These cultural relics remain as they are today86
Original title: This dragon ...... of the ancient East
Guangming ** reporter Li Xiao Lu Jian.
Jiachen New Year, Dragon Dance Shenzhou! The majestic "Rolling Golden Dragon" in Shanwei, Guangdong, the "Red Dragon Wrapped in Pillars" full of auspicious Rui in Longyan, Fujian, the golden "Straw Dragon" in the BA field in Rongjiang Village, Guizhou, and the amazing "Stilt Dragon" ......in Xiantao Village, Hubei ProvinceIn the north and south of the river, there are dragon dances.
"Lin'an Water Dragon" in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province participated in the 2024 New Year's prayer activity of King Qian's Mausoleum. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of Hangzhou Lin'an District Party Committee.
Look, the dragons are tossing and dancing under the support of the people, accompanied by the thunder and drums, and suddenly they leap high, as if they are straight up to the sky; Suddenly, it swooped down at a rapid pace, like a chopping wave. Between the ups and downs, it shows the pride and majesty of "100,000 miles in the sky"!
The dragon dance, also known as "playing the dragon" and "dancing the dragon lantern", its prototype may be traced back to the sacrificial rituals of ancient times. Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty once wrote in "Spring and Autumn Dew" that the dragon dance should be performed in all seasons to pray for rain, and it is quite particular - the green dragon dance in spring, the red dragon and the yellow dragon in summer, the white dragon dance in autumn, and the black dragon dance in winter, each dragon is several zhang ...... long
Later, with the popularity of the hundred operas, the dragon dance gradually evolved from a temple sacrifice ceremony to a folk custom to welcome the blessing of Naji. In Wu Zimu's "Dream Lianglu" in the Southern Song Dynasty, we can see the grand scene of the dragon dance at that time: "Binding the dragon with grass, covering the grass with a green curtain, and placing thousands of lamps and candles in dense, looking at it meandering, like a double dragon flying away." ”
Ten miles of different winds, a hundred miles of different customs. After thousands of years of evolution, dragon dances in different regions have formed different styles in terms of artistic modeling and performance forms. Generally speaking, the southern dragon is heavy - the dragon body is heavier, mostly ten meters, hundreds of meters or even kilometers long; The northern dragon is heavy and clever - the dragon body is light and has a variety of action routines. As for the form, the Hundred Leaf Dragon, the Incense Fire Dragon, the Plate Dragon, the Water Dragon, the Cloth Dragon, the Grass Dragon, ......The list goes on.
Why is the dragon dance so popular with the public?
The dragon is not only a spirit animal of auspicious fortune, but also the embodiment of majesty and strength. It embodies the identity of the Chinese nation's sense of community and is a concentrated embodiment of national self-confidence and pride. The dragon dance is a visual expression of the Chinese spirit. Gao Zhongyan, director of the China Folklore Society, said.
Dragon, as the totem of the Chinese nation, is in the same lineage: as early as 8,000 years ago, there was a stone pile dragon in the Chahai site of Fuxin, Liaoning Province - the earliest and largest dragon image found so far. In addition, there are dragon pattern bottles of Yangshao culture, jade dragons of Hongshan culture, dragon head patterns of Liangzhu culture, and turquoise dragon-shaped ware ...... of Erlitou site
The worship of the dragon is deeply engraved in the genes of Chinese culture: there is a style called "Dragon Leaping Yunjin", there is a style called "Dragon Xiang Fengzhu", there is an ambition called "Hidden Dragon Tengyuan, scales and claws flying", and there is a kind of courage called "Flying up three million jade dragons, stirring up the cold of Zhou Tian" ......
Nowadays, the dragon dance is an ardent expression of the Chinese people's desire for a better life.
The dragon dance, which is active in the vast fields, shows people's love for the beautiful life in their hometown.
