December 2016

Home , Hani people, Peacock dance, Torch Festival, Yang Liping, Yi people

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

Contemporary Chinese Performance Artist Yang Liping’s Regional

Transculturalism

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre

Gaoyingshan Feng

December 2016

ii The Master’s thesis of Gaoyingshan Feng is approved:

______

Professor Kari Hayter Date

______

Professor J’aime Morrison Date

______

Professor Ah-jeong Kim, Chair Date

California State University, Northridge

iii Acknowledgements

Since the first day I enrolled in the Theatre Department, I have spent 700 days and nights studying and working with the help of professors of the Department, and now is the moment to give thanks. My greatest gratitude goes to my advisor, friend and mentor

Professor Ah-Jeong Kim for her meticulous guidance and unwavering encouragement through my years at California State University, Northridge. In addition, I thank

Professor Kari Hayter and Professor J’aime Morrison for their support, inspiration and guidance. I thank Lauren W. Deutsch, producer/director of Pacific Rim Arts, a cross- cultural arts consultancy bridging traditional and contemporary arts, provided valuable academic editorial support on this thesis. www.pacificrimarts.org It is a great journey to study theatre courses at California State University Northridge. I would like to take this opportunity to express my earnest gratitude to my thesis committee professors for their unconditional dedication and support. This thesis would not have been possible without their help.

Last, but definitely not least, I deeply thank my parents and friends who offered trust, encouragement, devotion and support through the hard yet hopeful times.

iv Table of Contents

Signature Page iii

Acknowledgement iv

Abstract vi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Life and Background of Yang Liping As a Woman and a Minority 16

Chapter 2: Dynamic Yunnan from an Intercultural Viewpoint 39

Chapter 3: Multiculturalism to Transculturation: From the Perspective of Dynamic 64

Yunnan

Conclusion 75

Works Cited 78

Appendix 82

v Abstract

Contemporary Performance Artist Yang Liping’s Regional Transculturalism

Gaoyingshan Feng

Master of Arts in Theatre

This thesis explores a contemporary Chinese performance artist, Yang Liping’s work, including her dance theatre as well as native and folk musical dance dramas. Yang

Liping is an intercultural and multicultural phenomenon in China, distinguished from her contemporaries in her modern use of both China’s native and folk songs and dances, specifically indigenous to Yunnan province. Her performance art blends Chinese folk and popular music and dance in which native tradition and contemporary culture, native art and modern stage art coalesce. Musical dance drama Dynamic Yunnan reproduces

China’s native music and dance on the stage. This thesis argues for Yang Liping as a representative figure in leading the discovery, conservation, and development of native music and dance of Chinese minorities, specifically of Yunnan region.

An in-depth analysis of her representative dance pieces and especially her Dynamic

Yunnan elucidates the significant achievement of Yang Liping in the larger context of globalization.

vi Introduction

Yang Liping (b. 1958) is a contemporary Chinese leading dancer, choreographer, director, and star of Dynamic Yunnan, an original large-scale music-dance drama. In 2003, Yang Liping composed, choreographed, directed, produced and starred in Dynamic Yunnan making a significant contribution to the development of contemporary Chinese performance art. The 100- minute-long Dynamic Yunnan incorporated music and dance traditions of Yi, Dai, Tibetan and

Wa people. Yi, Dai, Tibetan and Wa people are ethnic minorities of the Yunnan Province in the

People’s Republic of China. These Chinese ethnic minorities are distinguished from each other based on language (dialects), customs, and religion. After its 2003 debut on the stage of Yunnan

Auditorium, Dynamic Yunnan became a representative piece about the ethnic minorities in the

Yunnan region. Spurred by the enthusiastic response from the live audiences, the Dynamic

Yunnan has been made available to a wider Chinese audience through television, film theatres where DVD version was played. Dynamic Yunnan helped made Yang Liping a household name in China. Dubbed as a “Peacock Princess,” she became an international star.

Dynamic Yunnan is said to have depicted the romantic past of the human struggles against nature since ancient times (Chen, Jingdong). It showed the context, vision and meaning of life during the process of human evolution. In the fast-changing world economy and culture impacted by mass communication, ethnic minorities’ customs and traditions are considered endangered and their art, music, and dance possibly face a threat of extinction. In this context, folk music and dance forms as contained in the new and innovative Dynamic Yunnan have cultural significance beyond the aesthetic and economic values.

1 Yang Liping is a member of the Bai ethnic minority from Dali Bai Autonomous

Prefecture of Yunnan Province. Raised by her mother, Yang Liping grew up in a divorced family with two little sisters and a younger brother. Her childhood memories are mostly related to poverty. But she remained positive toward life. Her love of art and dance kept her positive attitude against adversity. She discovers dancing central to her identity and life (Yu, Ping). It is important to note that Yang Liping never received formal training in dance, music, or drama. In

1971, she joined the Song and Dance Ensemble Performance Troupe of Xishuangbanna Dai

Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. This dance troupe was incorporated on November

1, 1954, it mainly engaged in the Dai theater, folk music and dance. Yang Liping was inspired of creating Dai dance while working with this dance troupe. And in 1980, she transferred to China

Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble, this performance group is based in Beijing, it is the only national-level performance group representing China's ethnic minorities. It was founded in

September 1952 by Premier Zhou Enlai. Today, with over 300 members representing 36 ethnic groups, it has performed in over 70 countries and gives over 100 performances each year.(Yin,

Jianhong)

In 1986, she achieved fame for choreographing and performing in the dance piece Spirit of the Peacock, and by 1988 she was rated as one of the top 10 “Newsmakers of the Year” by

Beijing Daily. In 1989 a video The Dance Art of Yang Liping was produced, making her dance work widely available to the general public. The Spirit of the Peacock was a 7-minute-long dance drama, which made Yang Liping’s name synonymous with the “Peacock Princess.” She exquisitely depicted three stages of movements of a peacock “standing against the wind,”

“jumping and spinning,” and “spreading wings to fly” in every detail, but Yang’s performance was much more than physical resemblance to the movements of the bird. The dancer embodied the soul and the body of the “peacock” through her meticulous choreography and execution of

2 her dance movements idiosyncratic to Yang Liping as the “sorceress of dance” or “goddess of dance” (www.chinaculture.org.)

Over the years, she has visited many countries for cultural exchanges and hosted dancing events in the Philippines, Singapore, Russia, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan and other countries and regions. Yang Liping also wrote, directed and starred in the film Sun Bird, which won the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival. In 1992, she became the first dancer from People’s Republic of China to perform in Taiwan. People’s Republic of China

(PRC, aka “Mainland China”) and Republic of China (ROC, aka “Taiwan”) are one country.

However, after World War II, PRC and Taiwan severed all economic or cultural exchanges with each other due to ideological differences. Economic and cultural exchanges between PRC and

Taiwan did not resume until the late 1990s. Yang visited Taiwan during the time of political tension as both PRC and Taiwan did not recognize any ties with each other. It is significant that

Yang Liping visited Taiwan to become a sensation to be dubbed as “Goddess of Dance” by her audiences in Taiwan. As a woman and an ethnic minority, Yang Liping helped open the doors to the hearts of the people in Taiwan with her dance drama. Culture and arts often accomplish when politics falter. In 1994, her solo dance, Spirit of the Peacock, won the Gold Award of 20th Century from China’s National Classic Dance Work (Yang, Jing).

In 2016, Yang Liping holds the positions of Vice Chairman of the 10th Chinese Dancers

Association, National Class-A Actor and member of the Committee of Experts of Chinese

National Folk Dance Examination, and for which she receives “special government allowance” issued by the State Council (Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan). Yang Liping’s success is a feat for all women performers. Throughout the history of China and the world, women have always played secondary roles, and there are only a handful of respected female theatre-dance masters such as Martha Graham. Yang Liping is to be counted among those few for her indomitable spirit

3 and her accomplishments, especially considering the context of patriarchal Chinese society. Yang

Liping’s incorporation of traditional and native arts of singing and dancing from minorities in

Yunnan needs intercultural investigation. Her intercultural effort to rediscover dance and songs of ethnic minorities in China and recreate her innovative dance drama such as Dynamic Yunnan is specifically a successful example of an intercultural practice.

