Speaking of national intangible cultural heritage, some people may feel that it is far from the lives of ordinary people, whether it is an art displayed in a museum or a secret technique that is on the verge of being lost. "Intangible Cultural Heritage" is indeed extraordinary, but it can also be very approachable and down-to-earth. For example, the traditional dance that is active in the folk all year round and is well known to everyone - YangGe. It is festive and cheerful, suitable for all ages, and many people not only twist, but also master the essence without a teacher.
In 2006, Yangge was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. This year, Tangshan's Luanzhou Diyangge has also "twisted" into the national "intangible cultural heritage", officially included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, and become a "national treasure" level cultural project.
Twisting a song is not so simple
Yangge is a very mass and representative Han folk dance widely circulated in China (mainly in the northern region), with different titles and styles in different regions. In the folk, the title of the song is divided into two types: the stilt performance is called "stilt song", and the non-stilt performance is called "ground song". In modern times, most of the so-called songs refer to "earth songs".
Luanzhou City (formerly Luan County) is an ancient city with a long history, profound cultural heritage, simple and kind folk customs. With a thousand-year history, di yang song is active here all year round, and is one of the three major genres of Jidong di yang song (Changli di yang song, Leting di yang song, luanzhou di yang song).
"Luanzhou Diyang song has existed since the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Liaojin Era. In 1989, the former Ministry of Culture published a book called "Integration of Chinese National Folk Dances", in which the "Hebei Volume" has a relevant exposition of the origin of the song. Liu Yongjian, the inheritor of Luanzhou Diyangge Municipality and vice president of Luanzhou Yangge Association, said.
Liu Yongjian told reporters that the origin of Luanzhou Diyangge can be traced back to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with more than 1,000 years of inheritance and development history. By the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a written record of the Song of DiYang in the local chronicles of Luanzhou.
"The main performance forms of Luanzhou Di Yangge that are preserved today are street songs and out-of-the-box songs." Liu Yongjian said. The so-called out-of-the-box song is the form of two or three people performing a small drama.
The song is widely spread in the folk, and it seems that everyone can do it, but it is not as simple as twisting.
Like opera, yangge has its own profession. Luanzhou Di Yang Song industry is divided into four major trades of concubines, 擓, ugly, and Gongzi, each with its own characteristics, known for its own strengths, Wen Gongzi's fan skills are as many as fifty or sixty kinds, and the folk old "Changli Ugly, Leting Wu, to find a handsome look at Luanzhou" said, which means that Changli is known for its clown horns, Leting is known for its martial horns, and Luanzhou is known for its handsome Wen Gongzi.
In addition to these four trades, Luanzhou Di Yangge also has original "picker" horns, "crippled" corners and "傩兒" corners, as well as a unique "pulling bone and tendon" performance method. This form of performance was created by Jin Kaifu, a famous horn in luanzhou in the late Qing Dynasty, and the basic performance method is seemingly smooth, but in fact it is twisted, so that the muscles of the body are stretched to the greatest extent.
In the accompaniment of instruments, the Luanzhou Di YangGe preserves a complete gong and drum sutra. The famous Old Three Points (also known as the Temple Fair Point) were once lost and have been rediscovered in recent years. At present, only the Luanzhou Yangge team can play.
There are capable people passed down from generation to generation
Luanzhou Di Yangge has a famous character in the generation.
According to the records, Jin Kaifu (1853-1928), who was born in the Xianfeng period, was pregnant with the eight stunts of "twisting his hips and shoulders, shaking and moving with stilts", and was worshipped as the king of yangge in the southwest of Luanzhou, debuted with twisted songs, became famous for falling lotus flowers, and was given a large number "golden long legs". Later, he recruited a wide range of apprentices and trained a large number of famous singers such as Jin Kaifang, Cheng Zhaocai, Zhang Deli, Ren Lianhui, and Yue Mingzhu. These famous singers later grew up to be a generation of masters of Chinese opera.
