Yushu Zhuowu [Qinghai Yushu Specialty]

What is Yushu Zhuowu? Authentic Qinghai Yushu specialty: Yushu Zhuowu

Content summary:Do you want to know what Yushu Zhuowu is? This article is a detailed introduction to the special product of Yushu in Qinghai Province - Yushu Zhuowu. It was compiled by the editorial team of China Specialty Network after reviewing and collecting relevant information about Yushu Zhuowu. The full text takes about 21 minutes to read, mainly including the basic introduction of Yushu Zhuowu and the product features of Yushu Zhuowu? How did the history of Yushu Zhuowu come about? Wait

Basic Introduction to Yushu Zhuowu

Yushu Zhuowu is popular in the southwestern part of Qinghai Province, located in the hinterland of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

. The historical origins of Zhuowu can be traced back to primitive society. Yushu Zhuowu still retains many traces of ancient times. With the formation of the six major Tibetan clans, Yushu Zhuowu gradually developed in the form of tribal, tribal, and regional cultures

"Mengzhuo" means "masses, masses" in Tibetan, and is commonly referred to as "zhuo dance" in local customs

The entire dance has a distinct rhythm and majestic momentum, fully showcasing the masculine and handsome beauty of male dance. The female dance movements are soft and smooth, with sleeve swinging and foot movements similar to those of male dance, but with smaller amplitudes, showcasing the characteristics of female softness, beauty, and gentle elegance

Performance Form

In the past, "Quzhuo" had over a hundred sets of movements and songs, but now "Quzhuo" in Xinzhai only has more than 30 paragraphs. The music title is also known as the dance title, which is a specialized dance piece. The music, lyrics, and movements are mostly unique, except for a few paragraphs that are the same. Each section of "Quzhuo" has slow and fast lyrics, with slow lyrics consisting of 4 to 6 sections and soothing movements; Fastboard is often a variation of slow board, with intense movements that usually end after repeating twice. Quzhuo sings and dances without accompaniment. Quzhuo has no strict performance time, location, occasion, or procedure. Every year on the night of the ninth day of the first lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, the performance of "Quzhuo" takes place on the open ground at the foot of the sacred mountain, only once a year. Before the dance, people gather in front of the mulberry burning platform to offer sacrifices to the gods, and women sing songs with six character mantras as the content. After arriving at the dance hall, 60 adult men form dance pairs, with 30 people in groups, each standing in a semicircle. Each group is led by a "Quben" (lead dancer) who dances with the team leader, while the others sing and dance clockwise from behind. Take one group as the main group, and combine the other group with smaller movements, alternating between the two groups. The order of paragraphs 1-4 of "Quzhuo" cannot be reversed, and other paragraphs can be danced. Women are only allowed to watch and cannot dance together. During the performance, male dancers are required to wear Tibetan robes, Tibetan boots, long sleeved white silk shirts, a waist knife, and a high cut red tassel hat. Qu Zhuo's movements are slow, and its unique rhythm is that during slow paced heavy beats, the power leg bends and lifts, reversing the usual practice of the power leg stepping on the ground during heavy beats, forming a characteristic of the body's center of gravity moving left and right with alternating virtual and real movements. The lyrics of "Quzhuo" mostly praise living Buddhas, immortals, snow lions, green dragons, peacocks, as well as preaching Buddhism, praying for good luck, etc. Dancing "Quzhuo" is considered an act of worshipping and entertaining gods, so the expression should be respectful and devout. Thus, the strong religious color carried by "Qu Zhuo" can be seen

In the early days, only men were allowed to participate in "Mengzhuo", but this custom was later changed. Men and women stood separately in the large semicircle and danced together, but there was no custom of men and women dancing together. Until now, Yushu Zhuo Dance still retains two forms: male group dance and male female group dance. On festive occasions such as festivals, religious holidays, and the sitting of a living Buddha on a bed, it is customary to perform the "Mengzhuo" dance. At that time, the crowd gathered in the open ground, with dancers ranging from a dozen to hundreds, led by "Zhuoben Zhuang" and followed by others of different ages. When men dance, they are divided into two groups and each stand in a semicircle, alternating clockwise and dancing around the circle. When men and women dance together, they form a large semicircle, with the male team symbolizing the sun inside and the female team symbolizing the moon outside. The head of the female team overlaps with the tail of the male team, symbolizing "the sun and moon shining together, good luck and prosperity". The formation of the sun and moon shining together and the clockwise rotation of the dance in Zhuo Wu are related to traditional Tibetan religion. Buddhism believes that rotating everything to the right is in accordance with the law, and vice versa is considered rebellion

