Sending local culture to a wider area to take root, Yangzhou is a ＂cross-river＂ dance.

"There is a water between Guazhou and Jingkou", which shows the geographical connection between Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. When Wuqiao Shehuo, a non-legacy project from Yangzhou with a history of thousands of years, comes to Zhenjiang Kindergarten, what kind of response will it have?

At 9: 40am on February 5th, on the playground of the kindergarten affiliated to Zhenjiang No.1 Foreign Language School, a "Golden Dragon" went through the clouds and tumbled up and down, which instantly aroused the children’s strong interest. The noisy atmosphere of the Lantern Festival suddenly spread.

This is a female dragon dance team. They are cultural volunteers from Wuqiao Town, Jiangdu District, Yangzhou City. At the invitation of the garden, on the same day, 26 actors brought five cultural performances with strong local flavor, such as women’s dragon dance, Shehuo, rice transplanting chant, lake boat swinging and lantern racing. This was the first time that Wuqiao Shehuo gave a special performance to children.

Shehuo is a traditional folk celebration and entertainment activity in China, which means blessing. Wuqiao Shehuo is a general term for Wuqiao lake boat, dragon dance, lantern racing, mussel dance and other folk activities. It originated in Sui and Tang Dynasties and prevailed in the middle and late Qing Dynasty. In 2016, it was included in the fourth batch of intangible cultural heritage list in Jiangsu Province.

Red horses, white horses, black donkeys, Tang Priest’s seven fairies … The image of farming in the field, well-known legends, and vivid expression, although the cold wind burst at the performance site, it blew the children’s red faces more and more excited.

More parents squatted down and explained. "Mom, is he riding a horse or a donkey? Is there really such a big mussel? " Zhu Chenyu of Class 3 is full of curiosity. Chen Xiaoyan, the mother, explained to the child while taking photos for him and the actors.

How can Yangzhou’s intangible cultural heritage project "cross the river" to perform in Zhenjiang kindergarten?

Traditional culture entering the campus is an educational concept that the kindergarten affiliated to Zhenjiang No.1 Foreign Language School has long adhered to. Chen Jindi, director of the park, said that in recent years, the park has invited folk-custom projects to perform in the park many times, and the children also have a strong interest. By chance, Chen Jindi watched the performance of Wuqiao Shehuo, and immediately came up with the idea of invitation. During the Spring Festival, Chen Jindi inquired in many ways and finally contacted Wuqiao Town Cultural Volunteers Association.

It is understood that since the establishment of the Cultural Volunteers Association in October 2013, Wuqiao Town has 18 branches including dance, drama, music and folk literature and art. More than 500 cultural volunteers, with their deep love for cultural undertakings and the consciousness of inheriting local literature and art, adhered to the original intention of "taking nothing and loving dedication". They not only "jumped" Wuqiao Shehuo into CCTV and performed across provinces, cities and districts, but also wrote, directed and performed more than 200 large-scale cultural performances such as "Happy Village Tour", with an audience of nearly 200,000 people.

"Through observation, interaction and experience, children have a preliminary understanding of traditional folk culture while feeling the happiness brought by folk customs." Chen Jindi said.

Peng Jinyun, an actor who is used to "big scenes", participated in the whole performance, and the activities of the day made her particularly serious. "Seeing the excitement of the children, I constantly remind myself that I must perform well, because I am not only a cultural volunteer, but also a cultural sower." Peng Jinyun said.

Intern Qian Mengdi Yangzhou released reporter Wang Peng Wang Lu text/map