Chaoshan Yingge Dance
Yingge Dance in Chaoshan is a traditional folk dance in Chaoshan, Guangdong Province. It has been popular in Chaoshan for three hundred years. This square dance combines drama, dance, martial arts and other elements; it is masculine and magnificent; now it has become a way for Chinese working people to express their joy. This square dance is Yingge Dance. There are three theories about the origin of Yingge Dance: one is the "Timely Rain Theory", one is the Yangko Theory, and one is the Nuo Dance Theory. The "Timely Rain Theory" is a saying in the "Timely Rain" section of the book "Dream of Taoan" by Zhang Dai, a famous scholar in Shaoxing in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. This section describes the scene of praying for rain. Zhang Dai believes that it may be because the nickname of Song Jiang, the eldest brother of the Water Margin hero, is "Timely Rain". The Yangko Theory says that Yingge Dance is derived from the "Daguzi Yangko" in northern Shandong and the "Liulin Yangko" in western Shandong. Because the pronunciation of Yingge and "Yangko" in Chaozhou dialect is similar. There is also a saying that today's Yingge evolved from the ancient Nuo dance. Nuo dance is a form that reflects religious consciousness and artistic characteristics. Yingge dance is one of the two cultural phenomena with masculinity in the Chaoshan regional cultural system, the other being Chaoshan gongs and drums. The Chaoshan Yingge dance is actually closely related to the ancient spring exorcism rituals in my country, and it has its historical origins. There are two main dance contents of Yingge dance: one is Liang Shanbo, a hero, dressed up and performed to attack Daming Mansion and rescue Lu Junyi, and the other is Liang Shanbo, a hero, dressed up and robbed the execution ground to save Song Jiang.