What does it mean to play the pearl with two dragons?

Two dragons playing with beads is the expression of two dragons playing with (or grabbing) a fire bead. Its origin comes from the star map in China astronomy, and the fireball evolved from the moon. Since the Western Han Dynasty, dragon playing with beads has become an auspicious and festive decorative pattern, which is mostly used for architectural color painting and noble and luxurious vessel decoration.

The shape of Ssangyong depends on the area of decoration. If it is a dragon, the two dragons are symmetrically located on the left and right sides, showing the posture of walking dragons. If it is square or round, the two dragons are arranged diagonally up and down, with the upper dragon descending and the lower dragon ascending. No matter how it is arranged, the fire beads are in the middle, showing a lively momentum.

The Folklore of Playing Pearl in Shuanglong

According to legend, the dragon dance in Qingcaowu Village originated from a legend: It is said that 100 years ago (AD 2005), Qingcaowu Village in this town was adjacent to Longjing Mountain in the east and Fenghuang Mountain in the west, with a mountain named "Shantou Mountain" in the middle, and the whole terrain was like "Dragon and Phoenix Playing with Beads". Therefore, under the encouragement and inspiration of Huzhou Baique Linglong Dance, the local people created it.

Before liberation, Ssangyong performed door-to-door every Chinese New Year holiday, and some foreigners invited performances to pray for good luck in the coming year. As a folk dragon dance performance, Shuanglong Pearl is often performed in rural festivals. These two dragons are divided into female dragons and male dragons, so they are also called Ssangyong.

The female dragon performer is 9 actresses, and the male dragon is 9 actors, plus 1 dragon ball (male). There are 19 dragon dancers in the whole program. The dragon body of Ssangyong is made of cloth and covered with scales of pigment. The tap is small, the dragon stick is short, and the dance is dexterous and light, which is also suitable for actresses to perform. After the performance, five accompanists played big gongs, small gongs, drums, cymbals and other instruments.

The dragon ball came out first, formed on the built high platform, and then jumped down and ran to the stage. After stamping the stick on the ground for three times, the male and female dragons dance from both sides and run with the dragon balls, which is called "playing with the dragon balls". After that, the Dragon Ball performs a winding performance, or the dragon tail is wrapped, or the dragon head is wrapped and the dragon tail is shaken, indicating that the male and female dragons are deeply in love. In the third stage, the Dragon Ball reappeared, leading the performance of Ssangyong until the end.