Yangge
By admin on 2015-01-12

Yangge 秧歌is a representative collective folk dance that combines music, dance and feats, with a long history and diversified forms, each distinguished by different manipulations of the silk handkerchiefs and different movements of the feet. The main kinds include silt yangge and ground yangge.

Yangge originated from rice planting and farming, and is popular throughout China's countryside. Also, it has some connection with ancient eulogy songs sung in sacrifices to the God of the Farm. During its development, it incorporated much from farming songs, folk songs, folk wushu (martial arts),acrobatics and traditional operas. By the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911), yangge had spread across the country.

Yangge comes in different styles according to areas or its form, for example, the Guzi Yangge in Shandong, the Yangge in northern Shaanxi, the Ground Yangge in Hebei,Beijing and Liaoning, the Manchurian Yangge and the Stilts Yangge. Other forms such as the Huagu (Flower Drum), Huadeng (Festive Lantern), Caicha (Tea-Leaf Picking) and Yingko Yangges are also very popular. All of them express happiness.

There is no fixed number of performers; it could be two or three, or 20, or even over a hundred. The performers are dressed up, each having a red silk band at waist and a hat folded out of coloredpapers. Female performers also have a fan and most male performers use a waist drum. The accompanying music instruments include suona, gong, drum and cha (two pieces of thin circular copper plates, each having a small part at center punched out for a hand to hold).

The time when most people perform yangge is the first 15 days after the Chinese New Year. In some villages yangge teams go family by family to each family's yard to dance. In turn, the family gives some gifts to the team and some families also set off fireworks.

Nowadays, yangge has spread into city parks, streets and squares and evolved into a kind of popular exercise for urban dwellers.

Changli Ground Yangge 昌黎地秧歌
Declarer: Changli County,Hebei Province
The Ground Yangge in Changli County is one of the most representative local folk dances, popular in eastern Hebei Province. It came into being in theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368).

Roles in the Ground Yangge include niu (girls), chou (clown), gongzi (young men) and laokuai (shrewish old women). Except for laokuai, who hold a wooden club, all others dance with a folding fan in their hands. The most interesting role is chou, who is charmingly naive, kind, humorous and optimistic, making the audience burst into laughter from time to time. The three schools of Changli Ground Yangge - Zhou, Zhang and Lu, are widely known throughout the country.

Guzi Yangge 鼓子秧歌
Declarer: Shanghe County, Shangdong Province
The Guzi Yangge (or drum yangge), one of the three Yangge forms in Shangdong Province, originated in theNorthern Song Dynasty(960-1127) and prevailed during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The dance, accompanied by playing a small drum similar to the tambourine, is popular in rural areas of Shanghe and Huimin.

It is a large-scale dance played during theSpring Festivalor other festivals and holidays. The performers have good organization and are carefully divided. When the Spring Festival comes, each village organizes the youth to learn and rehearse, guided by prestigious artists. The performing team is usually composed of over 40 performers, who are divided into five roles: santou (umbrella), guzi (drum), bangchui (stick),lahua(flower) and chou (clown), each with its unique appeal. For instance, santou acts smoothly, guzi is bold and unconstrained, bangchui is as spry as a cricket, and lahua is quick and neat. People performing Lahua usually hold a folding fan and a handkerchief.

The well-trained dancers transform their formations regularly. Their actions are standard and the performance has a strong local flavor. About 100 kinds of formations (or team patterns) are preserved. Of all the yangges in China, the drum yangge has the most diversified formation.

Jiaozhou Yangge 胶州秧歌
Declarer: Jiaozhou City,Shandong Province
Jiaozhou Yangge, one of the three yangge forms in Shandong Province, is also known as Ground Yangge. It originated in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and is prevalent in Xiaotun Village, Jiaozhou City. It is a collective dance usually composed of dozens of performers, who are divided into six roles: gaoyaoke, cuihua, shannv, xiaochou, bangchui and guzi. The dance reflects the particular countryside charm, and is valuable for its aesthetics and information for artistic research.

Haiyang Dayangge 海阳大秧歌
Declarer: Haiyang City, Shandong Province
Dayangge (literally "big yangge"), one of the three yangge forms found in Shandong Province, is a collective folk dance incorporating songs, dances and operas. It is popular in Haiyang City, south of Shandong Peninsula. Since its rise in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), local people have been dancing it to celebrate festivals and important occasions. Its performance has a distinct local flavor and its formation is strictly structured into three groups: the leaders, the music band and the dancers.

Haiyang Yangge is grand in scale, involving many characters. It is comprised of solo dances, pas de deux and group dances, performing things such as riding a donkey and rowing a land boat, with lively, interesting and lifelike plots, which enjoy wide popularity among the masses of farmers and city dwellers.

Yangge in Northern Shaanxi 陕北秧歌
Declarer: Suide County, Shaanxi Province
In northern Shaanxi Province, the yangge is called "Nao yangge", and is mainly found in theYulin,Yan'an, Suide, and Mizhi areas, with Suide being the center of Northern Shaanxi yangge.

The yangge team of each village dances to the rhythm of the drums. They dance either in large groups of a dozen to a hundred people, or in two or three-person groups. They dance to get rid of evil, to celebrate the coming spring and express their wish for a good harvest.

The santou (leading performer) must be good at singing traditional songs and composing new songs impromptu so as to respond to different occasions. When he sings, the others will repeat his last sentence. The performance is simple and lively, reflecting the simple, honest and optimistic personality of the local people.

Fushun Ground Yangge 抚顺地秧歌
Declarer: Fushun City,Liaoning Province
Fushun Ground Yangge, also known as Manchurian yangge with its unique local characteristics, is most popular in the areas where the Manchu people originated. The dance formed in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is similar to the Ground Yangge of Hebei in form, but the performers usually wear Manchurian clothes. The dance is free and brisk, imitating the valor of a tribe (Manchu) excelling in horsemanship and marksmanship, as well as the primitive life of fishing and hunting.