Running curtain

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: running curtain

Applicant: Tangyin County, Henan Province

Item No.: 647

Project No.: Ⅲ - 50

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Henan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Tangyin County, Henan Province

Protection unit: Tangyin Cultural Center

Introduction to running curtain:

Applicant: Tangyin County, Henan Province

Running curtain is an ancient folk dance which is active in the areas of Baiying, Huying and dongxilong villages in Tangyin County, Anyang City, Henan Province. It is said that it originated in the spring and Autumn period. It was originally a sacrificial activity for the soldiers of the state of Qi to commemorate the concubine of Duke Huan. It gradually took shape in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and later evolved into a large-scale folk square dance. It has a history of more than 2600 years.

Compared with other dances, the dance steps, formation, props, music and so on are unique and have a unique artistic charm. It is performed by 72 young and middle-aged men, each holding a long wooden pole dyed red and black, and the top of the pole is decorated with a curtain like "curtain". During the performance, the dancers lined up in a queue and ran rhythmically in a slightly squatting posture, forming various formations such as "encircling the Wei and rescuing Zhao", "bombarding the cigarette City" and "Li Yuan persuading the general", which were coordinated with the ceremony of "discussion, ancient performance, welcoming and seeing off officials".

Running curtain is closely combined with local folk activities in Tangyin, with wide participation of the masses, strict organization, strong rituals, magnificent performance scenes, showing a unique artistic style, which contains the prayer of good weather, bumper crops, prosperity of human and animal, and has the research value of folklore. For a long time, the running curtain has been passed along by oral teaching. Now the old artists have died one after another, and there is no inheritance, which leads to the overall decline of the performance level, which is in urgent need of rescue.