Menghe Four-clawed Taiping Dragon is a traditional dance item in the fourth batch of representative items of Changzhou's municipal intangible cultural heritage. Dragon lantern dance is a folk dance that is popular in various places, but most dragon lanterns have no claws. Only the dragon lantern in Menghe has four claws, which is called "four-clawed dragon". Menghe Four-clawed Taiping Dragon originated from Xilin Temple in Menghe during the Qing Dynasty. Every year on the 15th day of the ninth lunar month, Xilin Temple holds a temple fair, and four-clawed dragons participate in it to pray for peace and prosperity for the country and the people. This has never stopped from the late Qing Dynasty to the early days of liberation, and the folks call it "four-clawed dragon". The four-clawed dragon is larger than the average dragon. In addition to having people supporting each section of the dragon's body, there are four other people supporting each of the four claws. The production and materials of Menghe Four-clawed Taiping Dragon are basically the same as those of ordinary dragon lanterns, except for the addition of four claws. First, use lead wire to tie bamboo tendons into the skeleton of the dragon head, body, tail, and claws, then use cloth or silk fabrics to paste the dragon body, and then paint the dragon scales with paint. The eyes on the dragon head are made of two light bulbs, and the dragon whiskers on the dragon mouth are made of hemp and palm fibers. Each section of the dragon body is movable, and a wooden stick is supported on the belly of each section of the dragon for people to dance with. The four claws of the four-clawed dragon also have four wooden sticks supported on their claws, which are held by four people for dancing. When dancing the four-clawed Taiping Dragon, there is one person for each of the thirteen sections and one person for each of the four claws, and a total of more than twenty people are needed, including percussion instruments. The Chen styles of the Menghe Four-clawed Dragon performance include: the one-character long dragon formation and the two dragons playing with pearls formation. "Xi" is the same as "Xi", which means congratulations, welcoming joy, happiness and sending blessings; "Zhu" means jewelry and represents wealth; the Three Heroes Guarding the House Panlong Formation, which evolved from the activities of the Menghe Medical School in expelling plague, is a ritual to recruit teams; the Four Gates Dragon Formation, also known as the Four Gates Opening, implies four encounters and four joys, blessing and happiness, daily wealth and everything going well; the Five Pans in the Formation, which is the most meaningful program when the four-clawed dragon is arranged in formation, and "Pan" means blessing, and the Five Pans mean five blessings, which means that this performance is to bring five blessings to everyone; the Six Dynasties Worshiping the Prime Minister Formation, which is also a formation arranged completely according to the Taoist Yin-Yang and Eight Diagrams, in which "six" means smooth, and it is prayed for a smooth and successful career; the Seven Stars Shenbei Formation, which is for a local official who is deeply loved and respected by the people, and also expresses people's yearning for peace in the world, happiness between officials and the people, and happiness for the whole world through this program. Finally, the whistle sounded again, accompanied by drums, music and firecrackers, and the two dragons soared into the sky. At the same time, the dragon flag led the eight flags with eight poles (clusters of lights) from all directions to the commander's flag. The whole audience was boiling and the atmosphere reached a climax. After the rural reform and opening up in the 1980s, the four-clawed dragon that had been silent for many years reappeared in Menghe. In recent years, the four-clawed dragon has frequently appeared in various large-scale cultural activities in Menghe and its surrounding areas, and has absorbed and cultivated a new generation of people to participate, so that its skills have been continued. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)