Yang Liping’s performance art has been shaped by her life experiences as a woman and as a minority from the region of Yunnan, and a dancer. Her dancing style and artistic expressions draw from her experiences of the deep forests of Yunnan and everyday life of the people whose survival depends on the land. Yang believes that nature is the embodiment of ultimate beauty.

Through this deep connection with her culture, she tries to reflect people’s dreams in the simplest language. People who witness her dancing report they enter her dreamland, and are impressed by the beauty she presents. By using familiar images to express people’s inner state, space, dream and awareness, her dance is often referred to with such expressions as “spirit” and “soul” and said to give the impression of transcendence, spaciousness, indifference, expressiveness and self- awareness. She is dubbed as a “dancing poet” (CCTV-10, People Column, Science and

Education Channel)

Contemporary Folk Dance Theatres in China

Folk dance theatres in China today are colorful, dynamic, and expressive in various categories of arts—costumes, make up, music, dance, and movements. Chinese folk dances have gone through constant changes through creativity and innovation along with the changes of history. China is an ancient civilization with a vast territory, a large population and a long history. Long years of history and rich cultural heritage have developed diverse folk dance

4 traditions representative of 56 ethnic groups in China. The majority of Han nation and 55 ethnic minorities in China developed their unique languages, customs, cultures, religions and so on.

Folk dances of all the countries in the world have made an important supplement for the traditional culture and long history of a country or a nation with the form of body languages and charming dynamic styles, and have developed into a kind of unique performing arts with strong continuity and communicability, crafts and culture.

Among 56 ethnic groups in China, the Han accounts for over 90% of the total population.

Broad residential zones and completely different natural environment form the regional characteristics with a large variety of folk dances and different styles of the Han Nationality.

The traditional Yangko Dances in North China can be divided into Shanbei Yangko, Northeast

Yangko, Hebei Yangko and Shandong Yangko. Popular lantern festivals in Southern China can be divided into Yunnan Lantern Festivals, Guangxi Caidiao Opera, and Fujian Tea Leaves-

Picking. Folk dances in Northern China are known for their vigorous expressions, while folk dances in Southern China are beautiful, delicate, and graceful. Flower-drum Lantern in Huaihe

Region located between Yellow River and the Yangtze River draws the merits of both Northern and Southern China, forming the characteristics with hardness and softness, males are vigorous, and females are pretty and charming. (Chinese Folk Dance Culture)

Dragon Dance is the most characteristic of the Han folk dance forms. Dragon Dance is known for the movements in oddly-shaped forms in the air. Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, Stilts,

Fish-lantern and others in China show its elegant demeanor thoroughly.(Luo Xiongyan)

Although the proportion ratio of the other 55 ethnic minorities is small, their living area accounts for 50-60% of the total area of China. Some nations live in the grassland, plateau,

5 mountains, frontiers, and so on, with great variations in the natural environment. These characteristics are reflected in the folk dances of all nations, forming various colorful dance forms, such as Mongols, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities in the northern pasture, dances mostly reflect the nomadic life, with strong actions and intense rhythm, while dances of the

Zhuang Nationality, Li Nationality, Hani Nationality, and other ethnic minorities in the southern agricultural region mostly reflect tea leaves-picking, rice-grinding, and other daily activities, with gentle actions and soothing rhythm. In ethnically mixed areas such as Yunnan Province, there are many transnational dance forms, “Elephant-foot Drum Dance,” a folk dance of the Dai

Nationality originally, prevails also in the ethnic minorities living close to Jingpo, Achang,

De’ang and other living areas of the Dai Nationality, while Lusheng Dance, Bronze Drum

Dance, and Shigong Ritual Dance are prevalent in the Miao, Zhuang, Dong and other ethnic minorities located in the southwest. Dragon Dance and Lion Dance, widely circulated in the

Han Nationality areas, are widely spread as well in the Dong, Bouyei, Miao, Qiang and other ethnic minorities. In addition, there are still many relics of Shaman sacrificial dances existing in

Mongols, Manchu, Daur Nationality and other ethnic minorities in the northeast of China. All these folk dances come from life, reflecting the ideals, emotions and love of labors, ebullient, or soft and delicate, full of strong local flavor, with simple and natural affective characteristics as well. (Collected Essays of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance)

Since 1949, Chinese folk dances have made remarkable achievements, and created a large number of outstanding dance works. In early 1950s, in order to promote the national folk dances,

Chinese government carried out the work of “Saving Legacy” on a large scale, on one hand, to investigate, collect and arrange the dances of all the nations scattered in folk; and on the other hand, to inherit and develop the opera dances, so as to make them become the independent

6 national classical dance arts in China.(Chinese Art Developing Report) In the late 50s, a large number of outstanding dance works emerged, for example, Red Silk Dance in Northeast China,

Flower-drum Dance in Hunan and Yunnan, Lotus Dance in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Peacock

Dance in Yunnan, Flying Apsaras in Northwest China, and others won international awards.

Since 1980s, a large number of Chinese new dancers have gone deep into life consciously, learnt from the masses, and seriously learnt the folk dances seemingly “primitive” and “rough,” but the most vivid, with the most vitality and most cultural values. (Chinese Art Developing

Report) They collected and sorted out these “national treasures” systematically and scientifically.

Some choreographers selected dance materials and elements with the most national aesthetic characteristics for refining, processing and innovation.

Folk dance is a reflection of social life, and a most effective art form that expresses people’s thoughts and feelings. Innovation is the soul of a nation, and it can be seen that the innovation of folk dances is of great practical significance to improve the artistic quality and characters of folk dances. Folk dances cannot develop without innovation. However, innovation shall not only reflect the new theme of the times, rather than simplistically learning or using the exotic dance forms, but also shall make efforts to grasp the national main body spirit of folk dances, and focus on grasping the ontological attributes of folk dances. (Chinese Art Developing Report). Likewise, the emphasis on the innovation and modernization of folk dances does not mean that the nationality can be weakened, abandoned and transformed, but to lay special stress on strengthening, highlighting and carrying forward the national main body spirit of folk dances .(Collected Essays of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance).

7 In the primitive society, dances stemmed from an impulse of life--the desire and strength for existence. The most primitive and natural thinking activities of human beings made dances become a symbol and continuation of human civilization. In thousands of years, the folk dances have been playing an important role in the social life of different tribes, such as the prayer for harvest, worship of God, and celebration of victory, etc. These unique folk dance art forms have always played a important role in the life customs of all nations. As different nations developed under different social, historical, political and cultural premises, various differences appear between different cultures. For example, Lusheng and “Lusheng Dance” of the Miao Nationality has a long history. The Miao people believe that they are descendents of the nation’s primogenitor, Lusheng, an ethnic instrument, which symbolizes the mother of the Miao people, and the sound from Lusheng is the mother’s voice. “Tiger Dance” and “Left Foot Dance” of the

Yi Nationality express the affection for mothers and ancestors from Yi people with the simple dance movements; “Peacock Dance” and “Fish Dance” of the Dai ethnic group describe the harmony between the Dai people and the nature. Such diverse cultural traditions and experiences affected the dances of different tribes for a long time. Therefore, folk dance performances reveal the essence of each ethnic group beyond their body languages. . In this sense, if a nation can keep its own cultural traditions and customs, the nation’s emotions and personality will not perish, that is, to preserve the ethos of the nation. Therefore, if the contemporary dance performing artists want to inherit and develop these cultural traditions of the past, they must delve deeply into the culture of the given ethnic group firstly, and respectfully learn from their folk artists. Only by understanding the characteristics of cultural history and traditions of folk dances and comprehending the humanistic spirit connotation in folk dances can we do better on the inheritance and innovation of folk dances.

8 Thus it can be said that an excellent choreographer is worthy of the nation and the times to assume the heavy responsibility of the development and innovation of our folk dances, with the solid life foundation and accomplished skills.. Knowledge is the driving force of innovation. In the times of Knowledge Explosion, our choreographers shall continue to achieve self- improvement as well. Choreographers shall also try to shape themselves as better educated and research-oriented artists. Only such kind of better educated and scholar-oriented artists needed in the times can really assume the heavy responsibility of the development and innovation on folk dances.

