The intangible cultural heritage during the New Year includes: window grilles, Chu opera, Yangdian Gaolong, Anlu Qi lion dance, and three-section dragon dancing drum.
1. Posting window grilles
As early as the Western Jin Dynasty, people designated the seventh day of the first lunar month as "Human Day". In the Ming Dynasty, the art of paper-cutting gradually matured and continued to enrich and develop. In the Qing Dynasty, carving appeared again, that is, it developed from scissors to knife carving. After the new establishment, Xiaogan carved paper-cutting became more like a cluster of gorgeous mountain flowers, vying to bloom.
Xiaogan carved paper-cut conveys traditional ideas and ancient culture with its rich image language. The long history and broad mass base have enabled Xiaogan carving and paper-cutting to be passed down from generation to generation and gradually ascended to the forefront of art. Therefore, Xiaogan is known as the "Hometown of Paper-cutting Art".
2. Chu Opera
Chu Opera, formerly known as Huang Xiaohua Drum. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the singing form of two tea farmers in Ziyun Mountain and Langping Mountain in Huangmei County dressed as a clown and performed on stilts spread to Huangpi and Xiaogan counties. Influenced by the popular Qing opera at that time, folk artists in Huangpi and Xiaogan sang on the ground while walking on the stilts, forming a gong tune for performing stories.
About the middle period of Daoguang Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, the Huangxiao Flower Drum Opera with "Huangpi Tune and Xiaogan Tune" was formed. On September 10, 1926, the Hubei Drama Society was organized by the Hankou drama circle. At the meeting, Huang Xiao's Flower Drum Opera was officially named "Chu Opera" after discussions among the drama circles. In 2014, it was successfully included in the fourth batch of expanded national intangible cultural heritage projects.
3. Yangdian Gaolong
Yangdian Town is the famous "Hometown of Dragon Lanterns". The Yangdian dragon lantern, which Xiaogan calls "Yangdian Gaolong", has been listed in the second batch of Xiaogan City and the third batch of intangible cultural heritage in Hubei Province. The production process of Yangdian dragon lanterns is based on inheriting the traditional crafts accumulated by ancestors and improving the tie-making process. Due to the exquisite selection of materials and fine production, the dragon lanterns are brightly colored and agile.
There are 126 "dragon lanterns" in the town. Playing with dragon lanterns is generally divided into "making dragon lanterns", "making dragon lanterns", "inviting dragon lanterns", "dragon turning on the light", "practicing lanterns" and "hui lanterns" , "welcome the lantern", "worship the lantern" and "send the lantern" (also known as "canning the lantern").
4. Three-section dragon dance
Three-section dragon dance is a unique Han dragon lantern dance spread in Wuluo Town, Yunmeng County. It has been passed down from generation to generation by the local Han working people. Evolved from ancient sacrificial dances. The three-section dragon lantern is divided into three sections: the dragon head, the dragon body and the dragon tail, and is performed by three people. In the past, the three lantern dancers stood on a stone roller or a bench to perform, and later evolved into a square performance.
The dance presents a majestic and passionate folk scene with its strange and romantic sculpting, novel and lively performance forms, and rough and bold dance movements. In 2011, it was selected into the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection lists in my country.
5. Anlu Qishi Lion Dance
Qishi Lion Dance is spread on both sides of the Jianshui River and has a long history. Farmers in Shihe Village like to go from house to house to perform the Qishi Dance, and often incorporate colorful words celebrating auspiciousness and joy during the New Year into the dance.
During the performance, the unicorn and the lion teased each other, chased and played, and performed honestly and lively, vividly expressing the humor of the unicorn and the innocence of the lion, with a strong flavor of life. In June 2011, it was included in the third batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Hubei Province.