Quanfeng Lanterns

Jiangxi
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It is an art performance activity between lanterns, drama and dance in Quanfeng Town, Xiushui, Jiangxi. The main feature is the lantern team performance, which has a strong folk color. During the Spring Festival, all kinds of lanterns gather in the countryside, singing from the first day of the new year to the Lantern Festival, running from one house to another, singing all night. In addition, folk festivals, birthdays, beam raising, weddings, all invite lanterns to make a lively scene. Quanfeng Lantern belongs to Jiangxi folk art, which is spread in Tangcheng and Quanfeng Townships under Mufu Mountain in the northwest of Xiushui. The "Yining Prefecture Chronicle" of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty recorded: "Fenning (now Xiushui) is at the junction of Wu and Chu, and the customs are similar to those of Chu. Many villagers in urban villages still follow the old ways and specialize in witchcraft." The witchcraft and Taoist activities are very popular in this area. It is said that the tune of Quanfeng Lantern is derived from Taoist music. Comparing the lantern song "Going Down to Nanjing" with the Taoist "Song Sutra", the main tones of both are in the mode of Zheng and Yu, the melody style is the same, and the sentence structure is both five-character style with two rhymes. The origin of Quanfeng Lanterns is also full of legends. According to the Records of Yining Prefecture in Jiaqing Period of Qing Dynasty, a long time ago, there was a Yin-Yang Master Cao Zongzhe who saw the mountains behind Quanfeng Township were majestic and winding, like a coiled dragon. So he brought his brother Cao Dingji to start a business here, built a house and planted a foundation between Shuangjing, and multiplied his descendants. His grandson Cao Xiping had twelve sons, all of whom sang lanterns, known as the "Nine Huqins", and prospered for a time. Quanfeng Lanterns is also known as the "lower half of the play", and the rapping is all in the authentic Xixiang Quanfeng dialect. It is not only different from the "upper half of the play" (Ninghe Opera) popular in Xiushui, but also very different from the folk songs and ditties from other places. After some artists who sang lanterns from other places inquired in the villages adjacent to Quanfeng, they all said that they did not know what songs the Quanfeng Lanterns sang, which shows its unique style. The opening of Quanfeng Lantern Festival is mostly improvisational jokes, and the instrumental music is mainly percussion, including cloud gongs, gongs, small drums, cymbals, etc., and sometimes accompanied by huqin, flute, and suona. The opening, prelude, and interlude have the same rhythm, and the lyrics often use words such as "le" and "yo". The performance and singing of Quanfeng Lantern Festival has three lines: Sheng, Dan, and Chou. The Sheng role pushes the cart with both hands, the Dan role performs with a handkerchief in one hand and the handlebar in the other hand, and the Chou role wears a top hat and glasses, has tofu blocks painted on his face, rides a horse and whips, and sometimes jokes with the Dan role. Three people walk around the stage, performing while walking. There are four hexagonal lanterns with flower patterns standing around the stage. There are many kinds of lanterns, including the Boli lantern, the car lantern, the egret lantern, the "monkey jumping in a circle", the "fairy pushing the mill", the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" and other images. The white crane lantern is in the middle of the band, symbolizing peace and prosperity, longevity and good harvest. Every year, the drums and lanterns are lit up on New Year's Day of the Spring Festival, and until the Lantern Festival, lantern teams gather from all directions, with candlelight all over the sky and singing until dawn. The lantern songs all have simple plots. Although they are single pieces, consecutive performances form a set of stories. There are "Going to Nanjing" (including "Bringing Goods" and "Six Months of Planting Flowers"), which are about going out for business; there are "Welcome to the New Year", "Playing the Ring", and "Picking Flowers for Ten Months Waiting for the Man to Come" for love; there are "Picking Girls to Drink" and "Friendship Against Love" for extramarital affairs; there are "Persuading Husband" and "Going to Macheng" for husband and wife love; there are "Ten Months of Lotus", "Ten Months of Spring Flowers", and "Twelve Months of Flowers" for chanting flowers and spring; there are "Twelve Months of Picking Flowers" for labor and production; there are also "Receiving the Number One Scholar" and "Ten Months of Pregnancy" to bless Naji, etc. The tunes of Quanfeng-Lantern are "lantern songs", most of which are single-song structures. One song has one title, and the name of the tune is the name of the song, which is dedicated to a specific song. The most common modes are Zheng and Yu, followed by Shang and Jiao. Special emphasis is placed on the five levels above the main tone, which is closely integrated with the Quanfeng dialect. During the performance, percussion instruments are mainly used, such as cloud gongs, gongs, small drums, and cymbals; the singing is combined with huqin, flute, and suona. The lyrics are mostly filled with supporting words, words, and phrases. Almost every sentence has supporting words such as "la", "ah", "ba", "le", "yo", "oh", and "wei". Its supporting phrases, such as "lotus li", "liu zi mei", and "peony flower", play the role of connecting sentences, expanding sentences, and supplementing sentences in the melody. The supporting words and phrases color and render the mood of the lantern tune, enhancing the rich artistic appeal.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

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