Yang Liping is a pioneer as a woman and an ethnic minority to re-invent the folk dance forms in her dance performing arts. She learned the folk dance traditions from the native folk artists. She sought knowledge and skills from the grass-roots people of the ethnic groups learning the dance forms first-hand. Systematic arrangement and teaching achieves standardization, so that students can easily and accurately grasp the styles. However, there are different levels existing in each aspect, so the work is great and unfinished forever. Yang Liping pays attention to learn their very authentic, vivid and lively dances. In terms of the situations of these dances tending to be scattered and irregular, or even implicit sometimes, she skillfully combines these sporadic and naturally reproduced dances in different styles into systematic large-scale song and dance drama, which is a very specific systems engineering. Through exploration step by step, accumulation for long years, persistence, prolonged efforts, and collective strength, Yang Liping creates her signature work, Dynamic Yunnan, for the global audiences.

Dynamic Yunnan is the essence of Yang Liping’s dance arts, the perfect summary for the artistic pursuit in her whole life, a concrete practice for her to protect, inherit, and carry forward the original ecological culture of ethnic minorities in Yunnan, and a great contribution to the

9 Chinese cultural and artistic stage. Dynamic Yunnan has now become a performance model: the comprehensive display of dances, music, singing, all kinds of sounds from animals and plants, primitive worship and prayer, scenic effects and so on, all of which are provided with Yang

Liping’s personal charisma and her superb performance abilities. Following the Dynamic

Yunnan, Yang Liping presented a successive programs such as the Sound of Yunnan, Tibetan

Esoteric Buddhism, Peacock and other works. To this day, the Dynamic Yunnan remains Yang

Liping’s signature master work, exploring Dynamic Yunnan is to study Yang Liping’s world of arts in dancing and singing performance while stealing a glimpse at her life as an artist.

This thesis will examine Yang Liping’s performance art through the theoretical framework of interculturalism and as an ethnic studies case in China. Contrary to the common misconception worldwide, China is a multi-cultural nation with 56 ethnic minorities. Overshadowed by Beijing and Shanghai, the region of Yunnan is less known in all aspects of Chinese achievements, especially in the area of performance arts. Yang Liping’s performances are distinctly of the

Yunnan region yet her creations are new in her modern presentations. My hypothesis is that Yang

Liping’s exploration of Yunnan minority culture is an example of transcultural regionalism. Her performance aesthetics build upon the intra-cultural search for her own past tradition (Yunnan) while pursuing a transcendental style for a larger audience beyond Yunnan and even China toward a global community.

Yang Liping’s dance piece Dynamic Yunnan, as well as her choreographic composition piece,

The Soul of the Peacock have been widely known throughout China. Dynamic Yunnan, in particular, has set a higher bar for China’s ethnic music and dance in a theatrical setting. This work is noteworthy in the fields of ethnomusicology and dance ethnology in that the ethnic music and dance are developed into a new performance art form embodied by a single dancer- choreographer-performer, Yang Liping.

10 In studying Yang Liping’s performance art, it is necessary to explore the geographic and historical background about Yunnan. Home to a population of 4.3 million, fertile Yunnan

Province, covering 394,000 sq. km (1995), is located in the southwest border of China. Its perimeter is 864.9 km from east to west and 990 km from north to south. It is bordered on the east by Guizhou Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; on the northeast, it is separated by Sichuan Province by Jinsha River on the northwest. Its 4061 km boarders with

Tibet, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, makes it one of the Chinese provinces with the longest international land border (Guan Ming, Chinese Geography).

With a total of 56 distinct ethnicities, China has been a multi-ethnic country since ancient times. Its current population is over 1.3 billion, of whom the ethnic Han comprise the largest proportion, or 92 percent. Because the other 55 ethnic groups amount to the balance, they are known as ethnic minorities. While members of ethnic minorities can be found living together in concentrated communities in small areas, there are also dispersed throughout the country. Ethnic minorities inhabit Han regions, and vice versa. This distribution pattern is the result of national interaction and migration throughout the long historical development process.

Home to 26 ethnic minorities, Yunnan is the Chinese province with the most ethnic

groups. Apart from Han, there are 25 ethnic groups, including Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai,

Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Wa, Nakhi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Bouyei, Pumi, Nu, Achang, De’ang,

Jino, Sui, Mongol, Blang, Derung and Manchu, which constitute one-third of the population of

the province.

Three large groups, Qiang, Pu and Yue were the forefathers of the current population of

Yunnan peoples and collectively known as “south-westerners.” After continuous migration,

differentiation, evolution and integration, the distribution and characteristics of these ethnic

groups finally became stabilized during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)

11 Dynasties. The Yi people settled mainly in the northeast, central and north of Yunnan Province;

the Bai people are found around Erhai Lake and surrounding areas; the Zhuang and the Miao

people live in the east and southeast of Yunnan Province; Lisu, Nu, Derung, Hani, Dai, Lahu,

Wa, Jingpo, Nakhi, Tibetan, Achang and De’ang inhabit the west, south and northwest of

Yunnan Province. On top of that, the dimensional distribution of all ethnic groups is distinct.

Bai, Zhuang, Hui and Nakhi ethnic groups reside on flat dams; Dai and Achang reside in low

and hot valleys; Yi, Hani, Lahu, Wa, Jingpo, Blang, Yao and Derung reside on mountainside;

Miao resides on alpine areas; Tibetan and Pumi reside on the northwest of Yunnan Plateau;

Lisu, Nu and Derung reside in mountain areas along Nu River and N’Mai River (Chinese

Geography). This complex pattern of population distribution presents that Chinese ethnic

groups live together over vast areas while some live in individual concentrated communities in

small areas. With these ethnic minorities living harmonious together thousands of years, they

interact and exchange cultural influences. But they preserve their ethnic authenticity through

different languages, customs, and belief systems. Yang Liping is the first major force that

brings these ethnic minorities together into her performance piece (http://www.mzb.com.cn/).

Academic research on China and minorities of Yunnan and harmonious relations among

minorities of Yunnan for the promotion of arts and culture is scarce in English language. The

significance of this study is that it explores, for the first time, Yang Liping and her performance

art as a successful example of transcultural performance artist who came from a regional

background to raise awareness of China’s minority performance art with global audiences.

Transculturation is a theoretical concept used in the discourse of intercultualism and performance. The notion of “transculturation” is “not a theatrical phenomenon but a social one,” according to Diana Taylor (“Transculturating” 60). Taylor states,

12 The existence of theatrical hybrids (such as Peter Brook’s Mahabharata) does not

necessarily represent the deeper and more global shifts of tansculturation in a society.

Transculturation affects the entire culture; it involves the shifting of socio-political, not

just aesthetic, borders; it modifies collective and individual identity; it changes

discourse, both verbal and symbolic. (61)

On a personal level, the relationship between “I” (self) and the other is that we are two individuals existing in the same process of the transmission. We understand and accept the difference, understand the sense of ego in the difference, and build the mutual understanding in the conversation. How does one realize transculturation? It is a problem lying in the process of understanding and communication among people from different cultural backgrounds, and is a question that should be answered in the process of continuous cultural exchanges.

Carl Weber explains in his article, “AC/TC Currents of Theatrical Exchange,”

“transculturation” is

meant to signify a transfer of culture, or intercultural exchange, from one country or

society to another. “Trans-fer” implies “trans-port” which, consequently, implies

“import” as well as “export” –all of these being terms of trade and commerce.

(Weber 27)

Commercialism is an essential concern for Yang Liping’s performance art, as she has attained fame and commercial success with her work. But this thesis is not interested in highlighting her commercial endeavors. Rather it intends to study Yang Liping’s work as an example of transculturation in the sense of Ferdinand Ortiz’s definition of the term. He is quoted in Diana Taylor’s article, “Transculturating Transculturation,”

13 [Ortiz] writes that “the term transculturation better expresses the different phases in the

transitive process from one culture to another, because this process does not only

implay the acquisition of culture. . . but it also necessarily involves the loss or uprooting

of one’s preceding culture. . . Moreover, it signifies the subsequent creation of new

cultural phenomena that one could call neoculturation.” (Taylor 62)

This thesis analyzes Yang Liping’s authentic performance art to examine her Dynamic

Yunnan as an example of Yang’s transcultural effort through which she attempts to transmit, and ultimately transcend traditional and original native arts of singing and dancing from the minorities in Yunnan.

