Sichuan Online reporter Chengbo Bianyu
Dragon and lion dance, the new year is here.
In Sichuan, “thousands of dragons and thousands of lions celebrate the New Year happily” has become a tradition engraved in the DNA of Sichuan people, and has also given birth to Luzhou City’s Yutan Colorful Dragon, Qingbaijiang Little Golden Dragon, Chuanshan Peach Dragon, and Gaotai Lion Dance. , Anren bench dragon and other characteristic dragon and lion. The optimistic and open-minded life attitude of Sichuan people has turned into the warm colors and happy scenes in New Year paintings, decorating people’s dreams and expectations for the new year.
Photo by He Haiyang
The dragon soars and the lion leaps, the joy is “dragon dragon”. In the New Year of the Jiachen Year of the Dragon, let’s walk into Sichuan folk customs and feel the strong New Year flavor in the folk customs!
Thousand Dragons Dance:
The dragon dances in the morning light, biding farewell to the old and welcoming the new with auspiciousness
“Let’s go and watch the Huanglongxi Fire Dragon Lantern Dance!” For many Sichuan people, a Huanglongxi Fire Dragon Lantern Dance is a must during the Chinese New Year. “From the first day of the first lunar month to the Lantern Festival, we are open! There are an average of 4 performances every day.” Su Lei, the fourth generation inheritor of the Huanglongxi Fire Dragon Lantern Dance and the leader of the Huanglongxi Fire Dragon Dragon and Lion Club, said.
Huanglongxi Fire Dragon Lantern Dance originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty. It integrates dragons, lanterns, dance and fire, and has strong local characteristics in western Sichuan. During the performance, molten iron was stirred up in the air, creating a spectacular scene of “Fire Trees and Silver Flowers Never Night”. When the performers chase the “Dragon Ball” to the beat of music and drums, they shuttle among the iron flowers in the sky. The picture of “people dancing in the fire and dragons flying in the fire” stirs up the grand scene of the New Year.
Photo by Zhang Xiaodong
In Sichuan, there are many “dragons” with Sichuan characteristics. For example, the Peach Dragon in Suining is named after the disjointed peach shape of its dragon body. According to legend, in the “Empress” Association in northern Sichuan, every household would go to the temple to offer peaches to the Empress to seek the blessing of the Empress. Later, during the Guanyin Association and the Lantern Festival, people would combine the peaches with colorful decorations into a dragon. . Nowadays, when dancing the peach dragon, one person holds a treasure to play with the dragon, another person holds the dragon head, five people hold the dragon body, one person holds the dragon tail, and eight girls each hold two colorful clouds on the dragon body to accompany the dance. What’s interesting is that because Peach Dragon is a detached dragon, performers can shuttle back and forth at will, one after another, like a dragon writhing, rising and falling in the sea of clouds.
Photo by Zhang Xiaodong
The Anren Bench Dragon in Dachuan District, Dazhou City is a kind of dragon that uses a bench as a prop to simulate the scene of a dragon flying and dancing. In 2007, it was included in the first batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Sichuan Province.
The Anren Bench Dragon is made differently from other dragons. It is based on a bench and is made of five crops commonly used in rural areas: straw, corn husks, sorghum, wheat straw, and ramie, which are tied on the bench. It usually uses bamboo strips as the keel, which is bent into the shape of the dragon’s head, dragon body and dragon tail. Then corn husks are used to tie the dragon’s whiskers and dragon scales, straw is tied into the dragon’s body, and ramie silk is used to fix it on the bench.
The Anren Bench Dragon is usually performed by three fierce men, that is, a bench dragon and three people dance, which means “three Yangs bring prosperity”. During the performance, the two people in the front each hold one leg of the bench, and the person in the back holds two legs with both hands. They dance in various patterns regularly and rhythmically according to the prescribed routine and to the beat of the drum. Chasing, catching up, running, jumping, turning, rolling, leaping, crawling… The Anren bench dragon can dance as a single dragon or as multiple dragons. The performers are constantly running, dancing with the bench dragon in their hands, constantly changing formations and postures, and performing more than ten sets of tricks such as “dragon playing in the water”, “dragon jumping for beads”, “dragon grabbing treasure” and “dragon matching phoenix”.
There are grass dragons and bamboo dragons. The Qingshen Bamboo Dragon in Meishan is made using Qingshen bamboo weaving technology, a national intangible cultural heritage project. The dragon head adopts hexagonal weaving method and is woven according to the shape; the dragon body is connected by scales and bamboo rings. Accompanied by sonorous Sichuan Opera gongs and drums, the Green God Bamboo Dragon sometimes stirs up the sea, and sometimes two dragons play with pearls. The warm and unrestrained style expresses people’s pursuit and yearning for auspicious and happy life.
