1. Introduction Tonghe Dragon Dance is a folk dragon dance performance art that has long been popular in the Tonghe area of Sihong County, Jiangsu Province. The local people call it Dragon Dance. Tonghe Dragon Dance not only inherits the characteristics of traditional folk dragon dance, but also improves and innovates on the basis of the original performance. Its outstanding feature is the mother-child dragon performance, that is, a big dragon leads 12 small dragons to dance together. The scene is spectacular, rich in content, novel, and has strong artistic expression, which is deeply loved by the masses. 2. Historical Origin Dragon Dance is also called Dragon Dance, and it is also called Dragon Lantern Dance, because the performers hold legendary dragon-shaped props. The image of the dragon originated from the ancient totem of my country and was regarded as a lucky thing by people. Later, it evolved into a symbol of the Chinese nation. There are many historical records and legends about dragons. In the era when various celestial phenomena and natural disasters could not be explained by science, people believed that dragons would make clouds and rain. Dragon dance during the Spring Festival means good weather and good harvest; dragon dance during drought can pray for rain; dragon dance in each house can eliminate disasters and exorcise evil spirits, etc. Therefore, dragons are generally accepted and believed by people. Local people often pray for blessings through some traditional dance performances, and dragon dance has become one of the local traditional sacrificial dances and has been widely spread. According to Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Annals", there was already a relatively complete dragon dance in the Han Dynasty. In sacrificial activities to pray for rain and snow, green dragons were danced in spring, red dragons or yellow dragons in summer, white dragons in autumn, and black dragons in winter; 59 dragons were danced each time, and the dragons could be several feet long. After being passed down from generation to generation, dragon dance is no longer limited to performing in sacrificial activities. It is performed every year on the first day of the first lunar month to pay New Year's greetings, the fifteenth day of the fifteenth day of the lunar month to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the second day of the second lunar month to "dragon raise its head" or major festivals and activities. The dragon making skills are becoming more and more sophisticated, and the performance forms are also rich and colorful. Tonghe River is located at the mouth of the Tonghe River in Fushan Gorge, the third gorge of the Huaihe River. To the west is the site of Fushan Weir built during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, and to the east is the earliest human site of Xiacaowan in Jiangsu. The Huaihe River, Tonghe River, and Yaohe River meet here to form a water town. People in Tonghe River make a living by ferrying and fishing all year round, living on the crest of the waves and going through hardships. In such a living environment, it is a custom passed down from generation to generation for people in Tonghe River to worship, believe in, and respect dragons. Playing with dragon lanterns and dancing big dragons have become an indispensable part of people's lives. The representative mother-and-child dragon dance alone has been circulated in the Tonghe River area for more than 600 years. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Huaihe River Basin was flooded. The Yuan court was busy with wars, and the floods could not be controlled for a long time. The people in the Tonghe River area lived a harder life and often relied on the weather for food. There were more folk legends about dragons. People believed that the dance of big and small dragons could bless their descendants. In the long-term sacrificial activities, people in Tonghe River gradually created the mother-and-child dragon dance, which has been passed down to this day. In recent years, with the strong support and guidance of local cultural departments, Tonghe Dragon Dance has gradually moved from the folk to the stage and has become a unique traditional dance project in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province. In 2007, Tonghe Dragon Dance was invited by the Jiangsu Dragon and Lion Association to participate in the Nanjing International Plum Blossom Festival Dragon Dance Competition and won the gold medal. In June of the same year, Tonghe Dragon Dance was invited to participate in the Second Luoma Lake Fishing Fire Festival in Suqian City and was appreciated by tens of thousands of spectators. In September 2008, Tonghe Dragon Dance won the first prize in the Dragon Dance Competition of the First Xichu Cultural Festival in Suqian. Today, the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau and the Jiangsu Dragon and Lion Association have included Tonghe Dragon Dance in the folk traditional dragon dance brand project. 