Jinhua Dragon Lamp
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Country/Region:
Mainland China
Release Year:
Release Year:
Story:
Initially, the dragon lantern festival begins with a lantern welcoming team composed of the entire village's residents, who gather at the ancestral temple to retrieve the dragon's head. Then, professional drummers and gong players proceed to each household in the village, connecting a section of bench to the dragon lantern in order. The traditional bench dragon lantern of Jinhua is thus formed by connecting these sections one by one, stretching for hundreds of meters and winding its way around the village, circle after circle. As the climax of the festival, the盘龙灯 (Panlongdeng, literally "coiling dragon lantern") concludes the celebration by bringing the entire bench dragon lantern to the center of the most spacious playground in the village, where it begins to coil inward in circles until the dragon's head is at the innermost point, and then coils outward circle by circle.
Initially, the dragon lantern festival begins with a lantern welcoming team composed of the entire village's residents, who gather at the ancestral temple to retrieve the dragon's head. Then, professional drummers and gong players proceed to each household in the village, connecting a section of bench to the dragon lantern in order. The traditional bench dragon lantern of Jinhua is thus formed by connecting these sections one by one, stretching for hundreds of meters and winding its way around the village, circle after circle. As the climax of the festival, the盘龙灯 (Panlongdeng, literally "coiling dragon lantern") concludes the celebration by bringing the entire bench dragon lantern to the center of the most spacious playground in the village, where it begins to coil inward in circles until the dragon's head is at the innermost point, and then coils outward circle by circle.
Casts & Crews:
Fangying TAO
Directors
Runtime:
4
minutes
Language:
Mandarin
Subtitles:
Chinese, English
Tags:
#Folk-Customs #Intangible-Cultural-Heritage #Bench-Dragon #Jinhua
Director‘s Statement:
Every year during the first lunar month, the city of Jinhua in Zhejiang Province holds the Dragon Lantern Festival. This festival has originated from traditional Chinese culture, and according to legend, dragon dancing had already become an important performance activity in both the imperial court and the folk during the Tang and Song dynasties, reaching its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nowadays, it has evolved into a folkloric event with local characteristics, comprising several parts such as welcoming the dragon's head, connecting the dragon lanterns, welcoming the dragon lanterns, coiling the dragon lanterns, and sending off the dragon's head. I believe that in today's era filled with technological advancements, people lack communication with each other. This sacred and unadorned folk cultural activity, the Dragon Lantern Festival, tightly binds everyone's hearts and minds together. It is a crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese nation. Therefore, I have been thinking that as young people, we should strive to protect this intangible cultural heritage, while illuminating the blend of tradition and modernity. I also hope that more people will come to understand the dragon lantern culture of Jinhua.
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Casts & Crews
Fangying TAO
Director
