Guan Yu, who is riding a tall horse and holding the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, Zhang Fei, who is tall and angry, and the heroic female general of the Yang family who is suspended in the air... February 22, the 13th day of the first lunar month, "Our Festival in 2024" ——Longzhou Shehuo Celebrates the Chinese New Year" and Shaanxi Provincial Folk Shehuo Exhibition were held in Long County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province. Amid the thundering sound of gongs and drums, hundreds of thousands of tourists and local people gathered in Long County to have a glimpse of the ancient social fires. Fire style.

　　In 2006, Baoji folk social fire was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

Among them, Longzhou Shehuo was listed as the first batch of intangible cultural heritage in Shaanxi Province because of its strong colors, delicate facial makeup and original, rich and diverse performances.

During the Spring Festival every year, starting from the second day of the first lunar month, villages in Long County begin to decorate with Shehuo. From the countryside to the county town, from day to night, Shehuo performances can be seen everywhere, from village to house, across the streets and in alleys.

An ancient art passed down from generation to generation

　　Longzhou Shehuo has a long history, and its earliest history can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2,000 years ago.

According to historical records, as early as the Han Dynasty, Long County had the custom of playing social fire every first month of the year.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, local ancient temple fairs, operas, and fighting stages were performed, and communal fires continued day and night in all villages in the county, changing with the situation, and gradually formed the custom of "competing communal fires" in every village.

　　"With the conscious inheritance and promotion of generations of folk artists and local people, Longzhou Shehuo has developed into a mass traditional folk culture, art and entertainment activity with clear categories, forms of expression and characteristics of Fuhua Tao." Su, Director of Longxian Cultural Center Dawn introduces.

　　The contents of Longzhou Shehuo performances are mostly based on myths, historical romances and folklore stories, which entrust people with good expectations of exorcising demons, warding off evil spirits, guarding homes, and praying for blessings and luck. There are also many types of performances, including reenactments of ancient battlefields. Horse fire with swords and shadows, rough and powerful back fire, double-footed, mysterious and wonderful high-core fire, and more than 20 types of lifting fire, stilt fire, and chariot fire, to name a few.

Except for stilt social fire and walking social fire with singing tunes and performances, most of Longzhou social fire is a plastic art, which is mainly reflected by the complicated and exaggerated and colorful costumes of the social fire performers. Among them, the most important and most effective The local specialty is Shehuo facial makeup.

　　"Red represents loyalty, white represents traitor, black represents righteousness, yellow represents cruelty, blue represents recklessness, green represents righteous knights and villains, and gold and silver represent gods and monsters." Regarding the color rules of Shehuo facial makeup, the king of Tiancheng Town, Long County Wang Qiming, a veteran artist of Shehuo facial makeup in Mazui Village, knows this very well.

Before every social fire performance, Wang Qiming would be busy from morning to night, using the paintbrush in his hand to carefully draw distinctive facial makeup on the villagers' faces. The black-faced Bao Gong and the red-faced Guan Yunchang are his best works. Guan Yu left He painted the "seven-star nevus" on his cheek, the tiger shape on Yang Qilang's forehead, and the two halberds on Dian Wei's forehead in a particularly vivid way.

Different kinds of fun during the Spring Festival

　　Pretending to be a social fire, catching a social fire, watching a social fire, and all people participating in making a social fire are the most lively entertainment activities for people in Long County during the Spring Festival every year.

　　"Longzhou Shehuo can be said to be a carnival for all. The Shehuo performance is suitable for all ages. Its performance characteristics of visiting villages and households make it widely participatory." President of the Shehuo Association of Xiaogou Village, Chengguan Town, Long County Wang Bin said that in the first month of every year, when they heard that Murakami was going to play social fire, adults and children became very enthusiastic.

　　As a long string of firecrackers filled the sky, the villagers knew that it was time to take over the community fire.

Standing at the door of her home, looking at the approaching team, Li Xiaoxia, a villager in Sanliying Village, Caojiawan Town, Long County, finally saw the performance formation clearly. At the front were the black-faced "Black Tiger" and the red-faced "Ling". Official", followed closely by Guan Yu, God of Wealth, etc. They walked majestically in the village lanes, were invited into the homes of villagers, and performed in every corner of the village.

　　Li Xiaoxia saw the right moment and tied a red quilt symbolizing good wishes to the sword in the hand of her favorite Guan Gong.

"Every New Year is indispensable without the social fire. With the social fire coming and going, the year seems to be complete." Li Xiaoxia said, "The social fire not only brings joy and bustle, but also expresses good wishes for a safe and prosperous year. "

　　The ancient folk art has also attracted more and more young people to participate. Gou Shaofei, who is a drummer in the team, is just 20 years old this year. Although he has never been exposed to drumming before, when the Shehuo Team in his hometown was established, he took the initiative to take on the role. Drummer position.

"In order to successfully complete the first social fire performance, I specially learned the drum beats from the elderly in the village and the relevant person in charge of the county cultural center." Gou Shaofei said.

Industrialization breeds new hope

　　In recent years, Long County has done a lot of exploration in order to better inherit and develop Longzhou Shehuo, a folk cultural treasure.

　　"For Shehuo culture to be better developed and passed on, characteristic creation and industrial development are the only way to go." Su Liming said.

　　In this regard, Longxian Xidi Shehuo Performing Arts Co., Ltd., established in 2011, has made a good start.

"Relying on the original Shehuo Society of Lijiaxia Village, Hebei Town, we established a private cultural tourism enterprise that integrates the excavation, inheritance, innovation, performance of Longzhou Shehuo, folk tourism reception, and development and sales of folk handicrafts." Wang Zhonghou, head of the company introduce.

　　Since the establishment of the company, the company has excavated and sorted out the traditional Shehuo with more than 200 years of history based on the original Shehuo performances, and rehearsed "The Heroes with the Conch and the Pear Blossom Gun", "Three Heroes Fight Lu Bu" and "The Five-foot Stick Break" More than 30 special Shehuo programs such as "Shaoqiao" and "Folk Minor Singing Performance" have enhanced the performance, appeal and appeal of Shehuo. In particular, the innovatively rehearsed program "Heaven and Earth Shehuo People's Stage" has attracted the attention of Shaanxi Province. Many folklore experts from home and abroad made a special trip to inspect it.

　　At present, three similar Shehuo performing arts companies have been established in Long County, creating a new path for the living inheritance of Shehuo culture and the prosperity and development of the Shehuo industry.

　　The integrated development of culture and tourism is one of the directions for high-quality development of the county economy in Long County in recent years.

Long County has also introduced the folk culture of Shehuo into the Guanshan Grassland Scenic Area, which has been warmly welcomed by tourists.

　　"Longzhou Shehuo has been passed down for thousands of years and has evolved to become a golden cultural sign. We will adhere to integrity and innovation, constantly expand new ways and seek new measures, so that the vitality of Longzhou Shehuo will become more and more prosperous and go further. Getting further and further away," said Ye Shengqiang, Secretary of the Longxian County Party Committee.

　　(Our reporter Li Jie, Zhang Zhehao, our reporter Liang Huiping Guangming Daily)