*Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon Dance

*Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon Dance

Nominating Unit: City of Jieyang

Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon, also called “flaming dragon”, is mainly performed among the villages of Qiaodong, Qiaoxi, Qiannan and their neighboring areas of Qiaolin Township, Dongshan District, City of Jieyang. Legend has it that a young gifted archer Lin Xiaolong defeated the bandits with only one fire arrow in the Ming Dynasty. And, villagers of Qiaolin celebrated the victory with “fireworks dragon”. This practice then turned into a local custom, and has been practiced generation after generation. It is also said that it has even been introduced to the areas around Kundian in Indonesia by overseas Chinese originated from Chaozhou.

Every year, Qiaolin Township will have dragon parade, dragon dance and dragon burning according to local customs. From the fifth of January in the lunar calendar, people will start stuffing the nine-segment dragon prop, which is 30 to 40 meters long, with all kinds of fireworks and fire rockets, including the head, the body, the tail, the eyes, the mouth, the throat, and the mustache of the dragon. The dragon burning show will be carried out in the evening of the 10th of January in the lunar calendar. This is a busy evening for the local villagers in Qiaolin Township. Every household will put on lanterns and stay up all night, just to see the spectacular “fireworks dragon”.

Before Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon show starts, the troupe, which is composed of more than 30 strong young men, must first go on fast and bathe themselves, then get on with the show wearing a bamboo hat, a pair of shorts, and without any clothes on the upper body. When the show starts, all fireworks and fire rockets on the dragon prop will be lit up at the same time, then torches and dragon pearls will lead the way. People lift the dragon high up, circle around the perimeter with all kinds of movements and patterns. The movements are mostly simple, accurate, swift, and smooth. Most specially, all of a sudden, blue light will come out of the dragon’s eyes, and flames come out of its mouth, shooting out fireballs of all sizes. The dragon body also blows out colored sparks. The “willow fireworks” on the tail burns like a waterfall, presenting an image of sparkling and flickering golden dragon. At the same time, firecrackers will go off all around, making a thundering sound. “Ground fireworks” will go off everywhere, like a floating sea of flowers. Lightening and fire will fill the sky, accompanied by gunpowder smokes, forming another magnificent scene of giant dragon breaking the cloud, rising into the sky, and touring the world.(https://www.daowen.com)

As a form of traditional dragon dance, Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon gives the audience a very different experience. Its rough, mighty, and bold styles are a unique embodiment of the dragon culture in Chaoshan area.

The locals often say, “when the gongs and drums are heard, it is time to burn the dragon, and hearts will be excited; fireworks will be seen when the dragon burns and we will be joyous.” This proves the locals’ strong affection toward Qiaolin Fireworks Dragon. However, due to the influence of market economy and the impact brought by business and imported cultures, this traditional dragon dance is faced with severe challenge and crisis. Especially, the fire dragon making and performing population is diminishing. Urgent protective measures are needed.

It was enlisted into the second batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.