Playing dragon lanterns, also known as dragon lanterns or dragon dancing. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as the Yellow Emperor, in a large-scale song and dance in the suburbs of Qing Dynasty, there was a leading bird image played by a man, and then a dance scene with six dragons interspersed with each other was arranged. The dragon dance recorded in writing is Zhang Heng's Xijing Fu in Han Dynasty. The author vividly described the dragon dance in the descriptions of hundreds of plays. According to the records in Sui Shu Le, Huanglongbian, which was similar to the dragon dance performance in one hundred plays in Yang Di period, was also very wonderful, and dragon dance was very popular in many places in China. The Chinese nation advocates dragons and regards them as auspicious symbols. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica said: "The dragon has nine shapes: the body is like a snake, the face is like a horse, the horns are like deer, the eyes are like rabbits, the ears are like cows, the abdomen is like storks, the scales are like carp, the claws are like eagles, and the palms are like tigers." In the eyes of the ancients, dragons have the functions of calling for rain and eliminating disasters and epidemics. Since ancient times, China has been founded on agriculture, and good weather is of great significance to production and life. Therefore, the ancients tried their best to get the dragon's blessing, thus forming the custom of offering sacrifices to dance dragons and putting lanterns on the Lantern Festival. In the Song Dynasty, Wu's Dream recorded that on the night of the Lantern Festival, "the grass was tied into a dragon, covered with a green curtain, and thousands of candles were placed, looking like dragons flying away." In the long-term development and evolution, dragon dance has also formed many different styles, mainly dragon lanterns and cloth dragons. Dragon lantern, also known as "fire dragon", is the most popular dragon dance. This kind of dragon is made of bamboo and tied into a dragon head, a dragon body and a dragon tail, wrapped in paper and painted with color. There are many knots in the dragon body, and the number of knots can be more or less; But it must be singular. Candles per node; In some places, candles are not lit, but "oil twists" made of tung oil, cotton yarn or rushes. The burning power of this kind of oil twist is very lasting. When the dragon lantern dances, it is colorful and never goes out. There is a wooden handle below for dancers to hold. There is also a person holding a red silk bead to direct the dragon dance in front of the dragon. For example, in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, the "carp and fish dragon" is flexible, skillful and good at change. Dragon dancers wear open and closed carp skins. At first, the audience saw the fish swimming in the water, but with the cheerful music, the fish suddenly turned into a dragon, and then a carp with a fire in its mouth leaped over the dragon, symbolizing the meaning of "carp yue longmen". Bulong, also known as "colorful dragon", mainly performs during the day and does not light candles during festivals. Therefore, during the performance, it flies and rejoices, as if the sea and the sea are choppy, with extraordinary momentum, majestic momentum and unique style. When dancing the dragon, it shows that the dragon is hovering and jubilant, and the action is very complicated. In some places, the Lantern Festival is very lively, with more than 100 dragon lanterns and a team of two or three miles long. Each dragon lantern is equipped with ten gongs and drums, which is very spectacular. Overseas, many Chinese communities still retain the ancient tradition of playing dragon lanterns and often perform for local festivals.
Walking on stilts and dancing lions.
Walking on stilts is a popular folk performance. Stilts originally belonged to one of the hundred ancient operas in China, which appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. In China, stilts first appeared in Liezi Fu Shuo: "Those who had orchids in the Song Dynasty used their skills to dry the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Summoned in the Song and Yuan Dynasties to see their skills. There are two branches twice as long as its body, belonging to its shin, which go hand in hand, making the seven swords overlap and jump. The five swords were always in the air, and Yuan Jun was frightened and gave them gold and silk. " As can be seen from the article, stilts have been popular as early as 500 BC. Performers can not only walk with long wood tied to their feet, but also jump and dance swords. Stilts are divided into three types: stilts, middle stilts and running stilts, with the highest being more than ten feet. According to ancient records, ancient stilts were all made of wood. Make a support point in the middle of the planed wooden stick to put your feet, and then tie it to your legs with a rope. Performers can dance swords, splits, stools, cross tables and yangko when walking on stilts. In the northern stilt yangko, there are fishermen, matchmakers, silly sons, second brothers, Taoist priests and monks. The performer's funny performance can arouse the audience's great interest. In the south, stilts play the role of traditional operas, including Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Lv Dongbin, He Xiangu, Zhang Sheng, matchmaker, Jigong, immortal and clown. They sang while performing, making fun and entertaining themselves. It is said that this form of walking on stilts was originally developed by ancient people in order to collect wild fruits from trees for food and tie two long sticks to their legs.