Colored lion leaping:
Fen Xun’s sweater posed on both ears, as if he had traveled thousands of miles from quicksand
“The head and tail are made of carved wood, and the eyes are gold-plated and the teeth are silver-plated. Fenxun’s sweaters are placed on the ears, as if they have come thousands of miles from quicksand.” Thousands of years ago, the great poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty vividly described this in “Xiliang Opera” Lion dance scene. In Sichuan, lion dance is indispensable for the strong New Year flavor.
Yang Wen is the inheritor of Wangcang Gaotai Lion Dance. During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, he and his team will perform in various places in Wangcang. “It has become a New Year’s promise to bring New Year blessings to the citizens with wonderful lion dance performances every year.”
Photo courtesy of Bazhong Propaganda Department
Big gongs, big cymbals, drums, small gongs and the loud and sweet suona sounds create a lively and festive atmosphere. Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, the lion steps on the drums, looking up, looking back, looking back and crouching, or shaking its head and tail… It is an interesting scene that makes people laugh. In order to increase the atmosphere, they will also use red hydrangeas to tease the lions and perform various movements such as pitching, leaning, soaring and leaping. In the middle, there will also be activities such as the lion scratching its head, worshiping, rolling, etc., which are lifelike and make the performance full of fun.
However, their unique skill is the lion dance on a high platform. According to Yang Wen, the costumes and props of the high-stage lion dance are quite particular. It usually consists of three people, two of whom wear lion costumes and act as majestic lions; the other wears a mask and brightly colored short clothes. The high-stage lion dance requires the performer to have a strong body, superb martial arts and skilled coordination in order to perform freely.
Photo by He Haiyang
During the performance, a high platform of several meters is first built with special long wooden benches or an Eight Immortals table. I saw a lion dancer holding a hydrangea in his hand, teasing the lion. The lion jumped up with its head held high, guided by the hydrangea, leaping up the stage one level at a time, tumbling and falling, and performed “seizing the seal”, “drilling and soaring”, “standing opposite”, “lantern stand”, “standing on the sky pillar” and “the monkey steals the peach” There are strange, difficult and dangerous lion dance moves such as “Toad basking in the belly”, “Crows descending to the ground” and “Climbing into the chimney”. In order to increase the fun, when climbing to a high place, the lion will spit out banners with “Congratulations on the New Year” written on it, which makes people feel proud and clap their hands repeatedly.
Photo courtesy of Bazhong Propaganda Department
The relevant person in charge of the Department of Culture and Tourism revealed that during the 2024 Spring Festival, our province will rely on the theme of “Thousands of Dragons and Thousands of Lions to Celebrate the New Year and Celebrate the New Year”, including “Culture to Welcome the Spring and Art for the People” and “Spring Arrival” There are more than 1,900 activities in 27 series in 7 major sections, including “Ten Thousands of Homes”, “Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrating the New Year”, “Traveling to Welcome the Spring Festival and Leisure to Celebrate the New Year”, “Benefiting Enterprises and People to Celebrate the New Year”, “Hundred Museums Jointly Celebrating the New Year” and “Happy Spring Festival”. Citizens presented a cultural feast for the Spring Festival.
Colorful New Year pictures:
The New Year pictures reflect the joy, and the room is full of auspicious stars.
Celebrating the harvest, buying new year’s goods, dragon and lion dances, dragon boat rowing… As soon as the New Year pictures with festive colors are pasted on the door, a strong New Year flavor will come.
As a folk art with a long history, New Year paintings were developed on the basis of “door god paintings”. In the early days, they were closely related to themes such as exorcising evil and avoiding evil, praying for blessings and welcoming good luck. Traditional folk New Year pictures are mostly carved from woodblocks and then produced through color registration, rubbing and other processes. With the rise of printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to themes such as door gods, and has become rich and colorful.
Photo by He Haiyang
Mianzhu, Sichuan, is known as the “Hometown of Chinese New Year Paintings”. Mianzhu New Year Paintings are as famous as Yangliuqing New Year Paintings in Tianjin, Yangjiabu New Year Paintings in Yangjiabu, Weifang, Shandong, and Taohuawu New Year Paintings in Suzhou, and are also known as the “Four Major New Year Paintings in China”. Zhang Fang, the inheritor of Mianzhu New Year paintings, said, “Mianzhu New Year paintings began in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They feature woodblock engraving and hand-painted paintings, and are also called Mianzhu woodblock New Year paintings. The content of the New Year paintings is mainly about auspiciousness and celebrations, folklore, local life, etc., with rich compositions. Exaggerated, bright and bright in color, it has distinctive characteristics of farming culture.” In February 2002, Mianzhu New Year paintings were selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects.
Nowadays, Mianzhu has launched the annual Mianzhu New Year Picture Festival using New Year pictures as a carrier, allowing the audience to more fully experience the charm of New Year pictures and the atmosphere of the New Year during visits and sightseeing. At the 23rd Mianzhu New Year Painting Festival, which opened on February 2 this year, folk parades dressed in Mianzhu New Year painting costumes allowed the audience to experience the “movement” of the New Year paintings: the majestic dragon and lion gong and drum performances, the Mianzhu New Year Painting “Paper” The reappearance of “Spring Pictures”, the parade of ladies on bicycles, the marriage of mice and other wonderful performances are dazzling. Among them, the popular “Subject Three” dance performance combined with traditional New Year pictures aroused bursts of cheers from the onlookers.