Besides the issues of ethnic minority, Yang Liping is a woman. Yang Liping shows and interprets the power of the female not only through her personal attributes but also through her performance art. When she was interviewed, Yang Liping stated that women should build themselves as creative human beings, and practice the discourse of feminism as the subject not as the object (Interview, China Beijing TV Station, 1988). Yang Liping advocates for women’s status, liberation, and development—the main narrative of the feminism ideology worldwide. Her creativity, success, and her personal tenacity as a woman and a minority make Yang Liping a leading female figure in contemporary Chinese society.

Multiculturalism is not only a long process of historical development, but the inevitable trend of historical development. China advocates national harmony beyond the cultural and ethnic diversity. Multiculturalism has always thrived in the long Chinese history but it does not mean to imply that diversity superseded integration. China has always maintained its national identity through integration. There have been two specific patterns of manifestation: one is that inferior nations or groups eventually assimilate into the mainstream Chinese culture; the other is

14 that sometimes advanced nations or groups integrate into the lesser nations or groups. Either way, the mainstream Chinese culture continued despite the historical and social upheavals throughout its long history. The ethnic minorities of Yunnan have lived in harmony for a long time influencing each other within the confines of the mainstream Chinese society. Yang Liping exemplifies a multicultural performance artist who utilizes her ethnic background in valorizing minority culture and heritage in her new, authentic performance art for the contemporary Chinese as well as global audiences.

This thesis is divided into three main Chapters. Chapter I will present the life and background of Yang Liping as a woman and a minority tracing her career as a “Peacock

Princess.” Using the framework of “Interculturalism,” Chapter II will analyse Yang Liping’s

Dynamic Yunnan from intracultural and intercultural viewpoints. Chapter III will focus on the significance of promoting and protecting native music and dance from the perspective of

Dynamic Yunnan.

15 Chapter 1: Yang Liping—a Peacock Princess

As a choreographer-dancer, Yang Liping collected and refined the folk dances she saw and learned when she lived and traveled in Yunnan from 2000 to 2010. Besides dance and choreography, Yang Liping also successfully pursued acting in various media including television and films. In China, it is common that traditional dancers or martial artists turn to acting in television dramas or films.”

In 2002, Yang Liping performed the role of “Mei Chaofeng” in the film, “The Legend of the

Condor Heroes.” Mei Chaofeng is a fictional female character from a renowned Hong Kong writer Jin Yong’s Kung fu novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. 1 Mei Chaofeng is a highly accomplished martial artist. In 2003, since the publication of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, it has been adapted to a television drama multiple times, and Mei Chaofeng has been played by many famous actresses.

Jin Yong said Yang Liping gave “the best interpretation of Mei Chaofeng.” In 1992, Yang

Liping became the first dancer from People’s Republic of China to give a live and TV performance in Taiwan. Chinese mainland and China Taiwan have been separated since the

World War II. Chinese mainland and Taiwan stopped all the economic or cultural communication

2 Jin Yong, male, born on Mar 10, 1924, in Zhejiang, China, is a fiction writer of martial arts and chivalry, journalist, entrepreneur, political pundit and social activist. In the autumn of 1946, he joined Ta Kung Pao as translator of international telecommunication. In 1952, he was transferred to New Evening Post as an editor of its supplement and wrote film scripts for The Peerless Beauty and When You Were Not with Me. In 1959, he co-founded the Hong Kong daily Ming Pao. From 1996 to 1997, he acted as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. In 1998, he was granted Lifetime Achievement Award in Creative Writing by the Hong Kong government. In 2000, he was granted the Grand Bauhinia Medal by Hong Kong government. In September 2009, he was hired as the Honorary Vice-President of the 7th National Committee of China Writers Association. In the same year, he was granted Lifetime Achievement Award You at the 2008 Bring Charm to the World Award Ceremony. His other awards include Chevalier, Legion of Honor, French government (1992), and OBE, Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1981).

16 with each other. Economic and cultural exchanges between Chinese mainland and Taiwan began to recover in the late 1990s. Yang visited Taiwan at this period of time. She performed The Soul of Peacock, and it was televised. After her performance, Yang Liping said to the news reporter in her interview, “Dancing is the necessity of my life” and that she dances with her “heart” and expresses her thoughts and pursuit of life with her body (Jiang, Dong).

The Soul of Peacock lays a solid foundation for Yang Liping as a Chinese dancer

In 1986, she presented a solo dance The Soul of Peacock drawing upon the Dai tribe’s traditional peacock dance. Her imitation of peacock reached the acme of perfection, as she is said to have embodied the soul of peacock. It is not too much to say that she became famous overnight through TV.

In 1986, the solo dance The Soul of Peacock she created and performed won the 1st Prize of

Creation and 1st Prize of Performance in the 2nd National Dance Competition. The Soul of

Peacock left a strong impression for the viewers. The background of the piece left much room for imagination as the audiences imagined a Shangri-La, considered a paradise but an actual location where Tibetans inhabit or XiShuangBanNa, a place in Yunnan Province where Dai, Bai as well as other ethnic communities live harmoniously. XiShuangBanNa is a place that has fern leaf hedge, bamboo, peacock tree, Butterfly Festival, tight skirt and batik dyeing, villages of Dai and

Miao ethnic minority groups, bamboo house and pagoda, it is a tropical paradise.

Xishuangbanna architecture - china.org.cn

People celebrate the Water-Sprinkling Festival in Dai autonomous prefecture of

Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan province. The water-sprinkling festival, which is also the New Year festival of the Dai people, is a traditional folk activity celebrated by people of Dai ethnic group in China and also by people in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar etc. People sprinkle water to each other to pray for good fortune and safety during the festival. [Photo/Xinhua]

Girls pour water brought from the Lancang River into a jar in a ceremony held in Jinghong,

Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province April 15,

2009. People celebrate the annual and traditional Water Splashing Festival, which signifies the visit of spring (Xinhua/Qin Qing).

People splash water during a celebration in Jinghong, Dai Autonomous Prefecture of

Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province April 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Li Xiaoguo)

People perform a water-fetching ceremony by the Lancang River in Jinghong, Dai

Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province April 15, 2009.

(Xinhua/Qin Qing)

The peacock is important to Dai people. The Dai ethnic minority, which numbers 1,158,989, is distributed throughout the Dai Autonomous Region and the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous

Prefecture in Xishuangbanna in the southern part of Yunnan Province. Xishuangbanna is the home of the peacock, which the Dai people revere as a symbol of good fortune, happiness, beauty and kindness. Thus the Peacock Dance is their most popular folk dance. Performers in clothes with peacock patterns imitate peacocks with lively, flexible and graceful movements in a dance that is a popular part of the Water-splashing Festival. The Elephant-foot drum dance is another well known dance for men. This unique instrument is made of carved mango or ceiba trunk covered

22 with cowhide, and looks just like an elephant foot. The drum can be long, medium-sized, or short.

The dance done with a long drum appears very graceful, with the medium-sized one, it is vigorous with broad, sweeping movements; and with the short one, flexible and bright. (Inheritance and

Development of Dynamic Yunnan)

To the Dai people, the peacock is the most beautiful symbol of good fortune and reproduction of life - especially the image of peacocks spread their tails to attract the opposite sex. In Dai tradition, the peacock dance is usually performed by men accompanied by gongs and elephant-foot drums. To perform this dance is to present a eulogy of and express good wishes for a happy life. It is mostly performed on the New Year (Water-splashing Festival) of the Dai calendar, at the Gate Closing Festival, the Gate Opening Festival and some important religious events (Chinese Folk Dance Culture).

Peacock dance used to be a patent of Dai men, women were not allowed to participate.

However, during the 1950s, a few Chinese women started to study the Peacock dance. In order to express the pursuit of gender equality and the affection for the peacock, Yang created and performed a female peacock dance (Yunnan Folk Dance Research). Peacock's success proved that Yang Liping’s pursuit of gender equality made a success.

Techniques and ways of expressions of Yang Liping’s Peacock dance is different from the men’s version. She showed the effects and style which men can not express through the expression of women.

As a woman, Yang Liping is not afraid of pushing the boundary. The Peacock dance was once the male dance, but she break through as a woman with her dance, Yang Liping demonstrated her view of life, and her pursuit of life, and that is gender equality. “It is a male dance, men can dance, women can dance.”

