performed during the Mid-Autumn Festival every year.
It is said that in ancient times, Wushi Port was hit by the plague and the fishing village was in depression. Later, the villagers met to ward off the plague. In order to show their unity, everyone tied their waists with cables and formed a team. At night, they held incense and entered Hong Kong to ward off evil spirits. The formation dances like a centipede crawling, and its expression is lifelike, so it is called "centipede dance". The Centipede Dance event consists of three teams. One is the gong and drum team. It is composed of gongs, drums and cymbals, leading the way at the front of the centipede team. The other team is the Centipede Team, which consists of 59 people pulling a large rope more than 100 meters long. Three young adults are pulling the rope in front, with small ropes tied around their waists connected to the big rope, wearing bamboo hats on their heads, and holding igniters in their hands. The incense handles are drawn to the left and right, and the bows are raised to the opposite sides, with their backs facing forward. At the end of the big rope, two people each carry pig cages filled with densely packed incense. They are then supported by four strong men, pretending to be drunkards. On both sides of the big rope, 50 young adults tie small ropes around their waists to connect the big rope. , all wearing bamboo hats on their heads, filled with incense, holding incense handles in both hands, and following the rhythm of gongs and drums, they danced back and forth from side to side, performing the centipede dance along the big rope. The other team consisted of dozens of teenagers holding torches on both sides to light the way forward. Wherever the Centipede team went, there was thunder and cannon fire. More than a hundred meters long, the incense sticks are dotted into lines, some are curved, some are straight, some are round and some are square, it is a spectacular sight, just like a real centipede wriggling.
(Materials refer to "Guangfu Folk Customs" written by Zhong Ye Chunsheng) The lion dance is a popular dance in Guangdong. The awake lion is different from the northern lion. The northern lion is on all fours, resembling a real lion. The lion awakening only has the lion's head, the dancer's feet are on the ground, and the lion's body is covered by another actor with a piece of cloth (red, yellow, white, green, blue, etc.) on the lion's tail. Awakening lions are divided into two categories: ground lions and high pile lions. Among them, the Wenche Awakening Lion belongs to the high pile lion.
Wenche Village has a tradition of practicing martial arts to strengthen the body. Lion awakening is often organized by the leader of the martial arts school. The village's lion dance has a history of hundreds of years. In recent years, their high stakes lion skills have been improving day by day, and they have frequently participated in various domestic competitions with good results.
The total length of the high piles during the Wenche Lion Dance performance is about 16 meters, and the highest pile is 3 meters. There is a cable bridge somewhere between the piles, and the length of the cable bridge is 1 meter. The distance between piles is about 38 cm, and the pile surface is 30 cm. The content of the performance is: a lion wakes up, walks through the jungle, crosses the ravine, and goes to the top of the mountain to collect Ganoderma lucidum (that is, pick green). The routines performed mainly include: cleverly stepping on plum blossom piles, bravely entering the seven-star array, swinging across the rattan rope bridge, flying over dangerous cliffs, outsmarting Ganoderma lucidum grass, and joyfully returning to the mountains and forests. , during the performance, the Wen Che Awakening Lion looks majestic, strong, strong, heroic and arrogant, with a compelling momentum. It not only involves difficult movements, but also pays attention to humor and details. It pays attention to vividly expressing the lion's expression in details, making it thrilling and interesting to watch.
Wenche Lion Dance has won medals in the 2002 Guangdong Province First Folk Art Invitational Competition, the 2002 Zhanjiang Folk Lion Dance Performing Arts Competition and the 2002 China (Hubei Jingmen) International Lion Dance Invitational Competition. Bai Opera, commonly known as "Bai Opera", is mainly popular in Lianjiang City and is one of the folk celebrations during the Spring Festival.
