"Steering a Dry Boat"
- Loess Style
- Source：HUKOU
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"Steering a Dry Boat" is a popular folk dance in Ji County. Ji County is located in the south of Lvliang Mountain and close to the Yellow River. There is the majestic and magnificent Hukou Waterfall here. There are mountains on both sides of this place, and the rolling Yellow River rushes here, pouring into the Shili Dragon Trough with the power like the momentum of thunder and ten thousands of hooks. When coming and going ships reach Hukou, they have to walk a dry road on the river beach, that is, many people pull the boats from the river beach to the downstream area of Hukou before they can sail. Therefore, the marvellous spectacle of "Smoking in Water and Sailing on Dry Land" is a living phenomenon most familiar to the people in Ji County. It's no surprise that the folk dance "Steering a Dry Boat" is popular and widely known here.
The exact origin time of Ji County's "Steering a Dry Boat" has not yet been found out. According to Wang Jianyao, a 70-year-old veteran artist from Xiguan Village, he had seen people in this area love performing "Steering a Dry Boat" since he could remember. His grandfather once told him that dry boats and dragon boats were very prosperous in the late Qing Dynasty and more particular. At that time, burning joss sticks and worshiping the river god before the performance seemed to be a sacrificial performance. After the Republic of China, the worship ceremony was gradually abandoned, becoming a self-entertaining dance, and the performance atmosphere was happier and more free than before.
Ji County's "Steering a Dry Boat" is mainly performed by two people with one paddling and piloting the boat and the other steering the boat. But there are two people steering in a boat for performance. People call it "Two-People Steering a Dry Boat." The oarsmen used to dress up as old men, and the boatmen were all handsome wives dressed as women. Now women are liberated and they can participate in various social activities without restraint. It has changed to letting men paddling and women sailing in many villages. The performance of "Steering a Dry Boat" mostly expresses some scenes that are often encountered when sailing in the water, for example sometimes the flowing water is turbulent, sometimes gentle, sometimes the river is curved, sometimes the river swirls, sometimes the boat runs aground, and so on. Although the two actors performing the dry boat separately and independently, the two people must cooperate with each other tacitly, as if they are riding on the same boat. The boatman must pay close attention to the changes in the movement of the rower. The rower walks fast and the boatman also walks fast; the rower walks slowly, and the boatman also walks slowly; the rower support the oar on the ground and the boatman will immediately stop accordingly, dodging back and forth to indicate that the boat has landed. In short, the boatman must concentrate and react quickly. Because "Steering a Dry Boat" mainly expresses the action of the boat traveling on the water, it requires the actors to have a certain degree of quick short steps (namely "round field steps"),with fast and steady pace to achieve the artistic effect of the boat floating on the water.
"Steering a Dry Boat" is generally performed around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the Spring Festival each year, and is suitable for both performances on square and stage. The performance of the dry boat is lively and vivid with strong living vitality, and it is very popular among the people. The Spring Festival is booming every year and more than a dozen dry boat teams enter the city to perform.In recent years, the dry boats in Xiguan Village, Chengguan Town, catches people’s eyes with gorgeously decoration and colorful performances. The front of the hull is the dragon head, and the rear is the dragon tail, which is obviously a dragon boat. In addition to the two people performing dry boats, there are also many singles acting as fish, mussels, and lotus to accompany the dance. In addition, there is also the form of collectively performing dry boats, mainly performing each formations. During the Spring Festival performance in 1984, a total of 10 dragon boats performed in Xiguan Village at the same time. The scene was spectacular in the warm and cheerful atmosphere,very exciting, which left an unforgettable memory for the people of Ji County.
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Sailing on Dry Land
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Suona Horn of Ji County