In her interpretation as The Soul of Peacock on stage, under the spotlight, Yang Liping moves slowly and gracefully towards the center of the stage, she wears a white dress that falls to the ground, with embroidered water-drop shaped gold eyes on the dress. There is a peacock feather on her bun. She raises her left arm to make it look like a peacock’s neck. Then she forms her left palm to portray a peacock’s head; holds thumb and index finger to create the mouth; raises middle finger, ring finger and little finger to indicate three feathers of its head. When she lifts and spreads the dress with her right hand, it is as beautiful as a peacock spreading its tail.

Her head and chest, waist and hip and legs form “three curves,” which is the model of the peacock dance of Dai. She starts to dance, standing or crouching, kneeling or lying. Her peacock dance expresses through long eyebrows, dark blue eye shadows, slim hands and flexible waist.

She spins, shakes arms, lifts legs and moves hips.

Traditional Dai Dance. Photo courtesy of Landon Carter.

China – Kunming Auditorium “Dynamic Yunnan” Moon Dance by Yang Liping (Deniz

Bensason)

The recorded music accompanies her solo performance: after a brief humming of an ethnic girl’s voice, Dai cucurbit flute, bamboo flute, violin and three string guitar start to play alternatively. The melody is slow, deep and comforting. Not only the music, but also the costumes and stage props are all real ones of the ethnic people. The Song and Dance of the

Huayao Tribe of Yi ethnic group, a bright spot of Scene Two, arrested the audience not only with the splendid singing but also the colorful costumes, all sewed up by those singing girls themselves, each set costing four to five years (Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan).

What Yang Liping presents to the audience is a peacock in the deep forest; she is walking, drinking, playing with water, bathing, combing and drying feather, spreading tail, flying and

26 dancing. She is unrestrained and at ease. The sections when she coquets, stands against the wind, jumps and spins and spreads wings and flies attract the audience’s attention. Her left hand imitates the peacock’s head and neck, the arms imitate the peacock’s wings. Her slim fingers, wrists and arms twisting and shaking show Yang’s meticulous control and execution of each dance move.

The dance gradually reaches climax as the rhythm of music is getting faster: Yang Liping suddenly lifts her dress and swings it hard and spins quickly. This is probably why the male peacock is suddenly triggered somehow and gets extremely excited. It turns around to face the female peacock repeatedly, stamps feet, spreads wings and tries to earn the heart of the female peacock with its majestic appearance. Showing copulation on the stage is a taboo in China, however, the dancer is not afraid of violating taboo: most of the time, the light on the stage is rather dim. It shows the outline of her head, hands and waist. It is intentional to hide her facial features. It only illuminates her side or back to emphasize her hands and arms.

Yang Liping’s solo dance The Soul of Peacock took the traditional peacock dance of Dai ethnic community to a performance art that reaches a wider audience beyond the ethnic divisions.

Whereas the Dai dance of peacock pursued physical resemblance to the bird, Yang Liping’s dance version she evoked a refined spirit of the peacock. The spirituality embodied through the language of her body and musical accompaniment affected her audiences. According to The

Dancers Magazine, the gesture of holding thumb and index finger together with other fingers turning up has even become the symbol of Yang Liping (Ma Shengde 14).

Photo credit: Johannes Eisele

The peacock dance is the most famous among the Dai folk dances. Since the most well renowned dancers of the style, such as Dao Meilan and Yang Liping, are female, many people often mistakenly associate the art form only with female dancers. However, in Yunnan Province, the indigenous center of the Dai peacock dance, the dance has traditionally been performed by males who display masculinity and a primitive vitality. (GB Times) Yang Liping was not the first who put the Dai folk dance on stage, but she is the most appreciated folk dancer in the Chinese dance circle so far.(Figure Column) Chinese dancer Dao Meilan performed Dai folk dance on stage before Yang Liping. The elegance and grace of the peacock has served as the inspiration for many dancers preceding Yang Liping. Dao Meilan, born in 1944, is also called as the “Peacock

Princess” in China, known for her vivid imitation of this beautiful creature during her dance

28 performances. Dai dance has rich forms and styles with pronounced characteristics. Dancers always keep squat status of their lower part of the body, each of their body and arms joints have curves, a characteristic of the "three curves" dance styles begun to take shape. This unique style of dance and aesthetic features of Dai people are related to their life in the natural environment, their customs and geographical influences. Mao Xiang, Dao Meilan and Yang Li Ping are the three key figures in the development of Dai dance. Each of these dancers made contributions towards the modernization of the Dai dance. However, Yang Liping’s utilization of the Dai dance incorporates other influences beyond the Dai tribe. Her show features dance numbers from 20 ethnic groups in Southwest China such as the Yi, Dai, Bai, Jingpo, Va, Hani and Jino ethnic groups. This makes her work stand out among her contemporary peers as well as her predecessors. The Soul of Peacock is no longer a native folk dance limited to the region of

Yunnan is due to Yang Liping’s expansion and improvement on the basis of her predecessors

In 2000, a large-scale evening party, “Cheer for China,” was held in London. As the only invited dancer, Yang Liping performed the new version of The Soul of Peacock to great acclaim.

Yang Liping was candid in the interview,

I prefer the new version. The original edition was popular. The background music was

realistic; it had the sounds of bird singing and water running. It is easy to warm up the

audience, but it’s too cliché, too realistic and concrete. Before I traveled to London, I asked

Sanbao to rewrite the music of The Soul of Peacock. The new version has light rhythm. It

abandons the constraint of form and has spiritual and aesthetic feeling. I like it very much.

(Shi Yuzu)

29 It is fitting that Yang Liping’s main collaborator is an ethnic minority like herself. Sanbao, male, born June 1968 as Narisong, to a musician’s family. He is a Mongol ethnic minority from

Huhehaote, Inner Mongolia, China. His ancestral home is Horqin Left Middle Banner, Inner

Mongolia. He started to play violin at 4 years old and piano at 11 years old. At the age of 13, he entered the high school affiliated with the Music Department of Minzu University of China to study violin. In 1986, he enrolled in the Conducting Department of Central Music Conservatory.

San Bao’s collaboration with Yang Liping is another example of Yang’s multicultural effort. San

Bao brought Mongolian ethnic music elements into Yang Liping’s show. As a violin player, composer and conductor, San Bao knows a wide range of Chinese ethnic music and Western classical music. His music combined with modern music and Mongolian folk music elements.

San Bao was seemingly born for music and the prairie is the niche of his soul. Each of his musical scores conveys the prairie's characteristics of constringency, quietness, fortitude and lenience, all details found in San Bao's music. The musical dance drama "Dynamic Yunnan" has been a major hit around China since it debuted. It has brought fame to the lead dancer and choreographer Yang Liping, but the credit for its success must also go to the celebrated composer

San Bao, whose rhythmic compositions accompany the exciting dance. Before becoming a freelance musician in 1997, San Bao worked for a number of symphony orchestras, including orchestras in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as well as the famous Central Ballet Symphony Orchestra and the China National Symphony Orchestra. San

Bao writes in a wide range of styles, and his works are always unpredictable. Sometimes classical, other times folk or pop, there are many different influences in his compositions. San

Bao describes himself as a pessimist, and most of his works are colored with traces of sadness.

(Chinese Folk Dance Culture)

30 Two Trees Reveals Yang Liping’s View of Love

In 1993, duo dance Two Trees Yang Liping created and performed on CCTV Spring

Festival Gala was voted No.1 by the Chinese audience. Two Trees is another representative classic of Yang Liping’s body of work. Her choreography projects dream of love as performed by herself and a male dancer Lu Ya. Two Trees not only presents the theme of eternal love, but also blends in natural objects and living scenes of a couple who are in love but cannot be together. The dance using natural object shape as a starting point, using Dai dance elements, portrayed the "tree" image, such as using Dai traditional dance of the foundation body posture and dynamic movements, these has become the image of the tree. After the couple die, two trees intertwined together grow out of their graves to express their eternal love. Art comes from life and goes beyond it. During the narrative, Yang Liping starts from a tree’s natural form and adopts the dancing language of Dai to describe the image of “tree.” She doesn’t rigidly follow choreographic rules for duet, but rather focuses on the exchange of “two trees.” On the basis of maintaining Dai ethnic dance style, the connection of movement and posture is exaggeratedly

“abstracted and twisted.” The movement starts from partial areas, from arm movement to quick wriggle and dynamic extension of the body to express the growing process of “lover trees.” The female’s movement seems soft compared to that of the male’s, which seems vigorous and strong.

