China News Service, Rucheng, Hunan, February 14th: Hunan "Rucheng Incense Dragon": Dragon Country Dance for Thousands of Years
Author Lu Yi Deng Shengxiang
On a night during the Spring Festival holiday in the first month of the Year of the Dragon in the lunar calendar, in Nancun, Daping Town, Rucheng County, a mountain village in southern Hunan at the junction of the three provinces of Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi, drums and music were blaring and fireworks were noisy. The crowds were invisible in the night, and the incense dragons dancing in the air became more and more vivid. It looks dazzling and dazzling.
On February 13, the incense dragon "went out" in Rucheng, Hunan Province, shining brightly under the night. Photo by He Zihao
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, the first giant incense dragon in Rucheng County was dispatched. 36 meters long and 4 meters high, the long dragon is radiant with flames and is covered with more than 40,000 special incense sticks. It is rolled and soared by more than 200 young adults wearing straw hats, winding around the fields and passing through the villages, with a graceful figure. vivid.
Rucheng Incense Dragon is a kind of traditional dragon dance. It originated from traditional sacrifices during the Hongdao period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. The dragon was worshiped to stop the rain and the dragon was held to stop the water. It has been passed down from generation to generation in various villages and towns in Rucheng County. It is performed every night before and after the Lantern Festival during the New Year. Dancing, dating back thousands of years, is China's national intangible cultural heritage.
"The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation, and the incense dragon is a symbol of auspiciousness in the hearts of Rucheng people." In the memory of Fan Zhongmao, the provincial representative inheritor of the incense dragon in Rucheng, who is over 70 years old, the incense dragon dance is the most lively local event. Folk New Year activities, wherever the dragon parade passes, crowds of people gather. Residents along the way go out of their homes one after another, light candles and set off firecrackers to "cater the dragon" and pray for a prosperous new year.
Liu Yu, deputy director of the Rucheng County Cultural Center, said that unlike the common dragon dance, the incense dragon is very particular in its production and has both form and spirit. The image is mainly derived from dragon murals and sculptures in local temples, including round dragons and flat dragons. , and special sulfonate. The villagers began preparing straw, bamboo, incense and other materials to make the incense dragon at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. It took more than a dozen people nearly a month to make the 30-meter-long incense dragon.
In early February, on the eve of the Spring Festival, local people in Rucheng County made incense dragons together. Photo courtesy of Rucheng County
To make the incense dragon according to the design drawings, first use straw to tie a hundreds-meter-long "Zhaogong whip" with a diameter of 4 cm, and then use bamboo slices and thin iron wires to fix the shape. Fan Zhongmao said, "The dragon's body must be curved, its front paws should be bent forward, and its back paws should be bent backwards. Only when it flies can it be lifelike, with coordinated proportions and vividness." After the shape is completed, add incense to the dragon body every 2 cm to 3 cm, and the incense dragon is completed.
"It is very important to insert incense. The incense inserted in the eyes cannot be connected with the nose, otherwise the nose is not a nose and the eyes are not like eyes. Connect the lines where they should be connected, and do not connect the lines that should not be connected, just like painting." Fan Zhongmao often travels to villages to guide villagers to put on and touch up the makeup of the incense dragon. "When dancing the incense dragon, the production process should be as similar in appearance and spirit as possible."
At night, by the pond, the dancing Rucheng incense dragon is spectacular and majestic. The dragon head, dragon body, dragon tail, dragon claws and dragon spine are vivid, and the dragon mouth, dragon beard, dragon eyes, dragon ears, dragon teeth and dragon beads are lifelike. About two hours later, when the incense was about to burn out, the incense dragon returned to the starting point, was circled three times and placed on the field, entering the stage of dragon transformation. At this time, the audience came forward one after another to take a handful of dragon incense, take it home and insert it next to the stove and stall door to pray for the safety of their homes and the prosperity of their livestock.
In order to pass on the incense dragon culture from generation to generation, Rucheng County has opened a training class for "Rucheng Incense Dragon" inheritors, carried out activities such as "Rucheng Incense Dragon" entering campus, and invited experts and provincial representative inheritors to explain the techniques of making incense dragons. The main points and difficulties of dragon dance, the key points, procedures, rules, etc. of dragon dance. Liu Yu said: "This year, a 16-year-old school student organized the design and production of an incense dragon. The incense dragon has moved from an interest class to practical action."
Fan Zhongmao’s grandson who lives and works in Shenzhen also invited his classmates and friends to come and experience the style of the Incense Dragon, which made him very happy: “My grandson introduced the history and characteristics of the Incense Dragon with gusto, which shows that the Incense Dragon has been remembered in his heart. Ancestors It is not easy to pass down thousands of years of culture and it cannot be interrupted. I hope more people will become communicators and inheritors."
The night is all round, and the incense, fire, and dragon dances are in full swing to celebrate the New Year. In the New Year of the Year of the Dragon, dozens of incense dragons were dispatched in more than 50 villages throughout Rucheng County, and continued to dance until the end of the first year. (over)