Northeast yangge

On the land of Guandong, the most popular folk song and dance is the Northeast Yangko. Every year, whether in towns or villages, the cheerful suona and the gongs and drums of the Yangko team reverberate in a festive atmosphere.

According to historical records, as early as the Kangxi period, there was a custom of holding Yangko on January 15th in the northeast. Men and women dressed as soldiers sang and danced all night. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, yangko dancing had been a Spring Festival entertainment activity all over Northeast China. The organizers of "Yangko" are wealthy businessmen, administrative agencies or non-governmental organizations, and are responsible for gathering local people who are good at it, setting up costume props, hiring drum groups, organizing rehearsals and planning performance arrangements. Specific affairs are usually handled by the "Yangko Head" with good acting skills, high prestige and strong handling ability.

On the first day of the first month, every household is busy paying New Year's greetings, and generally starts to "run yangko" from the second day. The main form of performance is New Year greetings. In the town, the Yangko team will perform in the local government offices and merchant shops in the name of New Year greetings. In rural areas, it will pull carts to nearby villages, perform in village offices or houses of wealthy families, and visit New Year. For this kind of performance, worshippers should prepare for the reception of rock tea, and when the yangko team leaves, they should give money to the "yangko head", and some even have to take care of the meal. Therefore, the Yangko team has already chosen the object of New Year's greetings in advance, and at least they can afford to go, otherwise it will be difficult for people to feed their horses. Of course, local men, women and children can watch the performance for free. In the past, celebrating the Spring Festival in rural areas was for "happiness" and "saving face". If any village doesn't come to the Yangko team to pay New Year's greetings, people in the village will feel unhappy. Therefore, if there is no yangko in the village, each family will divide the money according to the rich and the poor, and send people to other villages to "pick up yangko" to add a festive atmosphere to the village for the New Year.

The style of Northeast Yangko is famous for its fiery, cheerful and unrestrained style. Folk call yangko "twisting waves", that is, not only the dance should be graceful, but also the waist and buttocks should be large, with a strong sense of rhythm and an infectious expression. In short, it should not be dull but exaggerated, which conforms to the generous and enthusiastic folk customs of Kanto. In addition, yangko's "marching array" (marching performance formation) should also be lively and fresh. In addition to the usual circular venue, there are many tricks, such as "Two Dragons Spitting Beards" and "Tai Chi Eight Diagrams", which are fast and slow, changing as they walk, and the bright colors of the actors' costumes are dazzling.

The highlight of Yangko is stilts, commonly known as "stepping on high feet". The seesaw stick is two to three feet long, and it is also a yangko step and formation in the performance. It is better to twist quickly and happily. The characters in Yangko include red and green girls and little wives, ugly girls smoking long pipes, county officials with gauze hats and wings, clumsy "pillars", and performances such as "rolling donkeys" and "dry boats" with other props, all of which are simple, simple and funny. Another kind of characters are well-known figures in novels and operas, such as the four masters and apprentices in The Journey to the West, the eight apprentices crossing the sea, and the common sons and maids in New Year pictures, such as the ploughing and reading of Jade Bridge. For example, the yangko team has "high feet", and the latter role is mostly on stilts. In the old days, all yangko dances were male, so most female roles were disguised as women, which made them more daring, provocative and funny.

The most enjoyable thing to watch yangko is to meet the "Taiwan", that is, two yangko teams come to a venue. Because most of the Yangko during the Chinese New Year are rewarded, according to unwritten rules, only one Yangko team can be left in a performance venue. If two groups of yangko teams arrive at the same time, or the later yangko team is unwilling to give in, it can only be divided by acting. Good twisting can attract followers, and those with poor skills will automatically quit. At this time, the two yangko teams have to show their housekeeping skills, redouble their efforts and twist vigorously, and the audience will benefit from it and feast their eyes. In this kind of competition, musicians who play suona (commonly known as drummers) play a vital role. Because yangko follows the sound of suona and gongs and drums, in a sense, there are only those that can't be blown out and twisted out, so suona is equivalent to the soul of yangko team. An excellent trumpet player not only knows a lot of tunes, but also has high playing skills, and also practices many unique skills. A skilled trumpeter can put a burning cigarette in each nostril, a bowl of water on his head and arms, blow on the table while walking, go around, blow on the table, keep the horn, keep the cigarette burning and keep the water bowl from spilling. This trick is not needed at ordinary times, and it will only be shown when you want more money or fight against Taiwan. Therefore, people who do yangko try to invite local famous trumpeters. Sometimes a performance is going on and another autumn yangko comes. When you hear that the trumpet is well played from a distance, or that the trumpeter is a famous player, you will bow your head and "retreat" automatically.

The New Year's Yangko Dance reached its climax from 15 to 16 in Zheng Peng. At this time, the New Year greeting in every village has ended, and the shops on the street have also started their business in the new year. On the day of Lantern Festival, the Yangko team gathered in the most bustling towns and streets in the area to perform a parade. Some have also specially organized the "Lantern Yangko" which is integrated with the atmosphere of enjoying flowers and lanterns. There are wonderful performances one after another in the market, which is very lively. Actors who love yangko also show their talents in the cheers of the audience all over the street and are addicted to yangko. Because after these two days, they will take off their colorful clothes and go back to the fields and workshops to become ordinary workers.