China News Service, Yanbian, September 26 (Gao Longan, Li Yanguo) Feather clothes are dancing, willow hands and cranes are walking. In Antu County at the foot of Changbai Mountain in Jilin, the Korean crane dance with a long history is being seen and loved by more and more people.
This spring, Liu Yaqing, a short video creator born after 1995 in Hunan, made a special trip to the Antu County Cultural Center to learn the Korean crane dance. The video works she produced received a large number of likes from netizens. During the Northeast City Football League Yanbian team's home game against the Dalian team on July 18, the Korean crane dance "Crane Soaring Fan Dance·Show Yanbian" was performed on the green field, and the beautiful dance became a hot search.
In 2008, the Korean crane dance was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. Historically, this dance was once widely spread in the Antu region. However, affected by the changes of the times, its development declined for a time. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Korean crane dance returned to the public eye through the excavation and collection by Jin Jingxun and Jiang Dezhu of the Antu County Cultural Center.
Li Yinghua watched her elders dance since she was a child, and later began to learn Korean dance. Now she is the fifth generation representative inheritor of Korean crane dance. She told reporters that the Korean Crane Dance is the only bird mask dance among Korean folk dances, which reflects people's belief in cranes and their passionate pursuit of goodness and beauty.
Lee Young-hwa (right) is instructing young actors to practice the Korean crane dance. Photo by Gao Longan
In order to practice both body and spirit, Li Yinghua also went to Jilin Xianghai National Nature Reserve to observe the demeanor, body shape and living habits of wild cranes, and incorporated the calmness of the big cranes and the agility of the small cranes into the dance.
The postures of cranes on the mountains and rivers turn into dancing postures on the stage. Eight groups of movements, including crane squatting, stepping, leisurely legs, neck-stretching, pecking fish, spreading wings to fly, swinging arms, and crane flying, are danced to the rhythm of Korean traditional music, adding a touch of agility to the dance.
"This ancient dance carries the traditional oriental philosophy and the connotation of Korean culture." Li Guangyuan, deputy secretary of the Party branch of Antu County Cultural Center, said that the crane has its own otherworldly temperament. It is not only the "initial teacher" of the Korean crane dance, but also a very representative cultural symbol in Chinese civilization, carrying the meanings of auspiciousness, longevity, and nobility.
"Post-2000" dancer Meng Yun is a girl from the Dai ethnic group. She came into contact with the Korean crane dance for the first time in 2020 and was attracted by its unique dance posture. She believes that the crane dance of the Korean ethnic group has its own "fairy spirit" and the peacock dance of the Dai ethnic group is light and graceful. Both of them are inspired by birds and are both typical representatives of China's excellent traditional culture.
The Korean crane dance appears on the stage. Photo by Song Zheji
At present, Antu County is vigorously attracting, discovering and cultivating new people. More than 40 young backbones including Korean, Han, Manchu, Dai and other ethnic groups have participated in the inheritance.
The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress," which was officially implemented on July 1 this year, mentioned that "the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups should be fully realized" and "the excellent traditional culture of all ethnic groups is an integral part of Chinese culture." This makes Li Yinghua and other actors feel very excited and have more motivation to inherit and develop the Korean crane dance well.
From cultural centers to green fields to online platforms, this "crane" taking off from the foot of Changbai Mountain is spreading the excellent traditional Chinese culture to further places. (over)
