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Dragon lantern dance, celebrate the New YearSpring Festival is coming“Lishui Dragon Lantern” will dance with its head held high againShiqiu Street, known as the “Hometown of Dragon Lanterns”There will be 30 dragonswill take turnsFollow Xiaoli to have a lookPart of the Charm of Shiqiu Dalong
Lu Family Dalong Lujia Dalong is a traditional dance in Lujia Village, Shiqiu Street. The Lu Family Dalong belongs to the category of Plateosaurus, with a total length of eighteen segments. The entire dragon body integrates bamboo weaving, paper-cutting, and woodworking skills. There is a wooden balance pole inside the dragon body, so that the candle flame can always be upward and maintain balance during the dragon dance. The bamboo dragon’s body is covered with special white wax paper and decorated with various aquatic animal and plant patterns.
The origin of the Lu family’s dragon is related to praying for rain. There is a Dongyue Temple in the local Xiheng Mountain. In ancient times, whenever there was a drought or a bad year, villagers would go to the temple to pray for rain. The four characters “Emperor Dongyue” are written on the lantern of the dragon lantern in Lujiacun, which has been passed down to this day.
There are many things to pay attention to when performing the Lu family dragon dance: black beards on the first day, gray beards on the second day, and white beards on the third day. The route and order of the performance cannot be changed at will. The Lu family’s dragon dance was originally completed by the Lu family’s strong men. After the Qing Dynasty, the Fu family moved to the village and also joined the dragon dance. Nowadays, whenever the Lu family performs the dragon dance, villagers in the village can voluntarily participate regardless of their surname.
Zhan’s dragon lantern Zhanjia dragon lantern originated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to legend, there is a huge stone behind Zhanjia Village, which looks like a giant dragon. Since ancient times, dragons have been regarded as a symbol of good luck among the people, bringing good luck and good harvests. Therefore, the villagers regarded this huge stone as the incarnation of the dragon, so there was a dragon dance performance.
During the dragon dance performance, the dragon lanterns soar into the clouds, circling with their heads held high, and are majestic. According to local legend, the Zhan family dragon lantern has a special connection with the Lu family dragon, and they are regarded as “husband and wife dragons” by the local people. Every New Year or major festival, these two dragon lanterns go to the other village after the lanterns are lit in their own village. The “husband and wife” meet each other and dance together. This not only shows the charm of local folk art, but also conveys the villagers’ hope for a better life. Hope and blessing. What kind of exciting dance will the “husband and wife dragons” perform when they meet this year? Let’s go to the site and see it together.
Zhangjia dragon lantern The Zhangjia dragon lantern in Xiangyang Village, Shiqiu Street, is known as “the most powerful dragon in the south of the Yangtze River”. The dragon has a huge head and body, with a total length of 18 sections and nearly 50 meters. It is the only local dragon with black scales and is well-known.
The whole body of the Zhangjia dragon lantern is made of moso bamboo and decorated with various floral decorations and colorful balls. The dragon head, dragon body and dragon tail are mounted with rice paper and all are inserted with candles. After dark, the dragon body is bright and transparent. Its most distinctive feature is that the dragon’s head tilts up slightly and its mouth opens and closes. The moment the dragon ball is thrown, it is vivid and impressive.
The dragon dance performance is divided into two stages: “playing on the field” and “worshiping the door head”. Villagers gather in the open space of the village to dance the dragon to celebrate the New Year. After the performance, the dragon dance team walked through the streets and doorways to pray for blessings. After the performance, the dragon lanterns are kept in the village’s dragon lantern hall for reuse in the coming year.
Mulberry Garden Pulong Lantern Sangyuanpu Natural Village in Shiqiu Street has a large population and is divided into four sections: Dongtou, Nantou, Xitou and Beitou. Each section has a dragon lantern, divided into two males and two females. During the Spring Festival this year, four dragon lanterns in Sangyuan Pu Village were unveiled.
The four dragon lanterns of Sangyuan Pu belong to the “dragon lifting” method. Each part is connected with wooden tenons and can be rotated left and right. There is a handle under each section, and the dragon dancer holds the handle to dance the dragon. There are aquatic patterns such as shrimps, crabs, fish, and turtles cut out on both sides of the dragon body, and folk paper-cuts such as palaces, landscapes, and flowers are also mounted on them.
The dragon dance ceremony is very grand, with three deafening blasts announcing the start of the dance. The first sound, the dragon raises its head; the second sound, the dragon turns back; the third sound, the dragon runs away. After three sounds, the dragon dance team ran towards the village at full speed and went straight to the dragon lantern field. In the dragon lantern field, “the dragon opened its mouth”, and then officially danced the dragon lantern.
Shiqiu Street Dragon Dance Schedule
There are really too many dragon lanterns in Shiqiu
this new year
Which “dragon” are you most looking forward to?
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