Lantian Community Fire Play

If the gongs and drums don't sound, the crops won't grow. In January, Lantian County in Shaanxi Province, located on Guanzhong Road, started playing with social fire

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Liu Tongxing, a ten year old child from Chenjiagou Village, woke up early and started dressing up. Wearing a gauze cap and a long beard, the boy became the "Yang Shilang" in the Qin Opera Opera "Loyalty to the Country"

On this day, 42 "core kids" from Chenjiagou sat on a float and toured the whole village, making the children who were not selected envious. The colorful flags fluttered tightly, the yangko danced joyfully, the gongs and drums beat loudly, and the narrow village road was bustling with people

In Lantian, a village that loves community fire, they play it every few years. The last time Chen Jiagou played social fire, Liu Tongxing had not yet been born. This year, the village selected the "Core Child" and he was the first to sign up. Missing this milestone, the child will grow into a young man in a blink of an eye, "said his father Liu Kai with a smile." Next time we play social games, the young man will be able to play in the arena. "Being a" core child "is the dream of many children on this land

Not far from Chenjiagou, a 74 year old man from Xiaojiapo Village has been playing social games with warmth and affection for his whole life. As a representative project of Shaanxi Province's intangible cultural heritage, Xiaojiapo Community Fire "has a small show every five years and a big show every ten years". Wenyangqing is the chief planner of the village's community fire. More than 60 years ago, when I was still a child, I also became a "core child" once

Xiaojiapo Village is divided into five communities: Nanshe, Beishe, Zhongshe, Shangshe, and Xishe. Xiaojiapo Community Fire is a collective term for folk entertainment projects such as Xinzi, Pingtou Table, Dryboat, Lion Dragon Lantern, etc. It has a history of over a hundred years. The term 'watching the social fire' commonly used by villagers mainly refers to the core performance - children dress up as various characters from classic dramas and legendary stories, fix them on the core, and present unique artistic shapes

Two characters, you up and me down, can play the role of civil and military heroes and sages, and do similar things; Three iron bars, their length is so short that they can hold knives, guns, swords, and halberds When it comes to the core, Wen Yangqing opened the conversation and said, "According to different props, Xiaojiapo cores are divided into umbrella cores, hanging cores, flower tree cores, big knife cores, gun barrel cores, door curtain cores... They are famous for their height, suspension, danger, and surprise, and are well-known in ten miles and eight towns. Later, as he grew into a young man, he began to beat drums and install cores; As he grew older, he began organizing community fire performances and eventually became the "chief steward" of the village playing community fires

The selection of "core babies" is quite particular. In addition to conforming to the character's image, factors such as age and height are mainly considered. The children, ranging from four or five years old to eleven or twelve years old, step on oval wooden pedals and have semi-circular iron supports on their chests. They are wrapped in fabric from the chest down to the ankles and fixed to iron core supports. Finally, put on theatrical costumes and elegant attire, with a myriad of manners

In Xiaojiapo, the process of installing the core must be kept confidential from the villagers. The iron bracket was hidden inside, and the ignorant villagers only saw the hanging doll, mysterious and magical

Usually around noon, the Xiaojiapo community fire begins to go out of the streets. The North Society Fire takes the lead, followed by the West Society Fire, followed by the Central Society, the South Society, and the Upper Society. When the five Society Fire converge, all 35 Society Fire cores in the village will appear and begin to tour the village

During the parade, there is also a rule of "letting the club" - the core of the club that walks on the ground will step aside, beating drums and gongs to let the core of other clubs go first, and the core of our own club will be added to the end of the team. This cycle allows each community to be the leader and leader of the team, which reflects the local customs and etiquette

At this moment, both inside and outside the village were already overcrowded. At the forefront of the parade, a handsome flag and banners paved the way, followed closely by thirty or forty colorful flags. A hundred women's drumming team was heroic, and the core of each society won applause from the crowd

"Legend of the White Snake," "Investiture of the Gods," "Peach Garden Oath," "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage," "Weaver Girl and Cowherd,"... The soaring shape of the core attracted waves of surprise, "Can someone stand on the tip of an umbrella?" "A child stands on the blade!"

I saw in the air, some "core children" dancing with water sleeves and taking small steps, while others ignored the sea of people under their feet, already sleeping soundly. Their playful and cute appearance made people laugh uncontrollably.

Watch "Core" during the day and play "Ground Tour" at night. At night, various acrobatics such as dry boats, bamboo horses, shooting stars, stilts, big headed dolls, lion and dragon lanterns are staged in rotation, turning this village at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain into a "carnival place" during the Chinese New Year

The Xiaojiapo community fire usually lasts for three consecutive days. First, we will rehearse on stage, then perform formally, and on the last day, we will thank the temple for offering incense and pray for good weather and abundant harvests in the new year

Playing social games, the men, women, and children of Xiaojiapo are often the "overall mobilization". In order to have a great time, every household gathers together and says, 'Three hundred or four hundred yuan is not too much, and five or ten yuan is not too little.'. Children act as the core, strong labor is used to assemble and lift the core, and the elderly sit on the stage to entertain guests from all directions. There are countless designers, liaisons, and organizers who carry flags, beat gongs, and drums. Adults and children are busy and busy, working together and enjoying it

In recent years, many young adults in the village have come to work in the city and return to their hometowns like migratory birds every year. The social fire in childhood memories has transformed into a deep-seated local sentiment: returning home during the Spring Festival is a safe haven, a gas station, and the greatest confidence and driving force to strive hard in the city

And Xiaojiapo Community Fire has also left the village and been invited multiple times to perform in Xi'an city. In places such as Daming Palace and Datang Furong Garden, the wonderful cores leave viewers amazed and are highly sought after by domestic and foreign tourists

Let's continue playing while we're still young Wen Yangqing and several community fire planners in the village were discussing the next event. "In the next year or two, we will play again at Xiaojiapo - if we want to play, we will play big."

Looking up from afar, the plants and trees in Lantian Township are sprouting, the gongs and drums of the community fire have not stopped, and the spring thunder on the mountain has already rumbled.. With the arrival of spring, the crops in the fields are gathering strength and sprouting, and the people on the land are also carrying their bags and bravely rushing towards their dreams for the new year