Development of Chu-Han Culture and Contemporary Folk Dance in Xuzhou〔＊〕

Tang Shengju，Wang Yuxi

（Art Department，Humanities and Social Science School Nanjing Agricultural University，Nanjing Jiangsu 210095）

Ⅰ.The cultural characteristics and dance styles during Chu－Han period（206BC－202BC）

Chu－ Han Culture，one of the important sources of Chinese traditional art，embodies grandeur，humanist spirit of enterprising and pursuing novelty.The representative of Chu Culture is Qu Yuan and his long lyric Li Sao.The connotation of Han Culture is richer and more colorful and its representatives are various.In Han Culture，Yue Fu poems are elegant；Fu（poetic essays）and prose are spectacular；the classics are grand and the myths and legends are fascinating；Han’s etiquette is dignified and people must behave according to the regulations；Liu Bang’s poem Song of the Great Wind is regarded as the spirit of the Han Culture or Chu－Han Culture，and so on.

In terms of dancing，the cultural carrier of Chu－Han Period，it is exactly the honest and plain folkway together with the bold and generous characteristics of the people here that endows the powerful and unstrained tastes of Chu－Han dance.One important social and cultural custom in Han Dynasty is“Yi Wu Xiang Shu”（dance on social occasions），in which the host danced first，followed by the dance of the guest.All folks，from refined scholars to countrymen and countrywomen in the fields，enjoyed dancing as their hobby.Dancing was an indispensable means of entertainment in the daily life of Han Dynasty.As a kind of self－entertainment，dancing style of Han Dynasty was called popular dance.From the perspective of artistic appreciation，there were also elegance，artfulness，freshness and skillfulness in its popularness.In a word，it was a combination of refinedness and popularness.

Ⅱ.Reflection of Chu－Han culture in contemporary folk dance in Xuzhou

The first feature of Xuzhou folk dances is its emphasis on ritual.Pengcheng，the former name for Xuzhou，was about 300li away from Shandong Province，which was said to be the origin of Confucianism.During the Spring and Autumn Period，Confucius often visited it.During Han Dynasty Confucianism became dominated in the field of thought because of political reasons，hence the thought of ritual in Confucianism was widely accepted.The thought of ritual had great influence on every aspect of the whole feudal society and folk dances were no exception.

The second feature of folk dances is grandeur and razzle dazzle moves.Xuzhou，Wusheng Tongqu，meaning an important juncture of five provinces，was the former name for Xuzhou in Qing Dynasty.Xuzhou was always a strategic place.Xuzhou folk dances，when accompanied by Song of the Great Wind（by Liu Bang）and Song of Yu （by Xiang Yu），enjoy the characteristics of strength，heroic and the combination of arts and skills.the contemporary folk dances of Xuzhou give people strong emotional stimulus with its high spiritual force and the heritage of battling，which shows its local festival flavor and clan culture with strong emotion and enthusiasm.

The third one is diversified value.The contemporary folk dance in Xuzhou presents values of pluralism.Some are for entertainment，for example，Flower Pick Dance in Pizhou and Suining.Shoudering baskets of flowers，people are singing while walking，dancing while swinging，which is full of raillery.Another example is Dance of Pushing the Float in Pizhou.The festive atmosphere pervades the whole performance that contains many impromptu funny dance movements，enlivening the atmosphere.

The fourth is pursuing novelty.Xuzhou contemporary folk dance positively absorbs the dancing nutrients from both the north and south regions，enriches and develops its expressing forms and contents，which endows its folk dances

with new styles and connotations，and makes Xuzhou contemporary folk dances combine both the gentle style element of the southern water region and the strong and forceful one of the north so that the man dancers are agile，while the woman dancers are genteel，and the whole dance alternates from force to gentility in various forms.Tongshan Flower－drum Dance was performed by two people originally，but in the period of Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty（636AD －1912 AD），it developed into a team of four or five people.Ever since the 1930s，it has developed in three dimensions：first，the dancing contents become more and more abundant into 3 acts with48 dances；secondly，it develops from amateur to professional performance，from performance for self entertainment to an organized professional one with both local and Huaibei and Suxian（in Anhui Province）local actors and actresses for making a living；the third，the drumming technique becomes routine，that is，drumming with dancing，dancing with drumming and men and women dancing with drumbeats.The Qiqiao Light Dance of Xinyi was what Yao Genrui of Xinyi County learned from other places in the period of Guangxu Emperor，Qing Dynasty，which has undergone reproduction and renovation，integrating lights，Chinese characters and circles delicately.Luozi Dance of Suining has also split into two schools.One is Wu Luozi（Wushu Luozi）which is keen at swift movement，enthusiastic and forceful.The other is Wen Luozi（gentle Luozi）which is keen at brisk movement，smooth and steady，gentle and delicate，lively and simple as well.The predecessor of Pizhou Luozi Dance was a kind of bamboo clappers folk opera performed by one or two performers popular before the period of Jiaqing Emperor（an Emperor of Qing Dynasty）.In the beginning of Jiaqing period，performing family of Zhang absorbed skills of both south and north Luozi，added into it bamboo clappers beats and formed Luozi of five performers.It is its pursuit of novelty that makes its folk dances present various dancing styles and varied patterns as their characteristics.For example，although the Bamboohorse Dance of Pizhou emphasizes running，the dancers’steps are in the tactical formation so that it is said that the tactical formations can be varied but nobody is out of order；walking also has its patterns；getting onto the stage is in such patterns as“a ring of snakes”，“two dragons out of water”，“dogs’tails and horses’barn”，“circle forming from four directions”，“five tigers looking for a sheep”，“Winter－sweet in the form of cross”，“toads out of water”and so on.As far as the Dragon Dance of Pizhou is concerned，the performers are more than twenty with ten dancers，and Leigong（Lightening Father），Leimu（Lightening Mother） and actors holding boards symbolizing clouds.The Tiger－DragonFighting Dance of Suining has altogether 36 movements，such as“coiling dragon”，“biting the middle joint”“jumping five joints”and“paralleling flood dragons”and so on.The grand folk dances of Xuzhou of various kinds，reflect its comparatively high artistic level of dance.

