Rural Carnival Activities at Spring Festival
Shehuo Performance in Xunxian County
The 9th day of the first lunar month is that most animated in the county town of Xunxian County of Hebi City, Henan Province. According to local tradition, on that day people go to Dapi Mountain to make their devotions and also stage a shehuo performance, which has been listed as national intangible cultural heritage.
The shehuo performance in Xunxian refers to a grand ceremony where local people stage a performance and burn incense in worship. The tradition is believed to have originated in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. It reached its zenith in the period from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties to the Republic of China period (1912-1949). Almost every village in the county holds shehuo performances in various forms. They include gaoqiao (walking on stilts), lion dances, zhuma (bamboo horse) dances, and yangko and hanchuan (land boat) dances.
The lion dance is one of the traditional forms of shehuo performance. It entails a dancer throwing a silk ball with which one or two lions play. What is special about the Xunxian lion dance is that following the lion is a group of martial artists who display their sword and spear skills in the local martial arts tradition.
The land boat dance is closely related to the Grand Canal. A performer wears a boat-like costume and moves as would a boat on the water. The helmsman stands on one side and moves in the manner of rowing the boat, and a woman holding a lotus lantern stands behind. The roles they enact are mostly from folk stories. The ancient Yellow River and Grand Canal both passed through Xunxian County. Everyday life is thus re-enacted in shehuo performances. The land boat dance reproduces scenes from earlier times in Xunxian, when it was a water town on the Central Plains.
Shehuo performances in most areas last until the 16th day of the first lunar month, the conclusion of which also signals the end of Spring Festival celebrations. People then get back to work and look forward to the next Spring Festival.
