1. Introduction Hongwu Flower Stick Dance is a traditional folk dance with distinct local characteristics that has been active in Sihong County and along the Huaihe River for a long time. It has a history of more than 600 years. It first appeared in Sihe, Fengshan and Sunyuan in the southwest of Sihong County. According to the "Ming History Romance" written by Cai Dongfan: During the late Yuan Dynasty to Zheng period, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was hired by the local rich man Liu Daxiu to herd cattle because of his poor family. In the life of herding cattle, Zhu Yuanzhang and his shepherd boy friends used cattle-herding sticks to fight, play, and dance with sticks every day, gradually forming a routine. Later, this dance form was circulated among the people for a long time, so it was named Hongwu Flower Stick Dance. In some places, this dance is also called Lianxiang, Money Stick or Overlord Whip. It has been popularized and passed down among the local people with its bold movements, large lineup, brisk rhythm and warm atmosphere. 2. Background of Origin Sihong County, Jiangsu Province is located at the junction of Jiangsu and Anhui, adjacent to Wuhe and Fengyang in Anhui. Sihe Township, Sihong County is the main inheritance place of Hongwu Flower Stick Dance. This place is located at the mouth of the Tong River in the Fushan Gorge, the third gorge of the Huai River. The Tong River and the Huai River form a beach, starting from Xia Caowan in the east to Wuhewan in the west, about 100 miles long and 5 to 8 miles wide, which is a natural grassland and pasture. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, from spring to autumn, more than a thousand shepherds from more than a hundred villages along the Huai River gathered here every day to graze. They sang pastoral songs and beat flower sticks from morning to night. The vast grassland gave birth to and developed traditional dance projects such as Hongwu Flower Stick Dance. 3. Historical Origin Speaking of Lianxiang, it exists in many places across the country, but it is called differently, such as "Da Lianxiang", "Da Huagun", "Bawangbian", "Tongqiangun", etc. Lianxiang can be traced back to BC. The musical instrument "Xiang" mentioned in Xunzi's "Chengxiang" for rap music is a bamboo tube or whip-like instrument. It may have originated from a farm tool and was also used by the blind to assist walking. It is also said that Lianxiang originated from a folk solo dance that was attached to sacrifices, used to exorcise evil spirits, chase away ghosts, and pray for well-being. It is a traditional folk dance that is spread throughout the middle reaches of the Huaihe River. In the Sihong area, it is called "Hongwu Flower Stick Dance". It has a history of more than 600 years due to its unique historical background. According to Cai Dongfan's "The Romance of the History of the Ming Dynasty": During the late Yuan Dynasty to Zhengzheng period (1335-1340), the society was in chaos, peasant uprisings were surging, and large tracts of land in the Huaihe River basin were barren. Zhu Yuanzhang, whose ancestral home was Sizhou (now Sihong) and moved to Haozhou (now Linhuaiguan, Anhui), was hired by the rich man Liu Daxiu to herd cattle because of his poor family. On the pasture, he became friends with the brothers Wu Liang and Wu Zhen. Every day, they played flower sticks (herding sticks) together, composed songs and beat them, and formed a flower stick dance with a brisk rhythm and beautiful postures, which attracted many shepherds to imitate and learn. After Zhu Yuanzhang joined the army, the key to this dance was passed down in the family by the Wu Liang brothers. In the 35th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1402), Yan Wang Zhu Di launched the "Battle of Jingnan", overthrew the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jianwen, seized the throne, and restored the "Hongwu" era name. Wu Sheng, the grandson of Wu Liang, who assisted Emperor Jianwen, fled to the countryside around Tonghe River in Sihong to teach for fear of being implicated. His students were all farmers who were half-pastoral and half-student, and they all knew how to play flower sticks. Wu Sheng adapted the flower stick dance into a form that combined dance and exercise, and named it "Hongwu Flower Stick Exercise" to enrich their extracurricular life. Since then, the Hongwu Flower Stick Dance has been widely inherited and developed by the folks along the Huaihe River. In 1948, Zhang Ziyan, the first director of the County Cultural Center of Sihong County, organized folk artists to organize and rehearse the flower stick dance, and participated in the city and county performances. Since then, the Hongwu Flower Stick Dance has begun to move from the folk to the official stage. In 1969, Fengshan Commune (now Fengshan Township) of Sihong County formed a team to participate in the East China Folk Dance Competition and won the first prize. In recent years, the county cultural center has sent folk artist Wu Changluan to various towns and schools to teach; in 2004, the team participated in the Jiangsu Provincial Folk Dance Competition and won the New Arrangement Award. In 2005, the Hongwu Flower Stick Dance performed by students at the Plum Blossom Hand-Breaking Festival was broadcast on CCTV-1. IV. Performance Equipment The props of Hongwu Flower Stick Dance are mainly "flower sticks". 