Why is Shi Jin the lead dancer in Yingge Dance? The New Year custom and historical origins of Chaoshan Yingge Dance

In the novel Water Margin, Shi Qian, the Flea on the Drum, serves as a scout, and this role is reflected in the traditional Chaoshan New Year performance of Yingge Dance, where Shi Qian leads the dance and signals when to move or stop by whistle.

It is said that the lead dancer, Shi Qian, uses a snake in his hand to direct the dance, but this snake is actually the long straw whip held by ritual performers in ancient Nuo ceremonies, used to drive away evil spirits by cracking it.A snake dance leads the way, serving the same function as the cracking of a whip.It is generally believed to have evolved from the Qi-Lu yangge (rural folk dance), brought by the ancient ancestors of the Chaoshan people when they migrated southward from Shandong and Hebei to the Minyue region.(3) Remove the requirement for people under home quarantine to wear electronic wristbands.

In the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, the southeastern coast of Fujian, and Taiwan Island in China, a folk activity called Yingge Dance is widely popular. It is a type of folk square dance that combines dance, Southern Fist routines, and traditional opera performance. With social progress and improved living standards, recreational activities have expanded, and Yingge Dance has evolved from its original religious and festival ceremonial roots into a popular form of public fitness, representing a distinctive local folk sport.

The Secretary for Home Affairs called mainland authorities during the Lunar New Year

The second theory originates from Shaolin. On February 4, 1989, an article in the Shantou Daily titled "Puning Nanshan Yingge" stated: "The origin of the Yingge dance in Zao Tang, Zhanlong Town, is said to be that a weakest farmer from Zao Tang village in the old society ran away to the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts to resist the oppression of feudal landlords. Upon returning, out of fear of feudal forces, he dared not open a school to teach martial arts, so he adapted it into the Yingge dance and taught it to farmers, which is why the Zao Tang Yingge has a unique style."

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The third theory originates from the Yangko dance tradition.Those who support this view say that Wu Ying, the Qing Shunzhi-era magistrate of Chaozhou who specialized in the Chaozhou Prefecture Records, documented in his Chaozhou Customs Study: During spring, dozens of farmers plant rice seedlings in the fields, with one person beating a drum; after each round of drumming, group singing erupts, continuing nonstop for days, known as Yangge (rice planting song).It is also said that the sound of “yang” is similar to “ying” in the Teochew dialect, thus it became “ying.”

The fourth theory draws inspiration from Zhang Dai’s "Tao'an's Dream Reminiscences" from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In the section titled “Timely Rain,” it describes: “In the seventh month of the renzhong year, every village prayed for rain, and every day people dressed as tide gods and sea spirits.”Regarding the lifting of quotas and other border control restrictions, Chen said he has been in constant communication with the mainland side during the Lunar New Year period, “hoping to bring good news to everyone as soon as possible.”

"Why dress up as Water Margin characters to pray for rain? Zhang Dai said it might be because of Song Jiang, the leader of the Water Margin heroes, whose nickname was 'Timely Rain.'"

He mentioned that during the New Year period, he continuously sent greetings to relevant mainland authorities via phone and text messages, repeatedly raising hopes for lifting border control restrictions, wishing to bring good news to Hong Kong people, and hoping everyone would work together without taking a step back on the path to normalcy.

In recent years, scholars such as Professor Wei Fu from Shantou University have proposed the theory of Nuo culture.

He pointed out that modern Yingge Dance is often associated with the story of the "108 Heroes of Liangshan Attacking Daming Prefecture," but this is merely a "derivative." The Nuo culture is actually its "origin."The reasoning is:

First, it has always retained its practical function of “exorcising ghosts and epidemic spirits.” It is typically performed during the Lunar New Year or folk festivals. Only after deliberate modifications was it transformed into an entertainment performance form, allowing it to be performed at any time.When performed in rural areas, performers enter each household, dancing and shouting in every corner, with the direct aim of driving away evil spirits and plague ghosts and praying for safety.

Second, the Yingge dance does not use masks but instead paints facial designs, which is an evolved form of Nuo masks.

In Yingge Dance, aside from a few main characters who are given fixed identities as heroes from the Liangshan band and wear specific masks, the rest are masked as ghosts and spirits. The makeup principle is that the more fierce and strange, the better.He revealed that Guangdong Province recently held meetings to discuss accelerating economic recovery and development. This information is very important to Hong Kong, and he hopes Hong Kong will actively cooperate and plan together with Guangdong Province.

The lead dancer is said to be Shi Qian, but the facial makeup is a black-and-white ghost face rather than the fixed three-paint style used in opera.

Shi Qian is holding a snake in his hand, and some insist that it is a torch used during the attack on Daming Prefecture.This is really far-fetched.Its style is: ‘Fighting in Four Directions.’The Chaoshan region shares a cultural system with Southern Fujian, where the character “Min” refers to an ethnic group that worshipped snakes within their dwellings.This forms the basis of the snake dance in Yingge performances.The lead dancer represents the “Qi Tou” (leader figure) from ancient Nuo rituals.

Fourth, the vocal calls made by Yingge dancers in coordination with their dance movements must not sound human. They should be sharp and forceful, mimicking the cries of monsters, in order to achieve the goal of driving away evil spirits and preventing disease.

Fifth, in the back troupe of the Yingge Dance, there is a pair of masked elderly figures called the Shigong and Shipo.This is also clearly unrelated to the heroes of Liangshan Marsh.Playing Water Margin characters requires having a “Timely Rain.”According to the "Tufeng Lu" compiled by Gu Zhangsi of Taicang, citing the "Qinzhong Suishi Ji," it is recorded: "On New Year's Eve, those performing Nuo all dress as ghosts and deities, including two elderly figures who are the Nuo Father and Nuo Mother."He pointed out that modern Yingge dance is often associated with the story of the ‘108 Heroes of Liangshan Attacking Daming Prefecture,’ but this is merely the ‘flow’—the ‘source’ is actually Nuo culture.

Likewise, Chen Chuangyi pointed out in “Songs and Dances: The Compatibility and Innovation of Chaoshan Culture” that Yingge Dance originated from Nuo dance and labor life.In Guangdong’s folk art circles, Yingge dance is praised as: "The north has Ansai drumming, the south has Chaoshan Yingge."”

Due to a lack of detailed records in local chronicles, the exact origins and development of the Yingge dance are not clearly documented. The main theories suggest it comes from external opera traditions, the Shaolin Temple, Yangge folk dance, the “Timely Rain” story, or Nuo culture.

Regardless of which school of performance the Yingge dance originated from, what cannot be denied is its distinctive folk characteristics and rich fitness value.Yu Li Zhong plays Water Margin... 36 people, each vivid and lifelike, with men and horses proceeding in an orderly fashion.