While Yang Liping is good at choreographing Dai dances, her own creations and performances mark her work as a distinct school of its own. She builds her own style of dancing that takes advantage of her slender figure and soft body. The Yang “style” is defined by motion and quietness integrated into dance posture, and combining arm to shoulder rolling with the flexible “three curves” movement. Yang Liping shakes her shoulders, turns around,

31 poses, half squats, then turns and stretches one leg to present the “three curves”. Her leg movements are swift and the gestures are graceful.

The performance of Two Trees solidified Yang Liping’s personal style. The entire dance does not stray from the fixed movements of original Dai dance, and it is not constrained by programmed original Dai dance movements. With individualized modeling and dynamic lines of movement, it shapes the intertwined branches that break through the soil.

The inspiration of Two Trees comes from nature. Yang Liping recreated the traditional

Dai dance and incorporate with the basis of native folk style, which preserves the native characteristics. Yang Liping’s dance brought consciousness and body language of western modern dance into Chinese traditional dance. Though she performs native dance, the music element, choreography, movement and the concept of motivational development in her works are borrowed from the western concept. She also applies the concept of combination of

“modern and tradition” into the representation of native dance. In Two Trees, Yang Liping combines the native features with the abstract form of modern dance art and reconstruct the choreography concept of native dance (Luo, Xiongyan).

Isadora Duncan loves dance, when she was little she has talent on dancing, but because she could not bear the ballet strictly tedious stylized teaching, she did not had a formal dance education. “The ballet techniques are too mechanical, in addition to flaunting skills, the entire form and content are unable to express profound feelings.” Isadora Duncan lived in Chicago and New York before moving to Europe. There with brother Raymond she studied Greek mythology and visual iconography, which would inform her sensibilities and general style of movement as an artist. Duncan came to look at ancient rituals around dance, nature and the body as being central to her performance ideology. (Biography) “Isadora Duncan absorb the inspiration by the root of western culture - the ancient Greek - She took off her shoes, put on

32 the white robes, and performs the freedom of life through her dancing.” (Lin Huai-min) Isadora

Duncan not only made a development towards modern dance, but also paved a way for the classical ballet innovation. She said: “Dance is an original art, it is the kind of art that could awaken other arts”. It was way back in 1980 when Yang Liping left the soil of her birth to go and study at the China Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble in Beijing. Even though, Yang was the envy of many for this prestigious and much coveted opportunity, she had a hard time adjusting to the curriculum based on western classical dance. But she continued to practice her own style of dance outside of class and often, when everyone had gone to bed.(Chinese Folk

Dance Culture) Yang Liping and Isdora Duncan has these elements in common, this is their charm and character. It is because of their spirit of rebellion and bold behave to adapt, can modern dance and Yang Li Ping’s folk music and dance come into being.

This is beneficial for promoting and inheriting native dance, bringing native products to the world and letting the world to know native dance of our nations. Yang Liping’s modernization effort helps promote the Dai folk dance tradition to audiences beyond the

Yunnan region. Yang Liping incorporates her love of life and respect of nature into the entire work with no reservation, and combines exaggerating and dynamic body language with simple and native form of dance. Her modern and authentic recreation is imbued with vitality with its improved visual presentation.

One of the reasons that Two Trees is accepted and loved by a wide audience is the display of entirety via parts, the vivid depiction of intertwined trees and the presentation of curve of beauty and body features of Asian dance. In Yang Liping and her partner Lu Ya’s performance, the people and the “trees” are integrated. The dance presents trees with people, compares trees to people and reaches the state of identification of trees and self. The dance gives life, poetic sentiment and feelings to natural objects. Two Trees also brings the retrospect

33 of past times and love to the audience, but most importantly, the praise of the theme of people’s

eternal and holy love, which gives humanistic connotation to the dance and finally made it a

widely known classic dance work.

Two Trees was voted No.1 by the audience in 1993 CCTV Spring Festival Gala (a

program which has hundreds of millions of audience). CCTV, China Central Television,

commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the predominant state television broadcaster in People's

Republic of China. CCTV has a network of 45 channels broadcasting different programs and is

accessible to more than one billion viewers.

Moonlight Reveals People’s Desire of Freedom and Dreams

Dance is synonymous with the notion of beauty. Yang Liping’s performance art has

introduced various types of dance and possibilities to the new generation of audiences and

viewers throughout China. Meanwhile, I have personally watched performances of variety of

classic Chinese dances, including Yang Liping’s The Soul of Peacock and Two Trees, as well as

Korean Chinese dance artist Cui Meishan’s2 Long Drum Dance, Harvest Dance and Peacock

Dance, and young Chinese dance performer and artist Huang Doudou’s 3 Drunken Drum. Cui

2 Cui Meishan (1934-), female, Korean Chinese, is a dance artist. Born in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, she was raised in Ning’an, Heilongjiang Province. Majoring in dancing, she graduated from Central Academy of Drama in 1952. She was an actress of China National Song & Dance Ensemble, solo dancer of Oriental Song & Dance Ensemble, member of the 4th and 5th Chinese Dancers Association, and member of the 4th, 5th and 6th CPPCC. She has performed solo dance Long Drum Dance and Harvest Dance. She was the lead dancer of Peacock Dance, which was granted Gold Medal on the dance competition of the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957. 3 Huang Doudou, Han, male, born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang in February 1977, graduated from Beijing Dance Academy, is Chinese dance artist and National Class-A Actor. 1995, Performed live dance Drunken Drum on CCTV Spring Festival Gala. 2015, Attended to the media press of “Cultures of China: Lectures of Masters” in Los Angles, the U.S. 2015 (Nov. 19) Elected as the vice-president of the 10th Chinese Dancers Association. Graduated from Beijing Dance Academy, Huang Doudou is the art director of Shanghai Dance Theatre, National Class- A Actor, outstanding expert of Ministry of Culture (receives “special government allowance” issued by the Sate

34 Meishan’s version of the Peacock dance is more of a connotation of oriental beauty, it was a

group dance, they only have simple movements borrowed from the Men’s version of the

Peacock dance, and incorporated with long drum dance and Mongolian dance elements. And

their costumes were simple too compares to Yang’s, they were wearing a blue loose one-piece

dress printed with water drop shape decorate, it is not supose to be the typical Dai dress though,

the typical Dai dress is separated into two piece, top and bottom, and it has to be super tight in

order to show women’s three curves while dancing in the Peacock dance. And the music they

use was not Dai nor Yunnan music, it is more of a Northern music. It is not difficult to

understand because Cui Meishan was born in the North-East China. But at the same time, it is

missing the main elements from the ethnic Dai culture by using Northern music. People from

different provinces in China have different habit, and their music is different too. From the

instruments they use to the melodies and rhythms they create, are easily distinguishable among

Chinese audiences. Yang Liping’s Peacock dance is solo dance, and she spend years imitates

and recreated peacock’s emotions and life habits onto stage.

In Yang Liping’s work Moonlight, her experimental performance, when the curtains

opened slowly to reveal a bright moon as the background, the scene evoked a sense of mystery

and fantasy over the audience. Yang Liping’s orchid-like fingers, long nails and flowing body

start to move accompanied by soothing score. The spectacular part of her dance presentation

was her body’s constant twisting to form the characteristic Dai “three curves.” She looked like

a water snake swimming in the silver moonlight, evoking a feminine softness. As the music

sped up, her movements changed rhythmically, demonstrating control of her soft and flexible

Council), vice chairman of China Dancers Association, member of All-China Youth Federation, member of China Dancers Association, deputy to the People's Congress of Shanghai, vice chairman of Shanghai Dancers Association and ambassador of Love of China Children and Teenager’s Fund.

35 body. Each of the musical scores conveys the prairie's characteristics of constringency, quietness, fortitude and lenience, all details found in Sanbao’s music.(Chinese Folk Dance

Culture) Her presentation evoked the atmosphere of tropical forests with plants growing upwards and outwards, sending out the vibrant breath of life. I felt like entering a quiet and fresh environment and all of the organs and cells in my body were bathed in nature. It was peaceful yet thought-provoking. Unlike the more boisterous Drunken Drum, the pure and soft

Moonlight depicts an image of a goddess of moonlight and shows us her imagination and artistry.

When I was watching Moonlight, I was more impressed and stunned by the integration of

San Bao’s music with movement; Yang Liping has achieved combination of body performance and music in terms of rhythm, image and artistic conception. With the changes of the score’s rhythm, she sometimes displays static beauty and sometimes displays dynamic liveliness.