Like Zhuo Dance, "Meng Zhuo" is a fixed specialized dance song, and the song name is the dance name. Divided into fast and slow sections, with a sharp contrast in speed. Before dancing, men and women gather separately and slowly sing a piece of lyrics in sequence. When the female team finishes, the dance team disperses and prepares to dance. At the same speed, the lead dancer guides everyone to slowly wave their sleeves and dance clockwise, while the male and female teams take turns singing and dancing. After 5-6 segments, the dance transitions to a short and powerful fast-paced tempo, with variations of slow movements and music. The 2-3 segments abruptly come to an end. In the past, Zhuo Wu had no instrumental accompaniment from beginning to end, and the empty beats of dance speed were filled and adjusted with the resounding sound of dancers stomping on the ground and shaking their ankles

Inheritance significance

Zhuo dance has a wide public and social foundation, and its rich forms of expression, unique style, exquisite skills, and strong personality are praised by the masses. It has broad representativeness and significant typicality in Tibetan song and dance art, demonstrating high artistic value. At the same time, Zhuowu embodies ancient and profound cultural connotations, which have important value in the research of anthropology, ethnology, folklore, and other fields. The cohesion and inspiration it possesses can play a positive role in the construction of modern spiritual civilization

When dancing, men and women usually form a circle by holding hands in a semicircle, with one person leading the way. Men and women ask and answer questions repeatedly, without musical accompaniment. The entire dance consists of two segments, one slow and the other fast. The basic movements include "trembling and crossing legs", "walking and turning", "crossing legs and squatting", etc. The dancers' arms mainly change the dance posture by lifting, swinging, and swaying, and the formation moves clockwise. The circles vary in size, and occasionally change the "dragon tail" pattern

In the folk belief of Yushu, "Qiuzhuo" is one of the oldest primitive songs and dances of the Tibetan people, which has existed since the formation of the universe. It is said that when Princess Wencheng married Xizang in the 7th century and passed Yushu, the people of Yushu held a grand horse race and "Yi", "Zhuo" and other dances for the arrival of the princess

"The number of stars in the sky corresponds to the number of melodies in Zhuo; the number of trees on the mountain corresponds to the number of words in Zhuo; the number of hairs on the cow corresponds to the number of dance moves in Zhuo." This is the praise people give to the rich content of Zhuo dance. The historical origins of Zhuowu can be traced back to primitive society, and many traces of ancient times are still preserved in Yushu Zhuowu to this day. With the formation of the six major Tibetan clans, Yushu Zhuowu gradually developed in the form of tribal, tribal, and regional cultures

"Zhuo" is a general term used by the Tibetan people for dance based song and dance combinations. The concept of "Zhuo" has its historical background and development process. According to expert research, its early form is closely related to the "oath making" activities during the Tubo period. The wording of the oath is generally longer, with less emphasis on textual embellishment and difficulty in singing, but it can be recited. When declaring a vow, in order to fully express emotions, it is often accompanied by a state of dancing, and on this basis, it is staged into an art form with dance as the basic element, which is called "zhuo". This argument is also more in line with the emotional development level of "emotions move in the middle and form in words. If there is a lack of words, then sigh; if there is a lack of sighs, then sing; if there is a lack of singing, then dance without knowing the feet of the hand", indicating that the meaning of "zhuo" in the early Tibetan period has its origin

"Zhuo" originated in nomadic societies, and in the early days, it mainly referred to primitive Guozhuang dance in addition to animal dance and bird dance. It is an altar ritual of tribal entertainment and a dance form related to oath culture, so the dance style at that time was relatively restrained, often bowing the head and chest, dancing with hands tied, with a dull mood and a strong religious color. Zhuo dance continued to expand and transform in early cultural activities, and also developed into pastoral songs and dances, as well as various forms of encouragement in various regions of Tibet. However, today, the concept of Zhuowu generally refers to a performance form that is mainly based on dance, combines song and dance, rarely dances during singing, does not dance during dancing, and interweaves song and dance. The title of Zhuowu varies depending on the local dialect, with "Zhuo" in Kangba language and "Guozhuo" in Lhasa language, commonly translated as "Guozhuang" or "Gezhuang" in Chinese. Words differ