What is yangko?

Yangge, originally a mass singing activity of southern farmers when transplanting rice seedlings, originated from agricultural production and labor. In the Qing Dynasty, Qu Dajun said in Volume XII of Guangdong New Language: "Every spring, dozens of women and children are planting rice seedlings in the fields, and an old drum is playing, and the group songs are called yangko." There are two kinds of yangko: one is yangko performed by hand, which is called "Diyangko" or "Dibangzi", and the other is stilt yangko. The similarity between the two kinds of yangko lies in the fact that the roles and tunes are basically the same. Yangko first appeared in the form of singing, and later developed into the form of dance and drama performance, so it was called "dancing Yangko" and gradually evolved into a program that must be performed during the Lantern Festival and the New Year Festival.

Dance yangko is mainly popular in the north of China, which can be divided into different types, such as northern Shaanxi yangko, northeast yangko, Hebei yangko, Shandong Jiaozhou yangko and Dagu yangko. Wang Xiling described the yangko in Shahe, Xixiang County, southern Shaanxi in his "Investigation Atlas of Southern Shaanxi": "Farmers in the fields have colors, and people dressed in costumes sing and dance. The golden drums are loud and the yangko is everywhere. Commonly known as yangko. " This kind of yangko is similar to the yangko in the New Year's social fire in northern Shaanxi and Shanxi, and has become a representative form of folk dance. The Brief Introduction to Liu Bian also recorded the Lantern Festival in the border areas of Heilongjiang at that time. People organized a yangko team, accompanied by gongs and drums, "dancing until tomorrow, singing until tomorrow", staying up all night.

Yangko is generally a dance in which dancers dress up as various figures, step on gongs and drums and dance with fans, handkerchiefs or colored silk. The performance form is very lively and has the following characteristics:

First, twist. Performers hold fans, handkerchiefs, colored silks and other props, step on gongs and drums and sing popular lyrics of local Miao people. They walked lightly, twisting and dancing.

The second is walking, which is generally a "big field" at the beginning and end, interspersed with "small fields" in the middle. The stadium is a large-scale group dance that dances in various formations while walking, and performs various dances such as "Dragon wagging its tail", "Double Crossing the Street" and "Nine Rings". A small field is a simple dance or musical performed by two or three people, such as Liu Hai as a golden toad, Che Yaomei, Running on a Dry Boat, and Fool Picking up a Wife.

The third is dressing up. Dancers dress up as various characters in folklore and historical stories, including Wu Wen's son, young women, ugly women, vendors, fishermen and children.

Fourth, singing, accompanied by suona and gongs and drums, local folk songs are sung by singers. The number of yangko teams can be more or less, ranging from a few to 80 or 90 people. You can perform large-scale programs in a unified way, or you can perform small programs prepared separately. The leader of the Yangko team is called "Umbrella Head" and is the commander-in-chief of this Yangko team. He danced and sang while holding an umbrella, symbolizing good weather. The content of "Umbrella Head" singing is basically improvisation, and there are also local folk tunes. He was followed by various figures dressed as men, women and children and clowns, and walked out of various formations. Accompanied by gongs and drums and suona, they danced while twisting their waists. Those movements are humorous, simple and lovely, entertaining and mass.

Yangko, as a folk dance, does not need too much physical strength, and can also relax through this entertainment, which is very suitable for people of different ages to participate. Now it has become a necessary program for the festival parade. It brings happiness, happiness and good luck to people.