Moonlight’s complementary visual and aural effects combined into an elegant artistic state. To sum up, Moonlight is attractive, touching and unforgettable. This is not only because of the elegant dance postures, but also the hearty interpretation of Yang Liping. Yang Liping said in reflection, “I never consider dancing as a profession. Dancing is my life.” Moonlight reveals people’s desire of freedom and relief of body.

Spring Suggests the Emergence of Qualified Successors

Through her dance, Yang Liping also expresses tensions in life. It is a cultural sentiment, a pure and perfect world with no dust. It appeals to the emotion deep inside out hearts, and she uses her body to incisively and express her life’s spirit and love. When she was asked about

“Peacock Princess’s concept of love,” she answered wisely, “As the ‘Peacock Princess,” I won’t simply present the beauty of women to men. I would express my extensive love to stage

36 figures, such as ants, birds, trees, breeze, running water, etc. and consider them as my children.” In fact, for many years, she taught dancing to her sister’s daughter Xiaocaiqi, and on

2012 Spring Festival Gala held by Hunan TV, Yang Liping and Xiaocaiqi performed Spring together. This performance indicated to the world that she will have a qualified successor to preserve her artistic legacy.

After watching this special presentation of Spring on TV, as an audience member, I recalled the emotions I had when I was younger. At the beginning of Spring, Yang Liping and

Xiaocaiqi stood at the center stage, with Yang Liping’s back facing the audience and her body blocking the audience’s view of Xiaocaiqi who was upstage; it felt like Yang Liping was the only one on the stage. When the music commenced, the actors on the stage slowly moved their bodies, and Xiaocaiqi came into sight of the audience. Yang Liping’s and Xiaocaiqi’s hair was entangled. Xiaocaiqi and Yang Liping were to be regarded as the same, and that Xiaocaiqi will be the mirror image and the extension of the elder’s dream and effort to care for and train a worthy successor. As the music becoming cheerful, the actors moved faster; Yang Liping and

Xiaocaiqi movements were interactive; they echoed each other but were not completely the same. It is easy to imagine the days and nights that they spent together training in the dance studio. This evoked another layer of joy and happiness that flowed from their movement. At the end of this performance of Spring, Xiaocaiqi stood center stage, spinning around with her arms opened widely as if she was embracing the entire dancing world with her whole being.

Meanwhile, Yang Liping moved to one side of the stage and danced slowly. This ending confirmed a deeper meaning of Spring: Yang Liping trusted her dream and secured the legacy of her artistic oeuvre to Xiaocaiqi and let her protege glow on the dancing stage. The old being reborn, isn’t it a profound expression of “spring”?

37 Critics have found that Yang Liping creates unfathomable magic on stage. On

December 20, 2013, china.org.cn commented on Yang Liping’s performance as such, “For a long time, we called this mysterious dancer from remote mountains ‘witch,’ someone who is good at speaking with body.” Audience from Taiwan and Southeast Asia even referred to her as

‘the goddess of dance.’ For such a mystic messenger who delivers the natural vitality of the heaven and earth, her beautiful and light figure tells the rhythm of life (Chinese Folk Dance

Culture 18). Yang Liping’s dance is artistic with her soft and tender movements, inspiring memories of organic nature and human condition. At first, the language on her fingertips and wrists will impress the audience. Then her dance will reveal spirituality which comes from aesthetic pleasure. Yang Liping and her people live in the remote mountains of Yunnan where they are connected to mother nature. Acquiring spirituality from the connection of heaven and earth and the coordination of Yin and Yang, she has instinct and romantic awareness of life, love and death, which makes her dancing style. She is an artist, a creator, a practitioner, and a special and emotional dancer” (China National Channel, china.org.cn).

38 Chapter 2: Dynamic Yunnan from an Intercultural Viewpoint

Following the success of the Soul of the Peacock, Yang Liping continued to perform her new works. In 2003, she created a folk musical dance drama that has colorful forms, rich styles, distinctive features, with historical and cultural features: Dynamic Yunnan (Dance with Goddess).

Chinese poet and scholar Mr. Wen Yiduo 4 provided insightful comments on the role of dance that it is to “(1) arouse life with comprehensive form, (2) present life with rhythmic nature,

(3) stress life with practical significance, (4) ensure life with social functions. Dance is the most direct, most essential, most intense, sharpest, simplest and most adequate manifestation of the sentiment of life” (“On Dancing”). Wen Yiduo’s philosophical ideas on dancing is embodied in the concrete, observable and artistic presentations in Dynamic Yunnan.

Tracing the history as far back as to the point of Yuanmou Man of Yunnan of ancient times,

Dynamic Yunnan presents the epic narrative of human survival, reproduction, struggles against nature. It depicts people worshipping the sun, the moon and the earth; scenes of beating leather and copper drums for the Yunnan sacrificial ceremony; scenes of reclaiming and protecting land by respecting nature; and scenes of pious Buddhist practices including long pilgrimages and prayers for safety and happiness. Collectively, these scenes use the forms of musical dance dramas to communicate nationalistic feelings in praise of life, the strengthening of human survival awareness, and display the hardship and tenacity of the Chinese people. To this end, the

4Complete Works of Wen Yiduo, (Hubei People’s Press, Dec 1, 1993.) Wen Yiduo (1899-1946) was a poet, scholar and soldier of democracy of modern China. He loved his country, worked hard and sought for truth in his whole life. After long-term exploration, he finally took the path to fight for people’s democracy and national liberation under the promotion of practical education and revolutionary movement led by CPC (Communist Party of China) and sacrificed his life. His extraordinary achievements in new poems and ancient literature research established his status in modern literature and modern academic history. He “stood up” and fought bravely for democracy. His firm and unyielding spirit earned people’s respect and praise.

39 creation and performance of Dynamic Yunnan significantly has contributed greatly to the development and vitality of the body of Chinese musical dance drama art to this day(Ethnic

Dance History in Yunnan).

Dynamic Yunnan is a unique amalgamation of traditional and modern performing arts into a work that is at once representative of time and place, and contemporaneity accessible through its aesthetic concept. Its content and form are basically adapted from native music and dance for the modern stage utilizing cutting-edge technical elements (e.g. lighting, costumes, scenic design). Casting myriad folk elements from song, dance, instrumental music and reformatting them from native communal settings as a contemporary stage performance, it integrates stage performance art with local culture in the order of introduction, elucidation, transition and conclusion (Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan).

“Native” originally refers to the folk music and dance that formed in the period of natural economy and has not been greatly influenced by foreign culture due to geographical, transportation and economic reasons (Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan 10). The expressions in

Yang Liping’s show come from workers’ lives, labor and love. Without any additional artistic treatment, they express the simplest and most honest thoughts of the people. Nowadays, after inheritance and improvement of a certain period, the “originality” of “native” not only shows in tunes, but more in the form and style of performance. As a matter of fact, whether interpreting

“native” as “primitive living status” or “primitive ecological environment” considers “primitive” as the starting point. We cannot deny that any known form of tradition music and dance has been changing since its birth and it has been through development and evolution. “Purity” and

“authenticity” is embedded in the term “native.” Thus, “native” is a comparative concept, and it should be more considered as a spirit of respecting nature and folk culture.

Dynamic Yunnan

Dynamic Yunnan is a new, innovative large-scale music dance drama that incorporates the traditional music and dance of Yi, Dai, Tibetan and Wa people. It is representative of Yang

Liping’s body of work as well as of the aforementioned ethnic groups of the Yunnan province

(http://www.chinatourguide.com/Kunming/Yunnan_Impression_Show.html). Dynamic Yunnan is an on-going attraction for tourists as well as regular audiences in China.

In the process of creating this piece, Yang Liping assembled a team of folk artists and local villagers who provided consultation on traditional music and dance forms. To ensure artistic and cultural authenticity, 70 percent of the actors were from Yunnan ethnic groups, and all of the costumes came from their daily lives, they were recreated using the traditional styles.

China – Kunming Auditorium “Dynamic Yunnan” Moon Dance by Yang Liping (Deniz

Bensason)

41 The large-scale dance drama "Dynamic Yunnan" has been an outstanding innovation on the

Chinese stage in recent years. Dynamically incorporating traditional beauty and modern flavors with a reintegration of the most original and rustic dance elements of Yunnan, the programme breathes new life into Yunnan culture.

