The 15th day of the first month is a traditional Chinese festival, the Lantern Festival. There are many cultural customs handed down from ancient times, and walking on stilts is one of them. So why do you walk on stilts on the Lantern Festival? How did you get on stilts? This article brings you the origin of stilts on the Lantern Festival and the different characteristics of stilts all over the country.
Stilts have entered the life of the Chinese people. Walking on stilts has become the most representative performance to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Stilt art performance originates from the needs of human survival.
Stilt walking is a popular folk art performance in China. Stilts belong to one of the hundred operas in ancient China. They appeared as early as the spring and Autumn period. In the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, stilts were called 'stilt skills', and in the Song Dynasty, they were called' stepping on bridges'. It has been called 'stilts' since the Qing Dynasty. It is made of 1-3 feet long wood with a wooden support.
According to records in ancient books, stilts in ancient times were all made of wood. A support point was made in the middle of the planed wooden stick to put the feet, and then tied to the legs with ropes. On stilts, performers can dance swords, split forks, jump on stools, cross tables, twist Yangko and so on. It is said that walking on stilts was originally a kind of stilt skill developed by ancient people to collect wild fruits from trees for food and tie two long sticks to their legs in order to survive.
Art originates from life, especially in ancient times. Stilt walking was originally the product of human struggle with natural conditions. The theory that stilts originated from labor can be based on a note by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty: the people of the long arm country are in the east of Chishui. Their bodies are like ordinary people, but their arms are three feet long. " Thus, it is thought that the foot length is bound with a wooden stilt, and the hand length is a fishing tool made of long wood in the hand. The scene depicted in this note is similar to the hunting scene of Jing fishermen living in the 'Jing three islands' in Fangcheng, Guangxi. Their usual image of fishing is to cast a net in the shallow sea on a wooden stilt.
In addition, according to the magazine Yifeng in the 1930s, "chopsticks street and hoop cage street in Wuchang are often flooded because of their low status and humidity. When flooded, almost all the residents there walk on stilts. This is another stilt from the records of working life.
Stilt walking and stilt meeting are the most attractive celebrations for men and women of all ages on the Lantern Festival.
On the first lunar month, teams of stilts will cross the street in the percussion music of waist drums, small gongs and hairpins. The number of a stilt performance team is usually more than ten. Stilt performers are well-known figures and costumes in traditional ancient culture.
As soon as the team on stilts appears, it will attract a large number of men, women, old and young to watch. Especially on the 15th day of the first month during the Spring Festival, people will take the initiative to come to the stilt meetings and performance places in previous years. The witty, interesting, rough and pleasant stilt performance is deeply loved by people of all ages.
Stilts are usually organized spontaneously by the masses. Step on the street on the 11th and 12th of the first month to inform people that the climax of the celebration of the first month is coming! Especially on the 15th Lantern Festival, large companies, government agencies, enterprises and institutions along the way will set off firecrackers to show their thanks for their hard work and express their condolences, and many will give some red envelopes. After receiving the red envelope, the stilt team will stay here to perform and thank you.
The queue of stilts generally adopts a single line of long snake array in the street, and double parallel formation in busy and crowded areas. The steps change to eight characters. During the performance, there are difficult and dangerous movements such as small whirlwind, flower arm, kite turn over, big split and so on.
Stilt art is still rehearsed in some rural areas during the winter leisure. It can be seen from time to time in garden fairs and temple fairs all over Beijing.
There are differences in the roles and performance forms of stilts between the South and the north.
Stilt performers usually walk with long wood tied to their feet. They can also perform jumping and sword dancing. Stilts are divided into stilts, middle stilts and running stilts. The highest one is more than ten feet. Performers tie their feet to wooden sticks and dress up as various characters. One or more people dance with suona accompaniment to perform interesting actions or stories.
According to records in ancient books, stilts in ancient times were all made of wood. A support point was made in the middle of the planed wooden stick to put the feet, and then tied to the legs with ropes. On stilts, performers can dance swords, split forks, jump on stools, cross tables, twist Yangko and so on.
In the stilt Yangko in the north, the characters are fisherman, matchmaker, silly childe, little second brother, Taoist nun, monk and so on. The performer's funny appearance can arouse the great interest of the audience.
Stilts in the South mostly play roles in operas, including Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, LV Dongbin, he Xiangu, Zhang Sheng, Hong Niang, Ji Gong, immortals and clowns. They sang as they performed, lively, amusing and walking on the ground.
The forms of stilt walking in various parts of China are rich and colorful, and a hundred flowers bloom.
The stilts that make the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month in China are rich and colorful, and the performances are also in full bloom, and have formed a distinctive regional style and national color.
Stilts have a long history in Shanxi. Pictures of stilts and acrobatics can also be seen on the sarcophagus of the Northern Wei Dynasty unearthed in Yushe County, Central Shanxi. Although stilts have no written records, they should start from the Northern Wei Dynasty at the latest. In the ranks of performing stilts in Shanxi, there are two kinds of written stilts and martial stilts. Wen stilts are more important than twisting and stepping, and Wu stilts are mainly performing stunts.
Within the territory of Shanxi Province, stilts are performed in a variety of forms. The performance time of these stilts is generally in the "red fire" activities around the 15th day of the first lunar month. Stilts are a form of performance in the whole activity. This kind of activity has great mobility and freedom of movement. It can perform in the big field or walk around the streets.
Shandong stilts often fold up three layers to play opera characters. The upper people step on the shoulders of the lower people and March as usual.
On stilts in Beijing and Tianjin, actors often perform difficult skills such as' jumping on one foot ',' splitting 'and' crossing obstacles'; Others perform stunts such as jumping from four high tables with one foot. Among them, Beijing's is called 'stilt club'. The Yellow River Basin is called "Zha Gao Jiao", which can be divided into Wenqiao and Wuqiao. Wenqiao mainly performs walking and singing, with simple dance movements. Wu Qiao performs handstands, high jump tables, overlapping Arhats, splits and other movements.
Stilts are popular in Northeast China, and the most famous one is "southern Liaoning stilts". Its form is complete and its performance is standardized. At the beginning, it is necessary to "take an elephant" to sing Yangko, implying "peace and elephant". After running in the big field, change the formation pattern, and then perform pairs of dances, "fluttering butterflies", "fisherman fishing" and play folk operas in groups.
On stilts of ethnic minorities, actors wear their own costumes and perform in a unique way. For example, Buyi people have both double stilts and single stilts. Both hands hold the end of the stilt, which is convenient to make. Its single wooden stilt is especially loved by children; Bai's' horse playing on stilts', actors also step on wooden stilts and perform in horse shaped props; Uighur "double stilts" integrate folk dance into it, which is refreshing.