Photo by He Haiyang
In addition to Mianzhu New Year paintings, Jiajiang New Year paintings born in Jiajiang, Sichuan also have a long heritage. According to Zhang Rongqiang, director of the Jiajiang New Year Pictures Research Institute, Jiajiang New Year pictures are a traditional woodblock New Year picture that was created in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years. In 2008, it was included in the national intangible cultural heritage project.
Jiajiang New Year pictures have rich themes, including statues of gods, door gods, landscapes, flowers and birds, drama stories, myths and legends, etc. There are also works that reflect folk life and criticize current ills. Among the many works, “Huang Dan Door God” is more popular among people. Jiajiang New Year pictures are printed with woodblock color printing, with as few as four sets and as many as eight sets. They are characterized by bright colors and exquisite craftsmanship.
Rooted in Tradition:
People visit the thatched cottage every day, and climb high in Yuanjiu
In the thousands of years of historical accumulation, some celebrities have also had an impact on a landscape due to their unique experiences, and have been integrated into the customs and culture of various places.
In Chengdu, people will come to Du Fu Thatched Cottage every year on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year (Human Day) to worship the “Poet Saint” Du Fu with a branch of plum blossom. Tracing its origins begins with the friendship between Du Fu and Gao Shi.
When Du Fu was roaming, he met two great poets, Li Bai and Gao Shi, and formed a sincere friendship. When Du Fu lived in Chengdu, Gao Shi was serving as the governor of Shuzhou (Chongzhou) and often supported Du Fu. In 761 AD, Gao Shi wrote a poem “Ren Ri Send Du Er Supplements” to Du Fu on Ren Ri to express his longing for his friend. In 770 AD, Du Fu, who was wandering in Huxiang, reread Gao Shi’s poem one day. Gao Shi had already passed away at that time, and he was deeply saddened by the sight of the things, so he wrote “Repaying Gao to Shuzhou People Ri Jian Ji” to express his grief. From then on, the story of Gaodu people singing in harmony became a legend in the poetry world.
Since the Song Dynasty, literati and poets have come to the thatched cottage to worship Du Fu, the “Sage of Poetry” every year. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this worship activity became more widespread. According to historical records, Zhu Chun, the king of Shu in the early Ming Dynasty, was the first to offer sacrifices to Du Fu. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, He Shaoji, who was in charge of academic affairs in Sichuan at that time, walked into the thatched cottage on the seventh day of the lunar month and wrote the couplet “The Spring Breeze in Jinshui is occupied by the public, and I will return on that day in the thatched cottage”, which further made the idea of ”visiting thatched cottage on a day” Customs have become an important cultural life of Chengdu people.
Photo by He Haiyang
During the Western Han Dynasty, Luo Xiahong, a native of Langzhong, created the “Taichu Calendar” and fixed the Spring Festival as the first day of the first lunar month for the first time. For more than 2,000 years, the Chinese Spring Festival culture has continued to flourish at home and abroad, becoming a spiritual home of joy, reunion, and happiness, and is deeply loved by people all over the world. Luo Xiahong was selected into the first batch of Sichuan historical celebrities, and Langzhong became the hometown of Chinese Spring Festival culture. The “Spring Festival Blessings for the Elderly” event to commemorate Luo Xiahong has also become a unique folk custom in Langzhong.
In Langzhong, Luo Xiahong is honored as the “Spring Festival Old Man”. The local area also maintains a unique custom of “Spring Festival Old Man Blessing”: During the Spring Festival, healthy and charitable old people are invited to wear red auspicious ancient costumes to pretend to be Spring Festival old people. In the ancient city of Langzhong Facing the sound of firecrackers and gongs and drums, people bowed to New Year greetings and distributed red envelopes.
Photo by He Haiyang
In Dazhou, Sichuan, people’s memory of the famous Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Zhen has turned into the spectacular Yuanjiu Climbing Festival, which has been followed for thousands of years.
According to legend, in 815 AD, Yuan Zhen was demoted to Tongzhou (today’s Dazhou) and served as Sima. When I first took office, the place was sparsely populated and snakes and insects prevailed. Yuan Zhen worked hard to govern, was honest and upright, and did many good things for the local people. Three years later, he was transferred to Henan. The day he left office happened to be the ninth day of the first lunar month. All the elders in the city climbed Cuiping Mountain in the south of the city and Fenghuang Mountain in the north to say goodbye and reluctant to leave. From then on, Dazhou left behind the traditional custom of climbing high in Yuanjiu. Later, climbing the Yuanjiu Mountain became a unique way for people to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for blessings, in the hope of sweeping away the decline of the previous year and ushering in a smooth new year.
2024-02-08 10:38:26
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