The "Tujia Dragon Dance" activity is a traditional folk custom with a long history in Dejiang County. Before the 21st century, the Tujia dragon dance in Dejiang mainly appeared in towns and villages, and the focus of performance was moved from rural areas to the county seat; after the 21st century, except for the central market towns such as Jiancha and Chaodi, it was mainly concentrated in the streets of the county seat. Dejiang County is located at the junction of the Loushan Mountain Range and the Wuling Mountain Range in the northeast of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and is the junction of many provinces (cities) such as Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan. Dejiang County is named Wujiang. According to historical records, "Dejiang is the ancient Yanjiang River and the current Wujiang River." Because it is a link between Jingchu and the southwestern border, it has enjoyed the reputation of "the gateway to northern Guizhou" since ancient times. The earliest graphic record of the Tujia dragon dance in Dejiang can be found in the "Rain Prayer Picture" on the main wall of Feilong Temple. The picture was made in the eighth year of Yongle (1410 AD). Although it has gone through 600 years of vicissitudes, the grass dragon and figures painted are still clearly visible. During the Republic of China, dragon dancing was quite popular in Dejiang County. After liberation, the grass dragon dance gradually became rare, and the "dragon lantern" that is widely circulated now is a hoop dragon (made of bamboo strips as the skeleton, covered with dragon clothes, and affixed with scales). The Dejiang dragon (a dragon lantern with a light inside the dragon head) is generally 9 sections (each section has a fixed support rod), with a length ranging from 30 to 40 meters, and the longest one has 49 sections and can reach a length of 400 meters. The dragon's skeleton is made of Jing bamboo (sometimes Nan bamboo, Spotted bamboo or Water bamboo) that grows for many years on Yangshan Mountain, with hemp silk as the beard (the color of the beard can distinguish the status of the dragon), and pig bladders as eyes. The dragon head and each section are connected with ropes, covered with dragon clothes, scales are affixed, and then equipped with lanterns and fish soldiers and shrimp generals. Finally, local respected people are invited to paint the words "sun" and "moon" on the dragon head and tail respectively, and use cinnabar to dot the dragon's eyes to give the dragon yin and yang aura, achieving the effect of adding the finishing touch. The entire dragon lantern is then completed. The Tujia dragon dance activities in Dejiang mainly include "raising water (water sacrifice), lighting the dragon, sending invitations to households, dragon dance, sending dragon treasures, dragon racing, frying dragons (Lantern Festival), burning dragons, etc. The specific content is: after the water dragon is tied, the leader (the person in charge of the lantern festival) organizes the masses to beat gongs and drums, send the dragon to the river or well, burn incense and paper, and hold a series of sacrificial activities to invite the Dragon King to come down to earth. After the dragon lighting and water ceremony is completed, the dragon will go to the main streets and villages for a tour to stretch its muscles and visit the common people. In fact, it is to inform people that a certain village will play dragon lanterns again this year. Sending invitations to the lantern festival will send people to send notices door to door (if there is a funeral in the family, the lantern will not be received for three years). Finally, the lantern festival will determine the object of congratulations based on the situation of sending invitations. Only after the host receives the invitation will he prepare to welcome the dragon lantern. Entering the house to dance the dragon and the dragon lantern to greet the new year. In the excitement of the gongs and drums, the dragon head mainly makes the movements, and one person leads , everyone sings in unison, and the host leads the singing of some congratulatory content. At this time, the host needs to set off firecrackers to bring the dragon into the house. The dragon head nods three times to the incense in the main hall, and then begins to dance three circles in the house, and finally the dragon tail faces forward and exits in order. The host usually gives candies, cigarettes, alcohol, or money and other things as gifts. Sending dragon treasures Each dragon must prepare a number of "dragon treasures" (round balls made of red paper). Starting from the ninth day of the first lunar month, dragon treasures are given to large families, wealthy families, prestigious families, and newlywed families to show that they have received more favor from the dragon god, and wish the newlyweds to have children soon. At this time, the host gives relatively more money and things. Among the several dragon treasures, there is a treasure made of gold and platinum paper, called "gold treasure". A dragon can only have one a year or one every few years. The object of congratulations generally needs to thank with a generous gift. The dragon race is on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month (the county market), and various dragon lanterns gather in the county carrying "pavilions, ancient things on the ground"- Competition. The pavilions are mostly based on stories such as "Chang'e Flying to the Moon", "Meeting on the Magpie Bridge", "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "Mu Guiying Takes Command", etc., while the "Ancient Stories of the Earth" are mostly based on stories such as "Jiang Taigong Fishing" and "Sun Wukong Fights the White Bone Demon Three Times". Exploding dragons are played with fireworks and firecrackers on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Burning dragons is to send the dragon to the river on the 16th day of the first lunar month. After eating dragon porridge, the participants in the dragon dance will burn the dragon skeleton to show that the dragon is released back to the sea and the gods are sent to heaven, praying for good weather and peace in the coming year. The outstanding characteristics of Dejiang Tujia dragon dance are "elegant, hot, thrilling and exciting". In addition, its performance time is relatively fixed, that is, from the second to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of each year, all kinds of dragon lanterns in urban and rural areas are out in full force, doing their best to interpret the dragon dance culture of the village (village, street). Due to the relatively fixed time and space, Dejiang dragon dance has been continuously developed and improved, becoming an important stage for Tujia folk artists to exchange and inherit skills, and an important carrier for studying Tujia culture. At present, the inheritance and development of Dejiang Tujia dragon dance culture has fallen into an endangered situation. First, the distribution of Tujia dragon dance has shrunk from the vast rural areas to the county town, and the number of people directly covered by dragon dance culture has dropped sharply; second, the dragon lantern production process is mostly in the hands of some old folk artists, and there is no successor to the craft inheritance. Third, the funds for dragon dance activities are mainly raised by the public. Due to tight funds, most of them are made to do what they can, so that many traditional props, program content, and weaving art are gradually reduced and lost. Fourth, due to the development of the city, the prospects of Dejiang Tujia dragon dance, which is famous for "explosion", are worrying. Fifth, the unique skills of Dejiang Tujia dragon dance, because fewer and fewer people have mastered the essentials, the high-difficulty movements that require coordination and cooperation of many people to complete are now rare, the viewing value of dragon dance performances has obviously declined, and the mass foundation of dragon dance cultural inheritance has begun to shake. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)