MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Dragon Dance

One pearl leads, a hundred joints of dragon rise

Introduction

Teams raising a dragon on poles to chase a pearl, together with fish-lantern and rolling-lantern dances

Dragon dance is the family of dances in which a team raises a dragon of cloth, bamboo, straw or linked benches on poles and makes it wind and roll after a pearl; it also takes in lantern dances whose props are fish, phoenixes, butterflies or centipedes. It is performed at the Lantern Festival, at temple fairs and in prayers for rain. The main forms include the dragon dances of Tongliang, the human dragon of Zhanjiang, the bench dragon of Pujiang, the leaf dragon of Changxing and the cloth dragon of Fenghua (III-4), together with the rolling lantern of Yuhang (III-16) and lantern dances such as the fish lanterns of Qingtian (III-45). In the Western Han, Dong Zhongshu's Chunqiu fanlu prescribed that in a spring drought a blue dragon be made and danced by eight boys dressed in blue; Eastern Han reliefs show performers disguised as dragons and fish in the fish-and-dragon show, by the Northern Song the Lantern Festival in Kaifeng had dragons of bound straw set with lamps, and from the Ming and Qing the dragon lantern led village processions and New Year celebrations everywhere.

Timeline

Western Han to present
130 BCE · OriginIn the Western Han, Dong Zhongshu's Chunqiu fanlu set out seasonal rain prayers: in a spring drought a great blue dragon eight zhang long and seven small dragons were made, and eight boys who had fasted three days danced them in blue clothes; in summer red dragons were danced by seven grown men.180 · EvolutionThe music and entertainment relief of the late Eastern Han tomb at Beizhai, Yinan, shows the fish-and-dragon show, with performers disguised as a dragon, fish and leopard; Zhang Heng's Western Capital rhapsody describes a sea creature in the show 'changing into a dragon'.1120 · EvolutionAt the Lantern Festival in Northern Song Kaifeng, the gates beside the Xuande tower carried playing dragons of bound straw set with tens of thousands of lamps, which seemed to writhe like two dragons in flight (Dongjing menghua lu); the lantern dragon became a Lantern Festival custom.2006 · ImpactIn 2006 seven dragon dances, including those of Tongliang, Zhanjiang and Pujiang, entered the first national ICH list as III-4; four extensions from 2008 to 2021 added thirty-six more, and lantern dance (III-45) was listed in 2008.
  1. 130 BCEOriginIn the Western Han, Dong Zhongshu's Chunqiu fanlu set out seasonal rain prayers: in a spring drought a great blue dragon eight zhang long and seven small dragons were made, and eight boys who had fasted three days danced them in blue clothes; in summer red dragons were danced by seven grown men.
  2. 180EvolutionThe music and entertainment relief of the late Eastern Han tomb at Beizhai, Yinan, shows the fish-and-dragon show, with performers disguised as a dragon, fish and leopard; Zhang Heng's Western Capital rhapsody describes a sea creature in the show 'changing into a dragon'.
  3. 1120EvolutionAt the Lantern Festival in Northern Song Kaifeng, the gates beside the Xuande tower carried playing dragons of bound straw set with tens of thousands of lamps, which seemed to writhe like two dragons in flight (Dongjing menghua lu); the lantern dragon became a Lantern Festival custom.
  4. 2006ImpactIn 2006 seven dragon dances, including those of Tongliang, Zhanjiang and Pujiang, entered the first national ICH list as III-4; four extensions from 2008 to 2021 added thirty-six more, and lantern dance (III-45) was listed in 2008.

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · 2006: III-4 Dragon dance [no. 107: Tongliang dragon dance · Zhanjiang human dragon · Shanwei rolling golden dragon · Pujiang bench dragon · Changxing leaf dragon · Fenghua cloth dragon · Luzhou rain-altar dragon · Chongqing · Zhanjiang and Shanwei · Guangdong · Pujiang · Changxing and Fenghua · Zhejiang · Lu county · Sichuan] · III-16 Yuhang rolling lantern [no. 119 · Yuhang · Hangzhou · Zhejiang]
  2. 2008National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · 2008: III-45 Lantern dance [no. 642: Qingtian fish lantern · Putian nine-carp lantern · carp lantern · Shatoujiao fish lantern · Dongzhi flower lantern · Sujiazuo dragon-and-phoenix lantern · Qingtian · Zhejiang · Putian · Fujian · Ji'an county · Jiangxi · Shenzhen · Guangdong · Dongzhi · Anhui · Boai · Henan] · III-47 Eighteen Butterflies [no. 644 · Yongkang · Zhejiang] · III-54 Centipede dance [no. 651 · Chenghai · Shantou · Guangdong]
  3. 2008National ICH extension items2008: III-4 Dragon dance · 16 forms including the Yixian character-forming dragon lanterns · Hanyang high dragon · Rucheng incense dragon · Puzhai fire dragon · Foshan human dragon · Hetang gauze dragon and the drunken dragon of Zhongshan · in Hebei · Liaoning · Shanghai · Jiangsu · Zhejiang · Fujian · Hubei · Hunan · Guangdong and Sichuan · III-16 Rolling lantern: Fengxian · Shanghai · and Haiyan · Zhejiang
  4. 2011National ICH extension items2011: III-4 Dragon dance · 13 forms in Shanghai · Jiangsu · Zhejiang · Shandong · Henan · Hubei · Hunan and Guangdong · including the Pudong coiling dragon lantern · Kaihua incense straw dragon and Zhijiang dragon · III-45 Lantern dance: Wuwei fish lantern · Wuwei · Anhui
  5. 2014National ICH extension items2014: III-4 Dragon dance: Aojiang great rowing dragon · hand-dragon dance · Qianjiang straw dragon · in Pingyang · Zhejiang · Jixi · Anhui and Qianjiang · Hubei · III-45 Lantern dance: Shangshe transforming-dragon lantern · Qingtian hundred-bird lantern · Yunyang phoenix lantern · in Anji and Qingtian · Zhejiang and Yunyang · Hubei
  6. 2021National ICH extension items2021: III-4 Dragon dance: Huizhou bench dragon · Xiuning · Anhui · Wang Guiwu dragon lantern · Tieshan · Huangshi · Hubei · banban dragon lantern · Cili · Hunan · Anren bench dragon · Dazhou · Sichuan · III-45 Lantern dance: Jishui aoyu lantern · Jishui · Jiangxi · five shrimps and a catfish · Jingzhou · Hubei