Speaking of the peacock princess, it is easy to think of the sequel to the TV series "Journey to the West", the peacock princess played by Jin Qiaoqiao danced a peacock dance, which was amazing. However, when it comes to the peacock dance, many people first think of Yang Liping. Many of her works have been the classic memories of several generations, such as "Spirit of the Sparrow" and "Yunnan Impression".
The Peacock Princess in Journey to the West
Spirit of the Sparrow
Impressions of Yunnan
But few people know that before Yang Liping, there was also a pioneering dancer. Without her, many of the dances performed by Yang Liping may not have had the opportunity to enter the lives of so many people. This person is Dao Meilan. Not only did she make a huge contribution to the popularization of the peacock dance, but her own life was also full of legends.
Dancer - Dao Meilan
There is a Xuanwei Street in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, and just by listening to the name of the street, you know that this street is related to the Xuanwei Division in the car. In 1944, Dao Meilan was born here, and her Dai name was Nan Di Tina. In the past, only women of the Dai royal family could have the word "Nan" in front of their names.
Cheli Xuanweisi is the former Dai King's jurisdiction, and Dao Meilan and the last Dai King Dao Shixun happen to be the same sect, so Dao Meilan can be said to be a princess from the Dai royal family. After the liberation of Xishuangbanna, the Dai King ceased to exist, and she became the last "peacock princess" of the Dai royal family in Xuanwei Street. Dao Meilan's contribution to the Peacock Dance is groundbreaking.
Peacock dance
In the past, the peacock dance was a male dance, and Dao Meilan's grandfather and father were very good at performing the peacock dance. Her grandfather was so fond of her that he passed on this dance of passing on the male to the female to Dao Meilan. Dao Meilan did not live up to her grandfather's expectations, although she had not received professional training and did not understand the rhythm, she still learned the peacock dance in a similar way.
In traditional Dai society, the peacock dance can only be performed by masked men. Although Dao Meilan had learned this dance since she was a child, she had never had the opportunity to perform in a formal setting. However, fate always favors those who are prepared. A few years later, she had the most important opportunity of her life.
In 1954, Dao Meilan joined the Xishuangbanna Literary And Labor Team, and was the only dancer in the same group who entered the Cultural Workers' Team. On the platform of the literary team, her dance skills continued to mature, and she eventually played the role of the peacock princess in the dance drama "Zhao Shu Tun and Nan Wu Nona".
Peacock Princess - Dao Mei Lan
In the dance drama, Dao Meilan danced the peacock dance and created the female peacock dance. Without her creation of the peacock dance, there would be no later Yang Liping's development and dissemination of this. Because of the peacock dance, Dao Meilan became an important artistic star of that era. She has also played an important role in China's diplomatic history.
At the age of 15, Helmerlan visited Myanmar with a diplomatic mission. During the visit, she performed a peacock dance. It was this performance that made a former prince of Myanmar fall in love with her at first sight. Although Burma is already a republican country, the descendants of the nobility are still revered as princes.
Dao Meilan performs a peacock dance
The prince pursues the knife Meilan
Of course, Burma is also a country of ethnic minorities, similar to local administrative officials such as toasts during the Qing Dynasty, and it is not unusual for the descendants of these nobles to be called princes. The fact that the performance at that time was able to spread such anecdote proves to a certain extent that the peacock dance brought by Dao Meilan for the people of Myanmar has an amazing artistic charm. Of course, the young Dao Meilan, young and young, has a career in the sky, of course, she can't look at the lonely little prince.