Shemi Lake waving Hall

Shemi Lake waving Hall

Shamihu hand waving hall, the oldest dance hall of Tujia nationality, is located in Tujia village, Hedong Township, Baifusi Town, Laifeng County, Hubei Province. It was built in 1651 and is the oldest dance hall of Tujia nationality. It is also one of the earliest existing hand waving halls in China. It is the birthplace of hand waving dance of Tujia in Eastern Chongqing, Western Hunan and Western Hubei, so it is known as "the hometown of hand waving" and "the first hand waving hall in China".

Historical evolution

Shamihu hand waving hall, located in Tujia village, Hedong Township, Baifusi Town, Laifeng County, was built in 1651. It is the oldest dance hall of Tujia nationality. Hand waving hall is a gathering place for Tujia people to sacrifice their ancestors and celebrate the harvest. There are three hand waving halls in Laifeng County, the largest and most complete of which is the shamihu hand waving hall.

The village is located in the mountains at the junction of Hunan, Hubei and Chongqing. More than 600 people in 170 households are Tujia people, and more than 90% of them are surnamed Peng. According to the old man, they are all descendants of Peng Xianglong, the ancestor of Peng surname who moved here in the late Tang Dynasty. People in the village have been working as farmers for generations. They have a simple folk custom. They are not involved in gambling or drugs. They are only good at hand waving dance.

According to the inscriptions on the stone tablet in front of the hall, the hall was restored for the second time in the second year of Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. Only on this basis, the hall can be called one of the earliest existing hand waving halls in China. The ancient village with thousands of years and the ancient hall with hundreds of years is the birthplace of hand waving dance of Tujia in Eastern Chongqing, Western Hunan and Western Hubei, so it is known as "the hometown of hand waving" and "the first hand waving hall in China".

In recent years, Laifeng County has played the Tujia folk tourism card, started the construction of the folk village of Shemi lake, completed the restoration of the waving hand hall and the laying of the stone road nearly 1000 meters below the waving hand hall, and the highway blackening and the construction project of the village gate leading to Shemi Lake are also in progress. A professional Waving Dance team is coming out of the hall and is active in the border areas of Hubei, Hunan and Chongqing provinces.

Architectural pattern

Located on the hillside in the south of the village, the shamihu waving hall covers an area of more than 500 square meters. It is rectangular in shape, surrounded by courtyard walls and built with rocks. The gate is located in the square center in front of the courtyard wall, slightly in the shape of a archway. The two columns and lintels are long columnar stones. At the joint of the column and lintel, a half moon shaped stone tooth is inlaid on the left and right. Between the gate and the shrine is a stone paved corridor, which is located on the middle line of the courtyard. Five tall ancient cypresses are planted beside the corridor, which not only adds a quiet atmosphere, but also facilitates dancing and hanging red lights. The walls of the shrine are also made of stone, covered with black tiles with the word "human". There are no carved beams, painted buildings and flying eaves. It is simple, heavy and simple, which is totally different from the general Buddhist temples. There are three shrines dedicated to the statue of Duke Peng, the forefather of Tujia, the old official Xiang and the hero Tian.

An ancient monument was erected in the 27th year of Daoguang and the second year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty when the waving hall was repaired.

Related culture

Every Spring Festival, the village is very busy. People are dressed in red and green. Men, women, old and young all come to the waving hall. Lights are decorated on the pine trees in the hall. People dance around the pine trees, sing gongs and drums all night long. In Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Bingjun described in his poem "titu Wang Ci": "in the Five Dynasties, the soldiers were broken, the copper pillars were cold, the wind of the hundred barbarians was strong, and there were many people in the ancient caves. Now, the wild temple is competing year by year, and the Paizi song is still spread in the lane." In the Tongzhi period, Peng Shifeng wrote a poem: "in the city of Fushi (Baifusi), there is a nest of brocade, water waves beside the Tuwang palace, red lights, thousands of people, and a lingering wagging song", which proves that wagging song and dance are very popular in this area.

Address: Tujia village, Hedong Township, Baifusi Town, Laifeng County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Longitude: 109.18185424805

Latitude: 29.249935150146

Ticket information: market price: 5.0 yuan