After the founding of New China, Lun Baoshan, a famous singer of The Song Dynasty, led the Luanxian Yangge team into Zhongnanhai and was received by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. In recent years, the Luanzhou Yangge team has twisted on CCTV's "Avenue of Stars", "Folk Song China" and "Dance World" and other columns. Luanzhou City has also been named the hometown of Chinese folk songs and the research base of Chinese folk song culture.
"In the past, the Yangge team generally only performed on major festivals such as spring ploughing and autumn harvest and Spring Festival. As the days get better and better, Luanzhou Diyangge has now become a kind of mass sports fitness and self-amusement of the normal entertainment activities. Liu Yongjian said.
According to the statistics of the 1990 edition of the "Luanxian Cultural Chronicle", before 1966, there were 405 Song teams with more than 20 people in Luan County, accounting for 79% of the 507 administrative villages in the county, of which dozens of famous Yangge characters were familiar to the masses. Today, there are more than 350 large and small song teams in the city.
Liu Yongjian, 54, is known as the "soul figure" of Luanzhou Di Yangge. Since he was a child, he has loved the performing arts of Yangge, and at the age of 18, he studied the "lady" and "ugly" horns of Luanzhou Diyangge under the tutelage of Huang Yueshuang, the inheritor of provincial-level yangge. After years of diligent study and hard work, he has studied and formed a unique performance style of his own, especially when playing a clown in the Yangge industry is a must in Luanzhou. He also has the courage to innovate, boldly absorbing dance, acrobatic art elements of the original Jidong air flying swallow unique work, his representative works include the old Gama flower lantern, top lamp, ugly and funny girl and other programs, in the country, provinces and cities many times won awards. In 2014, he led the Iron Peony Song Team to win the 12th China Literature and Art Mountain Flower Award, and in 2016, he won the Gold Medal and The Grand Prize of the Hong Kong International Arts Festival in China.
There are new ways for non-genetic inheritance
"Everyone watch my movements, pay attention to the look in my eyes... That's it, laugh out loud in your heart. A few days ago, in the studio of the Luanzhou City Cultural Center, Liu Yongjian and the members of the Yangge team enthusiastically guided the performances of several primary school students. This group of primary school students came from Xiaoyanying Primary School, which runs in Xiangxi Subdistrict, Luanzhou. They not only like the song, but also the main force of the school's song team.
"I think the song is particularly interesting, its costumes are very bright, and the dance moves are particularly beautiful." Jiang Xiaoyi, 11, said.
"Our school's Di Yang Ge Team is one of the most popular clubs among students." Principal Gao Lijun told reporters that Xiaoyanying Primary School has introduced luanzhou yangge culture into the campus since 2017, and under the patient guidance of a number of yangge artists, students have performed more professionally, and have also stepped onto the big stage, and have been invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2019 Tangshan Tourism Development Conference. "At present, the school is establishing the Luanzhou Diyangge Cultural Exhibition Hall to better inherit this national intangible cultural heritage project." Gao Lijun said.
In recent years, in order to do a good job in the inheritance and protection of di yang ge and better promote this folk art, Luanzhou City has introduced di yang ge into the campus, formed student interest clubs, and hired di yang ge artists to teach children regularly, so that children can feel the charm of traditional culture in their hometown at close range. The city has also set up a leading group for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, set up a training base, established a Luanzhou Di Yangge website and research room, and regularly held a Yangge Competition, a Yangge Trade Competition and a Fitness Yangge Competition every year to build an art exchange platform and further expand the appeal and influence of the Yangge art. In 2012, the inheritor Liu Yongjian established the "Jidong Yangge Museum" at his own expense, which is free to the public, making positive contributions to the inheritance and development of the Yangge.
(Reporter Zhao Yajing Correspondents Zhang Hong and Sun Yanting)
Source: Tangshan Labor Daily
Pay attention to Hebei News Network to learn about the latest news in Hebei.