Guangming Daily reporter Li Xiao and Lu Jian

Jiachen New Year, Dragon Dance China! The majestic "rolling golden dragon" in Shanwei, Guangdong, the auspicious "red dragon wrapped around the pillar" in Longyan, Fujian, the golden "straw dragon" in the BA arena of Rongjiang Village, Guizhou, and the "stilt dragon" in the head and tail of Xiantao Village, Hubei, all have the magnificent appearance of dragon dance.

"Lin'an Waterloo" in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, participated in the 2024 New Year blessing activity of King Qian's Mausoleum. Courtesy of Hangzhou Lin'an District Party Committee Propaganda Department

Look, giant dragons are dancing with the help of people, and suddenly they leap up to the sky with the sound of thunder and drums; Suddenly, it dived rapidly, like chopping the waves. During the ups and downs, it shows the pride and majesty of "hundreds of thousands of miles across the sky"!

Dragon dance, also known as "dragon playing" and "dragon lantern dancing", can be traced back to the ancient sacrificial ceremony. Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty once wrote in "Spring and Autumn Flourishing Dews" that in praying for rain all the year round, one should dance dragons with great care - green dragons in spring, red dragons and yellow dragons in summer, white dragons in autumn, black dragons in winter, and each dragon is several feet long

Later, with the prevalence of hundred operas, the dragon dance gradually evolved from the temple ritual to the folk custom of welcoming Funaji. In Wu Zimu's Dream Liang Record of the Southern Song Dynasty, we can see the grand occasion of the dragon dance at that time: "Tie the dragon with grass, cover the grass with green curtains, and set ten thousand lamps and candles densely, looking at it winding like two dragons flying away."

Ten miles is different from the wind, and a hundred miles is different from the customs. After thousands of years of evolution, dragon dance in different regions has formed different styles in artistic modeling and performance forms. Generally speaking, the South Dragon is very powerful - the body of the dragon is heavy, and it is more than 10 meters, 100 meters or even kilometers long; The north dragon is heavy and skillful - the dragon is light and has a variety of movements. As for forms, there are more than a few.

Why is dragon dancing so popular with the public?

"The dragon is not only a spirit animal of good fortune, but also the embodiment of power, vigor and uncommon bearing. It embodies the identity of the Chinese national community consciousness, and is a concentrated reflection of national self-confidence and pride. Dragon dance is a visual expression of the Chinese spirit," said Gao Zhongyan, director of the Chinese Folklore Association.

The dragon, as the totem of the Chinese nation, comes down in one continuous line: as early as 8000 years ago, a stone dragon appeared in the Chahai site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province - the oldest and largest dragon image ever discovered. In addition, there are dragon shaped bottles of Yangshao Culture, jade dragons of Hongshan Culture, dragon head patterns of Liangzhu Culture, and turquoise dragon shaped artifacts of Erlitou Site

The worship of dragons is deeply imprinted in the Chinese cultural genes: there is a style called "dragon leaping over the clouds", there is a style called "dragon flying and phoenix Zhuzhu", there is an ambition called "hidden dragon soaring into the abyss, scales flying", and there is a boldness called "flying three million jade dragons, stirring up Zhou Tianhan"

Today, dragon dance is an ardent expression of Chinese people 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 louvre dragon in Tianping Village, Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. Anyone who sees the dragon for the first time will praise it sincerely: it's really beautiful! The lotus is the dragon head, the petal is the body, and the flying butterfly is the dragon tail. At the beginning, the ten meter long dragon was dormant and submerged, complementing the beautiful scenery of the ten mile lotus pond in the south of the Yangtze River. In the eyes of the viewer, there was only the beautiful scenery of "the lotus in the sun is different red". However, only in a flash, accompanied by the sudden rush of drums and gongs, the head of the dragon suddenly lifted up, and the dragon body immediately leaped into the sky, causing the audience to exclaim, the sound of which shocked the world and made people nervous

"The Louvre Dragon that you see today is the creation of farmers in Tianping Village! In 1957, in order to express their longing and blessing for the first five-year plan of the country, the villagers re created the traditional Louvre Dragon, dancing from the countryside to the county, from the county to the region, all the way to Beijing! The dragon, dancing out of our hearts of joy!" Tan Xiaoming, the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage of Liululong, told the reporter.

"It takes a month to make such a dragon. There are more than 130 processes and more than 80 materials. 81 lotus flowers are connected in 9 segments. The lotus flowers are connected with iron hooks. The performance requires careful scenery and rapid assembly to make the lotus flower and the dragon achieve a clever transformation." Today, Tan Xiaoming's children and grandchildren have inherited his mantle, not only learning the dragon dance skill, In addition, Tianping Central Primary School has built the Louver Dragon Culture Exhibition Hall, created the school song of Louver Dragon and rhythmic exercises of Louver Dragon, and created a "campus style of dragon dance" among children.

The dragon dance, which is loved by young people, shows the energetic and promising spirit of Chinese youth.

In 2000, Beijing Sport University established the first college professional dragon and lion dance team in China. In 2017, Liu Yifan of the Chinese Wushu Academy became one of them. When participating in the 11th National Traditional Sports Games for Ethnic Minorities, they creatively integrated martial arts into dragon dance, making the action more ornamental and impactful.

"We innovatively arranged, repeatedly practiced the 'eight character dragon dance', 'turning left and right' and other movements, and got calluses on our hands and bruises on our bodies, but no one cried bitter and tired!" Liu Yifan said with deep feeling, "Ranking is not the most important thing, but the most important thing is to dance out the passion and boldness of our younger generation, and dance out the appearance of youth!"

Many colleges and universities in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, etc. have opened dragon dance related majors, attracting a large number of students to forge ahead on the road of inheritance.

Not only that, the giant dragons dancing around the world show the bearing and pride of Chinese culture.

During the Spring Festival this year, the "Bronze Dragon", which perfectly combines dragon dance and iron flower making, appeared in front of the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel in London, England, and participated in the Spring Festival parade in several local squares.

The molten iron with a temperature of more than 1000 degrees Celsius burst in the air like rain and flowers. The shirtless "dragon rider" held the golden dragon high and flickered among the sparks. A beautiful picture of "people dancing in the dragon, dragons flying in the fire" spread out, attracting countless eyes... This "copper beam dragon" has "danced" to more than 30 countries and regions in the world, More than 300 cultural exchanges were held.

It's not just the "Bronze Dragon". As the Chinese Lunar New Year is determined as a United Nations holiday in 2023, dragon dance is more widely welcomed and loved. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States, to the Chinese community in Sydney, Australia, and to the Prato China Street in Italy, the grand occasion of "watching the dragon dance in the streets with thousands of people" continues to be staged. Many foreigners are deeply attracted, and can not help but try their hand, from "watching the dragon" to "dancing the dragon".

Also on the Lantern Festival, flower market lights are like the day, and dragons dance in Jiuzhou. "The sound of the phoenix flutes is moving, the jade pot is turning, and fish and dragons dance overnight..." Xin Qiji wrote such beautiful words in the Shangyuan Festival that "the dragon in the words". Can you ever think that the dragon dance is still dancing today

Scan the code to watch the Dragon Dance in China

Guangming Daily (February 23, 2024, Version 1)