It is said that Bai Opera originated during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. This kind of play is sung with local vernacular folk songs, supplemented by homemade simple puppets, and can usually be performed by two to five people. Because it uses bamboo tubes to match the rhythm, it is also called the "Muyu Class". This is the earliest prototype of Bai Opera. During the Daoguang period, the development of Bai opera has entered a prosperous period. Singing styles have been continuously innovated, music tunes have been enriched, Cantonese opera facial makeup has been introduced into puppet production, and the techniques are meticulous and lifelike, gradually becoming a mature local opera. The performance stages of Bai Opera are mostly temporary stages, mostly set up at the entrance of the village or on the street. The stage installation is simple, with a movable canvas hanging in the background.
The representative figure of Bai Opera is the Qulong Village Opera Troupe. Many people from surrounding villages come to this village to learn the art. After completing their studies, they often go on tour under the banner of "Qulong Class" and perform in various places.
(For information, refer to Zhanjiang Evening News on February 10, 2002) Leizhou Song, referred to as Lei Ge, is an improvised folk art form that is loved by the people of Leizhou Peninsula and widely circulated. It is sung using local Leizhou dialect. During long-term labor and daily life, the people of Zhanjiang have summed up many life and production experiences and lessons. They summarized these experiences and lessons into songs and sang impromptu songs in the fields, villages and alleys.
Lei Ge has gone through three stages of development: first, folk proverbs. Lei songs at this time were mainly based on production and life experience, with simple sentence patterns, varying number of words, and could be recited or recited. The second is ballads. At this time, the sentence patterns of thunder songs are alternately used, and the lyrics are composed of four sentences, basically rhyming. The third is song vine. Because the meaning of thunder songs at this time is lingering, like the vines of a tree, it is called "Singing Vine". The thunder song at this time is closest to the current thunder song, with each sentence having seven words, four sentences to one, and the first, second and fourth sentences rhyming. Rhyming is particularly important. For example, the first sentence is basically rhymed with Yang Ping tone, the second sentence is rhymed with Yin Ping tone, the third sentence must not rhyme, and the fourth sentence is rhymed with Ping tone. After going through these three stages, Jinti Leige has officially taken shape. For hundreds of years, as time goes by, this wonderful tree blooms more and more prosperously, and the more it blooms, the more adorable it becomes.
Thunder songs come in various forms, including antiphons and solos, with rich and colorful contents covering a wide range of topics. Among them, the most important, distinctive and mature one should be girls’ songs. Girls' songs are an art form in which Lei Ge develops from "singing for oneself" to "singing for others". It is mainly composed of singing girls and supplemented by singing boys. Girls' songs are mainly raps, in which singing girls and singing boys sing duets, or boldly express the love between men and women (love songs), or sincerely advise the world (playing songs), or sing praises to gods and pray for blessings and peace (odes to gods). ). During the duet, the scene was very lively, and the duet singers were full of witty words, which made people laugh. If the duet is between brothers and sisters, there is a certain limit to the intensity, but if it happens between mass singers, the situation is completely different. Since this kind of duet requires a showdown, the performers who take the stage are always experienced performers. When singing in duet, there is often a back and forth between you and me, refusing to give in to each other, and each singer is unconvinced. Each singer tries his best, or uses the topic to play on, or avoids the important and takes the easy. In the end, it often goes to the point of making things difficult, in order to overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum. . At this time, the girl's song became a "fighting song".
Because thunder songs are an oral folk literature and art, not many of them have been handed down. However, in recent years, many knowledgeable people have begun to pay attention to this aspect of work. "Three Hundred Thunder Songs", edited by Zhang Zhuxi and published by Guangdong People's Publishing House, collects 300 outstanding thunder songs popular among the people. In her book "A Preliminary Exploration of Leizhou Traditional Culture", Dr. Wu Jianhua not only lists some thunder songs, but also conducts in-depth research on them. It can be said that Lei Ge is increasingly showing its vitality and vitality.
The centipede dance is a folk dance created by the ancestors of Wushigang in Leizhou City to dispel evil and eliminate disasters and pray for good health. This dance originated in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years.