Sangzhi funeral dance is a folk dance of the Tujia people in Sangzhi. It is also a long-standing funeral and sacrificial ritual of the Tujia people, with a strong legacy of the Tujia ancestors. It originated from the custom of "dancing around the corpse" of the Tujia ancestors, which was formed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and finalized in the Song Dynasty. At present, Sangzhi funeral dance is mainly distributed in Tujia settlements such as Liaojiacun Town, Shangdongjie Township, Lianghekou Township, Chenjiahe Town, Liangshuikou Town, Hongjiaguan Township, Guluoshan Township, Daguquan Township, Qiaoziwan Township, Shanghexi Township, Badagongshan Township, and Liyuan Town. The basic movements of the funeral dance evolved from the Tujia hand-waving dance movements, and were influenced by religious procedures to form elegant, soothing, sinking, trembling, rough, and rigorous dynamic characteristics. Because the stage for the funeral dance is small and must be danced around the coffin, the stage scheduling is mainly based on the complex and varied interweaving and circling between the dancers, giving people a feeling of coming and going and being overwhelmed. When performing funeral dance, the rhythm is played with drums and gongs and drums, without orchestral music. The Taoist priests perform the dance as a subject in the Taoist temple. The purpose is to dance for the dead, entertain ghosts and gods, open up the five roads, and happily send the dead to the paradise as soon as possible. It fully reflects the Tujia people's concept of life and death of "rebirth after death" and the national character of facing life and death with a smile. Sangzhi funeral dance has the same roots as Chinese civilization. After thousands of years of evolution and development, it has formed a cultural phenomenon with Sangzhi regional characteristics. Its main characteristics are: 1) The mysterious and strange Chuxiang Wu Nuo style. 2) The simple and primitive Tujia cultural elements. 3) The solemn and solemn religious dance characteristics. 4) The pious and stylized religious dance movements. 5) The complicated and varied stage scheduling art. 6) The high-pitched and exciting percussion instrument accompaniment. Funeral dance is an important part of Tujia culture and the crystallization of the wisdom of the Sangzhi people. It plays an important role in cultivating the character and sentiment of the Tujia people, inspiring their fighting spirit, and enriching their cultural life, and has unique historical and cultural value. It is a concrete manifestation of the Tujia people's religious beliefs, a bond that maintains the Tujia people's spiritual beliefs, and plays an irreplaceable role in enhancing the consciousness of the national group, national development, and national unity. Dancing funeral dances can not only give people the enjoyment of beauty and the influence of art, but also have reference significance for the performance and creation of modern dance. It is a long-standing "dance" as a crying art model contributed by the Tujia people to mankind, and a living fossil for the study of anthropology, ethnology, folklore, art and other disciplines. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)