Costume of Northeast Yangge

The characters in the rice-planting songs are mainly divided into four kinds, namely, "umbrella", "drum", "stick" and "flower". The umbrella is divided into "flower umbrella" and "ugly umbrella" two kinds. The flower umbrella is responsible for commanding the orchestra and mastering the rhythm of the dance; the ugly umbrella commands the changes in the formation of the rice-planting team, and they all hold the umbrella in their left hand and dance. The "drum" is a flat round drum in the left hand, and the right hand holds a drum whack, while dancing and beating. The "stick" is a wooden stick held in each hand of the dancers, and they hit each other while dancing. The "flower" is the dancer dressed as a young girl, holding a long handkerchief in her left hand and a flower made of colored silk in her right hand. In addition to the L four roles, there are also running "miscellaneous corner", make-up into the old man, wife of a variety of characters, in the rice-planting team after the funny performances. Drum rice-planting songs are also rich and varied walk (formation changes) to see a long, beautiful formation composition, changes in clever and compact, there are dozens of kinds of more.

Yangge is a representative form of folk dance of Han nationality in China. It originated from the boat choice and plowing agricultural labor life, because our country is a country mainly based on agricultural production, so the performance of agricultural production and labor of the dance is particularly much, of which the rice-planting song of this form of the most widely circulated. The origin of Yangge has a long history, and legend has it that the Yangge around Hebei was created by Su Dongpo when he was serving in Dingzhou. Ancient scholars believe that the folk dance of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Murata Le", was the source of the Yangge. Development to the Qing Dynasty, rice-planting songs have spread throughout the Central Han region, especially in the north more prevalent. Ancient records, the early Qing dynasty during the Kangxi period, Beijing's first month of the "rice-planting team read the spring sun" everywhere, to watch the rice-planting performances of the people are very enthusiastic, not only the lads crowded shoulder book powder, even many women's head of the hairpin are squeezed off.

The earliest Yangge was a form of singing, and only later did the dance and theater forms of performance appear. Now these three forms are popular all over the country. The term "rice-planting song" has a broad and narrow ah kind of interpretation, the broad sense of the general refers to "out of the meeting", "walking meeting", "social fire" in a variety of dances and songs such as the choice of song, Gaoxiao, Bamboo Horse, straw boat, and flower glass, to tea lights and so on. As well as flower glass, to tea lights, etc. collectively referred to as Yangge; choice of state refers to Yangge (ground Yangge) and high jumping Yangge. Although the popularity of rice-planting songs throughout the country, but to Shaanxi, Hebei, Northeast, Shandong and other places for the most productive, the masses are also the most extensive.