Quanfeng flower lantern dance is an artistic performance in Quanfeng Town,Xiushui County of Jiangxi Province.Integrating drama,dance and lantern art,it has a strong appeal of folk custom,with lantern team performance as its predominant feature.During the Spring Festival,different flower lantern teams converge together,singing from the first day of the New Year till the Lantern Festival.They visit almost every family and even perform all night long.Furthermore,on folk festivals,birthday parties,roof wetting parties as well as weddings,the flower lantern team will also be invited to celebrate.As one of Jiangxi folk arts,Quanfeng flower lantern dance is popular in Tangcheng Town and Quanfeng Town at the foot of Mufu Mountain in the northwest of Xiushui County.It is said that Quanfeng flower lantern dance derives from the Taoist music.
Quanfeng flower lantern dance is also known as the"Xiabanbenxi"(second half of the show).Sung and told in authentic Quanfeng dialect,it not only greatly differs from the"Shangbanbenxi"(first half of the show)in style,but also has a big difference from the ballads and ditties of other places.Most of the opening contents of Quanfeng flower lantern dance are improvisational buffooneries,and most of the instruments are percussion instruments such as gong chimes,gong,side drum,cymbal etc.Sometimes huqin fiddle,flute and suona horn are also used as accompaniment.The rhythms of the start,prelude and interlude are the same,and the auxiliary words such as"le"and"yo"are frequently used in the singing.
There are Sheng(male role),Dan(female role)and Chou(clown role)in the singing of Quanfeng flower lantern dance.Sheng pushes a trolley with both hands;Dan performs with one hand holding a handkerchief and the other hand holding the trolley's handlebar;Chou wears a dress hat and a pair of glasses,his face painted like bean curd pieces.He rides a horse and wields the whip,making fun of the Dan.They entered the stage and pace up and down in the circle ground.Along the periphery of the ground stand four long hexagonal colored lanterns which are pasted with floral designs.The lanterns vary in type,some of which are printed with images of"the Monkey Jumping through a Circle","the Fairy Godmother Pushing a Mill"and"the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea".The lantern featuring white crane is set in the center of the band to symbolize peace,festivity,longevity and prosperity.There are eight colored lanterns in Quanfeng flower lantern team,and the actors of the lanterns have eight stunts,namely,"a girl and her sister-in-law push the mill","a mouse climbing on the crossbeam","Liuhai makes fun of the boat","the frolicsome monkeys","Xue Rengui shoots the vulture","the sisters eatch the flower","Lv Dongbin carry a sword on his back",and"Zhang San beats the tiger",all of which are frolic games.
