From dragon and lion dances all over southern Guangdong
To the slightly niche crane dance
Cantonese people's love for this type of folk art is beyond words
Even a small lion's head should be placed on the health code
Many parts of Guangdong have their own interpretations of dragons and lions
In the eyes of Jieyang's friends:
- What, aren't dragon dances all with fire?
- What, isn't the lion's head green?
- Haven't seen the Crane Dance? Take you to see it immediately!
Fireworks Fire Dragon
The nine-section dragon snaked and circled
The dragon's body was covered with gold and silver fireworks
Gongs and drums, firecrackers
Colorful dragons leap and fly
Spit fireballs in your mouth and spew fireworks on your body
Fire tree honeysuckle, extraordinary
Fireworks Fire Dragon (Photo: Zheng Lizi)
Jieyang's fireworks fire dragon, commonly known as "burning dragon", is most famous for the fireworks fire dragon in Qiaolin Township. According to legend, in the Ming Dynasty, thieves sprang up and repeatedly violated the village. The Jolins resisted heroically, repelling enemy sieges several times. The villagers made dragon lanterns to celebrate the victory, danced dragons to celebrate, and eventually evolved into today's fireworks and dragons. In 2008, Qiaolin Fireworks And Dragon Dance was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Every year during the Waxing Moon, people start making dragon lanterns. Bamboo is made into the body of the dragon, silk cotton paper paste into a dragon lamp, and then painted scales, clouds, eight treasures, tai chi, etc., the majestic and lifelike dragon was born. From the beginning of the first lunar month, people began to swim dragons and dance dragons to welcome the spring, and the whole dragon was divided into nine festivals, and at least more than a dozen athletes were required to dance. From the fifth to the ninth day of the first lunar month, various fireworks are installed on the dragon lanterns.
In the evening of the tenth day of the first month, nearby neighbors and even tourists from other places who came to see the fireworks and dragon style gathered around the prepared venue, and the crowds were boiling and the spectators were blocked. The athletes of the dragon dance lit fireworks and dragons, and several cannons on the sidelines fired in unison, and the colorful dragon leaped and danced out, spitting out fireballs in their mouths, shooting blue light in their eyes, spewing fireworks on their bodies, and tails hanging green smoke. The dragon balls lead the dance, the dragon smokes and spits fire, rushes through the clouds, leaps and circles, just like a real dragon rushing to the sea of clouds, fighting claws to grab the pearls. At this time, the sound of artillery, gongs and drums, and people cheering intertwined with each other, a lively and joyful scene.
Leo Dance
The green lion's head was fierce and fierce
The two white eyebrows add to the majesty
Accompanied by the beat of the drums
The big furry "lion" flashed and moved
Suddenly, it leaps and falls
Suddenly, I looked left and right
Looks like life
Win a round of applause
Green Lion Blessing (Photo: Zheng Chufan)
Green lion commonly known as "Green Lion White Eyebrow", also known as "Open Mouth Lion", is a traditional lion in the Chaoshan region, whether in appearance, production process and lion dance techniques, are obviously different from the Northern Lion in the north and the Southern Lion in Guangdong. In addition to practicing martial arts and entertainment, jieyang people also pinned their expectations for the green lion dance to expel epidemic ghosts and ward off evil spirits. Up to now, there are still traditional customs of lion dance in Rongcheng District of Jieyang City. The Lion Dance (Green Lion) was selected into the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2011.
Green Lion Performance (Source: Jieyang Rongcheng District Green Lion Cultural Protection Center)
The Green Lion Dance is made by hand in the tradition: first made of wood as a bracket, then coated layer by layer of kraft paper from the inside to the outside, reaching a certain thickness, then applying color, drawing the lion's forehead, teeth, and then carving out the lion's nostrils, and finally installing the lion's ears and white eyebrows made of rabbit hair, supplemented by the lion quilt and lion's tail. The finished Green Lion has a prominent forehead, thick nostrils, eyes like a copper bell, long whiskers and mane, mighty and majestic, and has a unique Chaoshan taste.
The main movement of the Green Lion Dance is the "Lion Fighting Festival", also known as "biting lice" or "head-set", according to legend, there are 18 sections: lion biting feet, lion biting lice, sleeping lion, lion turning over, stepping on the seven stars, stepping on gossip, lion crossing the bridge, playing lion, saving lions, table kung fu, exploring wells on the table, cutting blood from lions, biting fruits, grabbing money, biting greens, lion receiving ceremonies, worshiping temples, and four doors to the end.
Green Lion Performance (Source: Jieyang Rongcheng District Green Lion Cultural Protection Center)
The Green Lion Dance is a kind of mass historical and cultural wealth unique to Jieyang area, integrating dance, acrobatics and martial arts, with the magnificent Chaozhou Gong and Drum, and the image of the king of the hundred beasts with the majestic lion is exquisitely expressed and vividly. The Leo show has increasingly become a popular activity for the masses.
Green Lion Dance (Photo: Tu Yingpeng)
Crane Dance
Night falls
White feathers swim among the rivers of colored lights
Dancing white cranes, flowers come
Another year old anping is abundant
Crane dancers imitate various gestures of white crane dancing (Photo: Su Shuang)
According to legend, the ancestors of the Su family in Kuitan Town, Huilai County, influenced by the folklore of the immortals defeating the evil demons to rescue the villagers, the Jade Emperor sent seven white cranes to hold auspicious flowers, and celebrating the peace and tranquility of the villagers, and the crane dance called "Ruihe Xianbao" was founded during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and has only been passed down in the family, and has gradually spread to the Chaoshan folk in modern times. Later, this white crane also "flew" to the overseas Chinese community with the footsteps of Huilai people, and became a provincial intangible cultural heritage in Guangdong.
The main prop of the Kwai Tan Crane Dance is the crane lantern, made of bamboo, the crane head red crown top, the mouth contains a bouquet of flowers, the crane body is framed with silk paper, pasted with feathery white, green, gray, black cloth pieces, simulating the color of the crane feather, the wingspan is nearly 1 meter, the long crane foot retracts backwards for flying, and the head and body are lit by candles. During the performance, the left hand operates the crane body and wings, and the right hand operates the crane head and neck, which can be flexibly danced up and down, left and right, with a beautiful posture and lifelike posture.
Huilai Crane Dance (Photo: Su Shuang)
Kwai Tan Crane Dance is mostly performed in the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and other festivals, not limited by the venue, the performance space is flexible, and the effect is the most prominent when performing at night, such as shooting stars, which is quite spectacular. During the performance, there are 6 to 8 drummers, 20 lantern dancers, and 7 crane dancers. The "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" of the Lantern, holding aloft palace lamps, carp lamps and other 10 pairs of various lamps and lanterns in a large circle, 7 dancers holding 7 crane lanterns in the center, and then divided into 4 dance sections in order: "Ruihe Dance", "Ruihe Welcoming Spring", "Ruihe Tribute" and "Seven Cranes Returning to The Cape".
The crane team danced interspersed between the lanterns, and the crane dancers sometimes bowed their waists and sometimes straightened their waists, making the crane team appear wavy. The cranes accompanied by the drums, sometimes calling friends and friends, sometimes spreading their wings and flying, sometimes calmly and calmly, with their heads bowed and swirling, sometimes they are elated and sing. The movements are smooth and free, the style is quite beautiful and lively, and the atmosphere is warm and peaceful.
A dragon lion, a white crane
Behind it is a story of Jieyang
Jieyang style and memory
Maybe it's hidden in the fireworks, the gongs and drums, and the crane feathers
-END-
Source | Fang Zhi Guangdong