3. Performance characteristics Dragon dance is a widely spread folk dance form with various performance forms. In addition to the traditional performance routines, Tonghe Dragon Dance pays more attention to the interactive performance between mother and child dragons. A big dragon (i.e., mother dragon) leads 12 small dragons (i.e., child dragons) to perform according to a certain routine to the sound of gongs and drums. The basic content of the performance is: "Mother reports to the child". The big dragon wrapped with 12 small dragons enters the stage like a whirlwind. The big dragon is shaped like a dragon palace, and the small dragons are surrounded in the "palace". "The son leaves the palace". With the change of the gong and drum rhythm, 12 small dragons jump out of the "palace" one by one and line up on both sides of the big dragon. "Mother and son play against each other". The big dragon dances in the middle in the shape of "8", spiraling left and right, and the small dragons dance on both sides. "Mother and son dance together" The big dragon is shaped like a bird, with its wings flailing and its steps turning. The small dragons are arranged in the middle of the field, flying up and down. "Teaching the son to fly". The big dragon is "lying dragon leaping", and the small dragons leap with the big dragon one by one. "Children embrace mother". The big dragon coils around the pillar and rotates in place, and the small dragons rotate in the opposite direction around the big dragon. "Double display of pride". The big dragon dances in a big circle, and the small dragons rotate in an oblique circle in front of the "big circle". "Mother and son reunite". The big dragon is shaped like a curve, and the small dragons are nestled on both sides to form two triangles. "Family happiness" shape. The whole set of movements is coherent and smooth, and with the sound of gongs and drums, the scene is spectacular and colorful, showing the essence of the dragon dance in the four rivers. The main works of Tonghe Dragon Dance include "Dragon Soaring in the Prosperous Times" and "Dragon Soaring in the Great Lake". In addition, in the long-term dragon dance activities, Tonghe artists have also invented the unique skill of "Dragon Soaring into the Air", which is to install springs and live pins at the connection between the dragon pole and the dragon body. When dancing, press the live pin, the dragon pole and the dragon body are separated, and the spring ejects the dragon body into the air. Therefore, there is a saying along the Huaihe River that "Tonghe Dragon can escape from the clouds". However, due to the death of the inventor Pan Mujiang, the technology has been lost and is waiting to be discovered. 4. Performance Equipment The performance equipment of Tonghe Dragon Dance mainly includes: 1 large dragon and 12 small dragons, accompanied by a set of gongs and drums. The structure of the large and small dragons is divided into three parts: keel, dragon clothes and dragon pole. The keel is made of bamboo and wood pieces and is divided into three parts: dragon head, dragon body and dragon tail. The diameter of the dragon head is 33 cm and the length is 60 cm. The dragon body has 9 sections with a diameter of about 33 cm. The total length of the dragon body is 18 meters, and the height of the dragon pole is 1.8 meters. The diameter of the dragon head of the small dragon is 1/3 of that of the big dragon. The dragon body is about 1.2 meters long and the height of the dragon pole is 80 cm. The accompanying gongs and drums include big drums, medium drums, small hall drums, big gongs, hand gongs, big cymbals, small cymbals, etc. Production and performance forms. 5. Inheritance status The inheritance of Tonghe dragon dance is mostly master-apprentice inheritance, and it has been passed down for 16 generations. The tenth generation and before are lost. The inheritance order from the eleventh to the sixteenth generation is: Wu Fanchang, Pan Qinian, Wu Huanchang, Zhao Xianfeng, Wu Shanzheng, Wu Changluan, Wu Shanting, etc. Wu Changluan, male, 60 years old, from Fengshan Township, Sihong County, retired teacher of Sihong County, first-level dragon and lion coach of Jiangsu Province, president of Sihong County Dragon and Lion Association, vice chairman of Sihong County Folk Artists Association, and Jiangsu Folk Art Star. Wu Shanting, male, 64 years old, from Sihe Township, Sihong County, retired teacher of Sihong County, second-level dragon and lion coach of the city, secretary-general of Sihong County Dragon and Lion Association, and deputy secretary-general of Sihong County Folk Artists Association.