1. Flower stick. It is made of a thin wooden stick, a thin bamboo pole or a dried vitex. The pole is 80-100 cm long and 2.5-3 cm in diameter. There is a 10 cm long and 1.5 cm wide or three or four shorter air holes 5-10 cm away from both ends. A small hole is drilled from the side to insert the iron wire as the axis, and then four or five small copper coins or small copper bowls are embedded respectively. When the flower stick is shaken, the copper coins hit the hole wall and make a rustling sound. The surface of the flower stick is red, yellow, blue and other colors, and colored silk cloth is tied at both ends of the stick for decoration. Each actor holds two sticks, which can be separated or combined according to the content. 2. Sound. Play music or ballads to accompany the dance. If there is no sound system, folk music ensemble or oral recitation of poems and ballads can be used to accompany the dance. 3. Costumes. Mainly short shirts, belts, and headscarves, reflecting the characteristics of shepherds. 5. Performance characteristics The basic skills of traditional Lianxiang are: using the end of the whip to knock the limbs as the basic action. The legendary beating method is the "eight-beat method", that is, one beat knocks the left hand, two beats knock the right shoulder, three beats knock the left shoulder, four beats knock the left thigh, five beats knock the left forearm, six beats knock the right thigh, seven beats knock the right calf, and eight beats knock the left foot. Later, it developed into the "forty-beat method", that is, three "eight beats" and two "four beats" were added to the original "eight beat method". The knocking position is not limited to the limbs, but also can knock the wrists, waist, outer legs, back shoulders and other parts, and there are double whips knocking each other, touching the ground, etc. Hongwu flower stick dance can be performed by two people or by the masses. In large-scale performances, there can be as many as hundreds of people. There is no need for fixed music accompaniment, and you can choose any related songs or ballads. Its rhythm is bright and lively, and it beats various parts of the human body in turn. The double sticks are sometimes single, sometimes double, and sometimes cross, with beautiful postures, stretching and grand. It can be used for literary and artistic performances, or as a physical exercise to exercise the body, with the dual characteristics of "dance" and "exercise". At present, the formation of Hongwu flower stick dance is divided into four parts, with a total of 9 sections and 272 beats. The first part shows the upper limbs, with a stretching and grand movement to hit the left and right shoulders, and then the double sticks cross, counting 2 sections and 64 beats; the second part shows the torso, with the side of the body, turning the body and hitting the left and right, hitting the back flower, counting 3 sections and 96 beats; the third part shows the lower limbs, kicking, double sticks cross from under the legs; squatting, the sticks touch the ground at the ankles and hit; jumping, double sticks cross and hit in a chain, counting 3 sections and 96 beats; the fourth group of character shapes. Counting 16 beats. The whole dance scene is grand, the theme is prominent, and the atmosphere is magnificent. 6. Inheritance Status Hongwu Flower Stick Dance was originally evolved from the sticks used by shepherds to play. It had no complete inheritance pedigree at first. It was only imitated by shepherds or by younger generations in the family. After the Qing Dynasty, it was passed down from master to apprentice, and now it has been passed down to the 14th generation. 7. Inheritor Kong Lingfa, born in 1953, is currently a librarian of Sihong County Cultural Center and vice chairman of the County Folk Artists Association. In the 1970s, he and Zhu Shixiang jointly recreated Hongwu Flower Stick Dance, and led the team to participate in the East China Six Provinces and One City People's Dance Competition and won the first prize, making a great contribution to the development of Hongwu Flower Stick Dance. Wu Changluan, born in 1948, began to learn Hongwu Flower Stick Dance at the age of 10. He has always been the main actor of the project and is proficient in this art. In 1969, he participated in the East China Six Provinces and One City People's Dance Competition. Later, he guided the relevant townships, towns, and schools to practice Hongwu Flower Stick Dance for many years. He is a representative inheritor of the past and the future. In 2005, he was awarded the title of "Jiangsu Folk Art Star".