MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Farmers' Dance of the Korean Ethnic Group

One ribbon hat, twenty metres of streamer

Introduction

The Korean farmers' song and dance of north-east China, opening with an offering to the land god and ending with spinning ribbon hats

The farmers' dance of the Korean ethnic group is a combined folk art of song and dance practised in the Korean communities of Yanbian in Jilin and of Liaoning and Heilongjiang. It is accompanied by suona, gongs and drums of several kinds, opens with an offering to the god of the land, imitates field work such as walking the ridges between paddies, and runs through twelve parts, among them the small-drum, long-drum, fan and crane dances, before the men close with the sangmo dance, swinging long streamers from their hats. It reached China with Korean migrants at the end of the nineteenth century and was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2009; the Korean crane dance (III-58) and long-drum dance (III-59) are also on the national list.

Timeline

Late nineteenth century to present
1880 · OriginAt the end of the nineteenth century the farmers' dance came to China with Korean migrants settling in Jilin and elsewhere; its band later added wind instruments such as the suona, and its costume absorbed influences from other peoples.2006 · ImpactIn 2006 the Korean farmers' dance (sangmo dance and geollip dance, III-24) entered the first national list, nominated by Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin and by Benxi and Tieling in Liaoning, with the Wangqing County Cultural Centre as keeper of the sangmo dance.2008 · ImpactIn 2008 the Korean crane dance (III-58, Yanbian) and the Korean long-drum dance (III-59, Tumen) entered the second national list, and the farmers' dance of Tieling was added as an extension.2009 · ImpactIn 2009 the Farmers' Dance of China's Korean Ethnic Group was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (4.COM 13.13).
  1. 1880OriginAt the end of the nineteenth century the farmers' dance came to China with Korean migrants settling in Jilin and elsewhere; its band later added wind instruments such as the suona, and its costume absorbed influences from other peoples.
  2. 2006ImpactIn 2006 the Korean farmers' dance (sangmo dance and geollip dance, III-24) entered the first national list, nominated by Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin and by Benxi and Tieling in Liaoning, with the Wangqing County Cultural Centre as keeper of the sangmo dance.
  3. 2008ImpactIn 2008 the Korean crane dance (III-58, Yanbian) and the Korean long-drum dance (III-59, Tumen) entered the second national list, and the farmers' dance of Tieling was added as an extension.
  4. 2009ImpactIn 2009 the Farmers' Dance of China's Korean Ethnic Group was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (4.COM 13.13).

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · III-24 Farmers' dance of the Korean ethnic group · no. 127 · nominated by Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture · Jilin · Benxi and Tieling · Liaoning · 2008 extension: Tieling · Liaoning
  2. 2008National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · III-58 Korean crane dance · no. 655 · nominated by Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture · Jilin · 2011 extension: Sanzao crane dance (Zhuhai · Guangdong)
  3. 2008National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · III-59 Korean long-drum dance · no. 656 · nominated by Tumen · Jilin
  4. 2009UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity4.COM 13.13 · Farmers' dance of China's Korean ethnic group