Guzi Yangge [Shandong Shanghe Specialty]

What is drum and yangko? Authentic Shandong Shanghe specialty: Guzi Yangge

Content summary:Do you want to know what Guzi Yangge is? This article is a detailed introduction toShandong Shanghe specialty - Guzi Yangge. It was reorganized and edited by the editorial team of China Specialty Network after reviewing and collecting relevant information on Guzi Yangge. The full text takes about 17 minutes to read, mainly including the basic introduction of Guzi Yangge and how its history originated? Wait.

Basic Introduction to Guzi Yangge

Guzi Yangge is a very ancient traditional folk dance in Jinan, Shandong. Originally originated in Shanghe County, Jinan, with a history of more than two thousand years, it is recorded that in the fourth year of Han Hongjia (17 BC), the river embankment commander Xu Shang excavated the Shanghe River, and the people spontaneously raised umbrellas and danced together to celebrate the completion of the river.

Dance Wonders

China has a long history of music and dance culture, especially the folk dances of various ethnic groups, which have a long and diverse style and constitute an important part of the Chinese national music and dance culture.

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Shandong Yangge is widely recognized as a splendid and colorful flower in the history of Chinese ethnic music and dance culture, and occupies an important position in Chinese folk dance.. Shandong Yangge has outstanding regional characteristics, and in terms of distribution, it is most widely spread in western Shandong, northern Shandong, and the Jiaodong Peninsula. According to incomplete statistics, there are about 30 different types of yangko in Shandong Province, and the overall style of yangko is relatively uniform. The forms of expression can be roughly divided into three types: ground yangko, inch yangko, and stilt yangko, among which stilt yangko has the longest history and the widest distribution. The main types of land yangko that are still active on the land of Qilu are "Guzi yangko", "Jiaozhou yangko" and "Haiyang yangko", known as the "three major yangko" or "three major folk dances" in Shandong. Its overall style is rough and unrestrained for men, fully embodying masculinity, while for women it is charming, flexible, and full of subtle beauty. The most heroic, powerful, explosive, and majestic folk song is the Guzi Yangge, which is popular on the north bank of the Yellow River and in the northern Shandong region...

The performer of the ugly umbrella moves downwards in an arc to the right, like pulling a cowhide tendon, soft yet strong, full of resilience;

; The flower umbrella tilts its right hand to the right and then flips the flower before closing it behind its back. Its movements are graceful and effortless, with its head held high and chest held high, exuding a handsome aura; The drum drives the upper body with swinging force, jumping and squatting, rising and falling vigorously, rough and unrestrained; The mallet strikes each other during physical movement, lifting up and down the cover, rubbing left and right, appearing light and agile, showing the lively habits of a young person who is active; As a female flower, the dancing fan silk requires both arms to be extended upwards, swung forward, backward, left and right, and driven by the swing, resulting in strong wind and fire when swung, light and graceful running, lively and beautiful...

Performance form

Before the performance of the drum and yangko, some areas hold a sacrificial ceremony to commemorate the deceased father. On the evening of the 15th day of the first lunar month, the drum and yangko team first goes to the earth temple for worship. The team walked at a slow pace, with neat and solemn steps. They walked solemnly, lighting "street lamps" along the way from the village entrance to the earth temple, placing offerings, offering sacrifices and kowtowing, dancing a yangko dance, and then returning to the village to officially perform the drum yangko. This ceremony embodies the sacrificial and entertaining functions of drum and yangko, which have long disappeared. Chuancun is a custom in the northern region of Shandong Province. In the past, from the seventh and eighth day of the lunar new year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, any village with a drum and yangko dance team would visit neighboring villages to show friendship. The visited villages would also be visited if they had the conditions. This is a manifestation of local customs and etiquette when villagers consolidate their feelings or ease conflicts.

Village visits are generally divided into four paragraphs, namely: exploring horses, entering the village, passing through the streets, running in the fields, and leaving the village.

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Style Schools

The formation of a folk dance rhythm is due to various reasons. In addition to internal factors such as social mentality, aesthetic taste, and lifestyle habits, the use and performance of props also play an important role.

. As for the guzi yangko in the Lubei region, on the surface, there may not seem to be much difference in performance style, but in reality, there are significant differences in internal rhythm. Generally speaking, the dance skills in the Shanghe area are generous and powerful, rough and heroic. When using umbrellas, they like the "elevated posture", giving people a sense of openness and grandeur; However, the Huimin region is different, with a simple and stable style, slow movements, and often uses a "low posture" in martial arts. The sticks and flowers also have their own strengths and unique attractions. The different dance props used by the characters naturally result in differences in their movements and rhythms, and the presented movements and rhymes also vary. As the artist said, 'One person, one frame, one person, one flavor, one person, one personality.'. For example, an umbrella has three ways of dancing: shoulder carrying, waist insertion, and hand lifting. This is what people call the "three schools" of carrying, inserting, and holding umbrellas.

The different execution of umbrellas in performances naturally result in different dance dynamics and charm, and different performance styles are naturally created.

A better future

As the foundation of Qilu dance culture, primitive folk dance certainly requires a correct concept to protect and develop

, but this does not mean that we should be stagnant.

. The inheritance of dance is never a static process. What we need to do is to treat dance activities that naturally occur in the folk with a peaceful attitude, rather than relying on their "development" to seek cultural construction fame. When excavating and organizing local dance resources, attention should be paid to protecting the original ecology of folk dance, so that it does not lose its connotation and essence while developing. The heritage left by thousands of years of ancient civilization is truly rich and diverse, and folk dance, as an important part of it, should also be protected in this way.