Among them, the most representative is the hundred-leaf dragon of "hidden dragon in flowers" in Tianping Village, Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang. Anyone who sees this dragon for the first time will sincerely admire: It's so beautiful! The lotus flower is the dragon's head, the petals are embellished, and the butterfly is the dragon's tail. At the beginning, more than ten meters long dragon, dormant and submerged, and the beautiful scenery of the lotus pond in the south of the Yangtze River complement each other, in the eyes of the viewers, there is only the beautiful scenery of "the lotus flowers are different red in the sun". However, only in an instant, accompanied by the sudden and rapid beat of gongs and drums, the dragon's head suddenly rose to the ground, and the dragon's body immediately soared into the sky, attracting an exclamation from the audience, and the sound shook the earth and thundered, making people's blood ......
The Baiye Dragon you see today is the creation of the farmers of our Tianping Village! In 1957, in order to express their longing and blessings for the country's first five-year plan, the villagers re-created the traditional baiye dragon, dancing from the township to the county, from the county to the region, and all the way to Beijing! This dragon dances the joy in our hearts! Tan Xiaoming, the representative inheritor of Baiyelong's national intangible cultural heritage, told reporters.
It takes a month to make such a dragon, with more than 130 processes and more than 80 kinds of materials. The 81 lotus flowers are connected in 9 sections, and the lotus flowers are connected by iron hooks, and the performance must be carefully set up and quickly assembled to make the lotus and the long dragon realize the ingenious transformation. Now, Tan Xiaoming's children and grandchildren have also inherited his mantle, not only learned the dragon dance skills, but also built a hundred leaf dragon cultural exhibition hall in Tianping Central Primary School, created a hundred leaf dragon school song and a hundred leaf dragon rhythmic gymnastics, and set off a "dragon dance campus style" among the children.
The dragon dance, which is deeply loved by young people, shows the vigorous and promising spirit of our Chinese youth.
In 2000, Beijing Sport University established the country's first professional dragon and lion dance team. In 2017, Liu Yifan of the Chinese Wushu Academy became one of them. When participating in the 11th National Minority Traditional Sports Games, they creatively integrated martial arts into the dragon dance, making the movements more ornamental and impactful.
We innovatively choreographed and repeatedly practiced the movements of 'eight-character dragon dance' and 'left and right turnover', and the calluses on our hands and bruises on our bodies, but no one shouted that we were tired! Liu Yifan said with deep feelings, "Winning the ranking is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to dance the passion and heroism of our young generation, and dance the appearance of youth!" ”
Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan ......Colleges and universities in many places have opened dragon dance-related majors, attracting a large number of students to forge ahead and gallop on the road of inheritance.
Not only that, the dragons that danced all over the world showed the bearing and pride of Chinese culture.
During this year's Spring Festival, the "Tongliang Dragon", which perfectly combines dragon dance and iron flowering, was unveiled in front of the giant Ferris wheel "London Eye" in London, England, and participated in the Spring Festival parade in many local squares.
More than 1,000 degrees Celsius of hot iron exploded in the air, like a rain of flowers sprinkled colorfully, shirtless "dragon rider" high golden dragon, flashing and moving among the sparks, a "people dance in the dragon, dragon in the fire" of the beautiful picture spread out, attracting countless eyes ......This "Tongliang Dragon" has been "danced" to more than 30 countries and regions in the world, and more than 300 cultural exchanges have been carried out.
It's not just this "Tongliang Dragon". With the Lunar New Year in China being designated as a United Nations holiday in 2023, the dragon dance is more widely welcomed and loved. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA, to the Chinese community in Sydney, Australia, to Chinatown in Prato, Italy, the grand occasion of "10,000 people watching the dragon dance" has been staged, and many foreigners are deeply attracted and can't help but try their skills, from "dragon watchers" to "dragon dancers".
It is also the Lantern Festival, the flower market lights are like day, and the dragon dances in Kyushu. The sound of the phoenix flute moved, the light of the jade pot turned, and the fish and dragon danced ...... nightXin Qiji, the "dragon in the word" who wrote such beautiful words and sentences on the Shangyuan Festival back then, never thought that this dragon dance is still dancing ...... today
*: Guangming Network - "Bright **".