The Historical Evolution of Kirin Dance

The image of Kirin has a history of 2500 years. It was originally a totem, a belief. Later, it developed into philosophical significance and entered the field of literature, such as "Delinger" by Han Yu and "Lin Zhizan" by Huang Tingjian. Finally, it went to plastic arts and performing arts, and became the materials for artistic creation such as ceramics, New Year pictures, paper-cutting, clay sculpture, embroidery, jade ornaments, architecture and sculpture.

Kirin dance is a folk art performance form that Hakka people brought from the north to the south. Accompanied by gongs and drums and suona, it has the style of Jiangbei Flower Festival. Unlike Guangdong Lingnan music, it is an artistic culture handed down from generation to generation by Hakkas. Kirin is an auspicious benevolent beast in ancient legends, and Hakka people regard it as a mascot. It has been dancing Kirin for more than 500 years. Dancing unicorns are a combination of singing, dancing and music. The skeleton of the dancing unicorn is made of bamboo sticks, and the skin is made of various colors of cloth. Divided into head and tail, there is a hole in the middle, and the dancer stands at the hole and ties Kirin to her body. During the Spring Festival, they went to the village and went door to door to pay New Year greetings.

It is understood that Kirin is the first of the "four spirits" of the ancient Chinese nation, symbolizing auspiciousness, peace, good weather, peace and prosperity. Kirin dance is a popular folk dance, which expresses the farmers' feeling of bumper harvest after hard work. Kirin dance originated in Emei Mountain, Sichuan. 1958, immigrants from Xinfengjiang Reservoir who left their hometown brought the unicorn dance to Xiaojinkou. Now * * *, there are 20 Kirin teams with 200 people, the oldest is 9 1 year, and the youngest is 13 years old. In June 2006, he participated in the Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and was awarded the honorary title of "China Kirin Dance Town" by Huizhou City.

According to historical records, Kirin dance was originally a performing art in the court, which was called "Kirin Holy Dance" and was an essential performance in various royal celebrations. According to the old people, after the demise of the Ming Dynasty, a local court artist brought his unicorn dance stunt back to his hometown and passed it down from generation to generation.