This is the responsibility entrusted to us by history...

The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, Guzi Yangge was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

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How did the history of guzi yangko come about?

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The Guzi Yangge originated in Shanghe County, Jinan, with a history of more than two thousand years. According to records, in the fourth year of Han Hongjia (17 BC), the river embankment commander Xu Shang excavated the Shanghe River, and the people spontaneously held umbrellas and danced together to celebrate the completion of the river.. Guzi Yangge is a folk art form in which local people sing and dance to celebrate a bountiful harvest. The annual Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) is the climax of Guzi Yangko performance. The Yangge dance team is huge, with a large number of people and different roles. The drums and gongs are playing together, making it very lively.

"Gu Zi Yang Ge" was originally called "Da Gu Zi Yang Ge" or "Da Gu Zi Yang Ge", "Run Yang Ge", etc. It was only after the 1940s that it was dubbed as "Guzi Yangge". It is widely active in counties and cities such as Shanghe, Jiyang, Huimin, Leling, Yangxin, and Linyi in the northern Shandong region. There are many theories about its evolution and development, and it has a long history.

The origin and development theory can be summarized as follows: labor theory, foreign theory, sacrificial theory, and Wu Nuo theory...

Labor and dance

The birthplace of Guzi Yangge is Shanghe County, located on the banks of the Yellow River, with vast and fertile fields spanning thousands of miles. However, this vast and boundless land rarely brings happiness and peace to the people who live and settle here, because of the Yellow River, which is known as the "cradle of Chinese civilization". The Yellow River, with its characteristics of being good at siltation, good at decision-making, good at handling, and violent and changeable, has continuously ravaged and destroyed the lives of people on both sides of the river in history, resulting in the inability of people living on this land to maintain long-term stability. While working and cultivating, they constantly resist and resist the invasion and devastation of the Yellow River on their lives. However, the difficulties in people's livelihoods have further aroused the desire for survival and resistance among the people in this region. Faced with the rampant flooding of the Yellow River, they have risen up to fight against floods, provide disaster relief, build embankments and dams, guide water and drainage, and with their own hard work and perseverance, tenaciously make their feet stand firmly on this land that has been plagued by disasters but has always nurtured them. And after the disaster, how can we not let them celebrate the joy of harvest and express their emotions in their own unique way through scattered soil moisture and hard work. The simple and poor people move with their emotions, act freely, and make things simple. Therefore, household tools and utensils such as pots, bowls, pans, sticks, dustpans, shovels, pickaxes, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, etc. have become their means of entertainment, gathering together to sing and dance.

The life of cyclical labor has gradually formed a unique way of life, survival, and emotional expression for the people on both sides of the Yellow River in northern Shandong. With the help of talented folk artists, the original form of Yangko is gradually changing. Dance movements are constantly summarized, refined, and sublimated, and props are gradually replaced by drums and umbrellas for aesthetic pleasure. Improvisational, casual, and simple dance movements are also purposefully combined... Can this natural formation and development be understood as a reason for the origin of Yangko with drums?

? The main basis of the "labor theory" is also based on this. In fact, this is not only the origin of the drum and yangko dance, but also the origin of all forms of folk song and dance. Looking back at ancient times, both domestically and internationally, which kind of folk art emerged and took shape without the labor and lifestyle of the people at that time?

Formation of martial arts

So what are the mainstream elements of the dance vocabulary of drum and yangko?

When the old yangko performers in the northern region of Shandong talk about the origin and source of the dance movements of the guzi yangko, they almost unanimously say that they originated from the "Big and Little Red Fists" in martial arts schools, which confirms that the important elements that make up the vocabulary of guzi yangko dance are martial arts movements.

. And the platform on which these dance movements rely is the ever-changing, seemingly dazzling but highly regular and standardized Yangge dance performance formations. Throughout history, feudal dynasties in China have always relied on military force to conquer the world. Those who have conquered the world, in order to maintain their rule, have compiled "martial arts dances" that praise the martial arts of their own dynasty, which are used for suburban temple worship and to demonstrate their authority. Compared with the "Six Dances" in the ritual and music system of the Zhou Dynasty, such as "Da Chan" and "Da Wu", the "Qin King Breaking the Formation Music" in the Tang Dynasty army, the "Seven Virtues Dance" created by Qin King Li Shimin himself, and the "Surprise Drum Dance" in the Song Dynasty, there are many similarities in the formation, artistic conception, spirit, dance techniques, and utilitarianism of the Guzi Yangge. Can it be considered that the Guzi Yangge is very likely a folk martial dance of this period, or a folk product influenced by palace martial dance and military martial dance?

In the history of the Lubei region, there have been numerous military conflicts and repeated suffering. The baptism of blood and fire has not only cultivated the spirit of bravery and martial arts among the people here, but also taught them how to fight in war. They have also used certain methods of war in folk dance. After thousands of years of tempering, they have forged a drum dance organization and performance form with strong military and martial arts imprints. Is there anything surprising about this?

In short

The Guzi Yangge is a collection of labor, disaster relief, sacrifice, military, martial arts, and acrobatics, gradually honed and formed over a long period of history. Its ever-changing over 100 Yangge dance scenes are inspired by ancient military formations, ceremonial ceremonies, earth and wood architecture, production practices, production tools, daily necessities, auspicious patterns, animals and plants, and have been summarized and summarized through generations of practice. It is the crystallization and condensation of the wisdom and artistic creativity of the people in northern Shandong.

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