Ⅲ.The interaction between Chu－Han culture and contemporary folk dance in Xuzhou

The cultural connotations of contemporary folk dances in Xuzhou can help people understand the local culture and flavor，and feel the charm with a high cultural taste.How to save contemporary folk dance in Xuzhou from its dilemma，and thus to radiate bright artistic light so that it can resume an integral part of art treasure of human culture，and to accomplish its development and interaction along with those of Chu Culture is something worth exploring.

Establishing the cultural concept of development of folk dances by digging Chu cultural elements is the first step.“The more of the nation，the more of the world.”Due to their own surroundings，culture，customs，political system as well as religious beliefs，folk dances vary greatly.The characteristics of dance are not only the soul of traditional folk dances，but also the cohesion and manifestation of national spirit.If a folk dance loses its unique original characteristics bred by its own place，it will lose its appeal to the public.Chu Culture is the core of the unique contemporary folk dances in Xuzhou.In history，as the juncture of Jiangsu，Shandong，Henan，Anhui provinces，Xuzhou was an important military town，and major hostilities occurred many times there.An old saying goes like this：Pengcheng with easy access to the outside world，for a thousand years was a battlefield.Pengcheng was the name in place of Xuzhou at that time.With that historic background，the folk dances in Xuzhou and the north region of Jiangsu province，generally have a vigorous，rugged，simple style，reflecting the valor and strength of local people.Only by adhering to its distinct characteristics，and firmly grasping the Chu Culture brand and highlighting the features of local customs and style of it，can folk dances in Xuzhou demonstrate their national sentiments and spirits so as to have a place in fierce dance competition in the future.

Secondly，dialogue mechanisms to improve folk dances culture should be established to facilitate positive interaction between folk dances and Chu Culture.Bakhtin，a sociologist from former Soviet Union，believes that dialogue is the essence of life，thought and art；the same is true of the nature of language because thinking through dialogues can help to explore human nature and human existence.From the perspective of multicultural point of view，culture is actually the coexistence of a diversity of cultures；in other words，it does not pursue the sameness and consistence of different cultures，but the tolerance and integration of them.Different cultures learn from each other，complement each other，but“coexist and differ.”On the one hand，dialogue between folk dances highlight the uniqueness and existence value of them，which，in turn，actively recommend，disseminate and promote Chu Culture and thus expand the influence of the latter.On the other hand，as the inherent elements of folk dances，Chu Culture，whose influence is enhanced by dance development，provides a new opportunity and vitality for the latter.This will eventually promote the development of modern folk dances greatly.

Third，contemporary folk dances in Xuzhou should be linked organically with Chu Culture industry.Just as Xi’an is the source of Qin and Tang（618AD－ 907AD）culture，and Beijing that of Ming（136 AD－1644 AD）and Qing culture，Xuzhou is the birthplace of Eastern and Western Han cultures.Contemporary folk dances in Xuzhou should be actively integrated into the development of Xuzhou Chu cultural industry，striving to become an important part in various cultural industries like National Project of Xuzhou Han Cultural Zone，Cultural Industrial Tourism Belt，Chu Cultural Tourism Base，and so on.At the same time，efforts should be made to broaden the road of industrialization of folk dances.Accordingly，it is highly recommended that the government should make laws to intensify the pouring of special funding for folk dances.Conditions permitted，some counties can establish special villages of folk dances and customs，set up museums of folk dances，and hold Folk Dance Festival and so on，which will open up channels to create appropriate atmosphere，providing subsisting space and conditions for folk dance culture，so folk dances culture can be carried forward from generation to generation.

Notes：

〔1〕Sun zheng，Chu－Han Culture and the Prospects of Economic Development in Xuzhou，Journal of Xuzhou Normal University，2007（1），p.93.

〔2〕Xu Fangming，Zhao Mingqi，The Origin and Development of Han Culture in Jiangsu Province，Volume II，Jiangsu Annals，2008（12），p.39.

〔3〕 China Dance Annals ·Volume Jiangsu，Xuelin Press，2007，p.4.

〔4〕Zhangping，Unique Characteritics of Dances in Central Jiangsu Province，Drama and Film Monthly，2010（3），p.110.