Primitive, unsophisticated folk dances and a fresh artistic concept converge in the programme, giving audiences a unique "Yunnan Impression." Sixty-two drums and 120 masks of strong ethnic characteristics are incorporated in the performance. Other props, like a "praying stone" and bull's head are taken from real life. A 70-percent cast of ethnic-minority performers and enigmatic lighting and stage effects also add to the programme's appeal.(Ethnic Dance

History in Yunnan)

The 100-minute-long Dynamic Yunnan consists of the following segments:

1. Prologue: “Birth of the Earth”

2. Scene One: “The Sun”

3. Scene Two: “Earth and Moonlight”

4. Scene Three: “Homeland”

5. Scene Four: “Fire”

6. Scene Five: “Pilgrimage”

7. Finale: “Soul of the Peacock” (Yunnan Daily)

Critics noted the use of authentic costumes and props, the unpolished singing style and original dancing techniques of different minority groups from the Yunnan region created a spectacular new music dance drama (Yunnan Folk Dance Research)

42 This is the first time Yang Liping acted as the chief director, art director and leading role of a large musical dance drama. She spent a year searching in the fields of ethnic groups in Yunnan, watched numerous folk dances, and incorporated traditional folk music and dance elements. The dance is filled with original native elements of Yunnan, 70% of the actors are local villagers. She explained that these villagers dance to express their emotions, that they need to communicate with nature because they believe that everything is spiritual. Thus, their dance is a form of conversation with the heaven and the earth revealing the natural essence of dancing itself. This is the reason why she insisted on engaging traditional village people as dancers (Chinese Art

Developing Report).

The show has 10 sessions. Nearly 2 hours in duration, the live performance vividly displays the cultures of Yunnan peoples, including Huayao Yi song and dance (Haicaiqiang) of Honghe

Prefecture, cigarette case dance, Banna “divine” drum (Tongmang), peacock dance, turkey dance, umbrella dance, Dage, etc. The larger piece also includes Yang Liping’s Soul of the Peacock,

Fire, Moonlight and Kingdom of Women, and presents previously unknown traditional arts of ethnic groups in Yunnan. The music is pure and simple, and the lighting is natural. Through skillful, inspired integration of modes of culturally-based artistic aesthetic, it allows modern audiences to have conversation with ancient culture.

43 Dynamic Yunnan incorporates Dage5 and Haicaiqiang6 of Yi and a series of folk music and

dances of Yunnan ethnic groups. Three quarters of the 90 cast in total are native villagers,

including a five-year-old girl, all of whom typically express their emotions for their daily life, because they believe that everything is spiritual and they need to communicate with nature. Thus

their dance is a natural form of conversation with the heaven and the earth, and thus, could be

considered the essential aspect of dance. Their skills of polyphonic and high pitch singing and

dancing are the envy of professional dance and music masters. The lyrics explain the profound theories in simple terms.

5 Dage is a game through which young people make friends and compete in singing and dancing. Young men and women sing and dance together, and choose their social partners via Dage. The environment is a relaxed and joyful way to get to know someone. Dagediao is a classification of tunes of male and female duets, which mainly includes Dagediao of Yi and Dagediao of Bai. The former is popular among areas where Yi people live, including Yangbi, Weishan, Nanjian and Midu counties in Yunnan. It is slightly different in different areas, and it is sung in both Yi dialect and Mandarin. The latter is popular in Eryuan County where Bai people inhabit. It is sung in Bai dialect, thus called Dagediao of Bai. In the Dage scene in Dynamic Yunnan, singers praise the love inherent in nature in green mountains and waters. The music not only lingers in ears but also in the heart. It presents the strong vitality of young people. Through the lyrics we know it is getting late. They hold hands together and run to exit. Of the Dalanjian Dage, the locals say, “Dage lasts from sunrise till sunset”. Sometimes they sing and dance all day long. “Like leech on egrets’ feet, they can hardly be separated.” Girls like it, but they are shy. Yi people love folk music and dances, and they even believe that “if we don’t dance, we live in vain”; “if you can’t sing with your mouth, or you can’t dance with your feet, you won’t be wanted even if you have a pretty face”. There are many vivid sayings about Dage dance, “Let’s dance on the grass and hills when the sun rises; don’t stop until your sheepskin is soaked in sweat”. The lyrics of some folk songs describe hot and sentimental feelings, “I can’t stop thinking about you…” It is easier to understand why the locals love Dage considering environmental situation. And the audience can easily be influenced by this environment and resonate with it. 6 Haicaiqiang: Yi people are well known for their skills in both singing and dancing. Folk song is embedded in every aspect of their lives and became an important form of expressing feeling, self-education and entertainment. Folk song is used to record history, exchange feelings, teach culture and understand farming seasons. In activities such as sacrifices, festivals, weddings and funerals, labor, courting and refurbishment, we can always hear cheerful and native songs. Folk songs of Yi developed better in Shiping and Jianshui, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan. The singing form of “Haicaiqiang” is quite special. It starts with narration from both men and women. This is an opportunity for them to fully present their knowledge and artistic level during decline out of modesty and an indispensable process to know each other in dating. The basic singing form is solo singing with vocal accompaniment, but sometimes there are also duets. Haicaiqiang often plays the role of expressing thoughts and wishes. Originated from labor, Yi folk songs are wide spread among the people. For hundreds and thousands of years, it continues and has been developing. Strong local features can be found in different areas. With beautiful melody, catchy lyrics and spontaneous performance, “Haicaiqiang” is deeply loved by Yi people and is a national artistic flower cultivated by Yi people.

Prologue: Birth of the Earth

Shout Bursts from Ancient Homeland of Humankind

There is no sun or moon when the heaven and earth are one and the world is in chaos. In the darkness a lightning bolt from the east lights up part of the stage, and another illuminates the west. Then, everything comes to life. (Yunnan Folk Dance Research)

From Birth of the Earth to The Soul of the Peacock finale, the entire program of Dynamic

Yunnan is sometimes passionate, sometimes mysterious, and sometimes spiritual. Mysterious legends about this region unfold before the audience (Chinese Art Developing Report).

Scene One: The Sun

The theme of the first scene centers on the drum. Yunnan boasts the most drum tales in

China, where the drum is not only perceived as a musical instrument, but also as a totem. It symbolizes the matrix or female. Drums can be made of leather, stone, copper and wood.

Different ethnic groups categorize drums as Sun, Manggu, Reba and Dabei drums. The Wa

Ethnic Group has "male" and "female" wooden drums and a sacrificial ceremony usually precedes the making of a drum.

The Sun drum is the most sacred instrument for the Jino people of Xishuangbanna.

According to legend, the drum once saved the lives of Jino ancestors. The Sun drum dance is the most representative dance of the Jino people, and the drum can only be played on important occasions.

The Hani people beat the Manggu drum to speak to god. It is believed that the Manggu

Dance can drive away evil and guarantee a good harvest.

45 As its name suggests, the Elephant-foot drum resembles the foot of elephant and it can be found in Dehong, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan. The Elephant-foot Drum Dance of the Dai people is usually performed during celebrations or when meeting guests.

The Devine drum is popular in Luchun County, Yunnan Province. But there is only one woman who can master all 24 playing methods used on a wide range of occasions, including sacrifices, procreation, harvest, marriage and other social ceremonies. (Chinese Folk Dance

Culture)

Dancing under the red sun, the actors express the primitive wilderness and passion for the world through their body language. Each actor screams from the depth of their soul; each slight or heavy beating of drum, each high or low jump bursts with live energy. Awakened from the original wilderness, people start to dance and sing on this new land. With the drums rolling, the sun rises slowly from the horizon. Accompanying the drums, a male dancer with his body painted and wearing a black bun, embroidered vest and black silk pants with borders, moves in front of the sun. The sound of drumming goes louder and calmer, and a group of male dancers show up.

They beat the drums cheerfully and the sound of this collective drumming is solemn and majestic. Incorporating many different types of drums, such as Mang Drum of Hani, Elephant- foot Drum of Dai, Copper Drum of Wa and Divine Drum of Yi, this drum dance lasts about 10 minutes and has a typical native flavor. The sun is full of energy, so are the drumming and the dancers. As the dusk falls, you feel like the dancers melts away accompanied with the lighting dim down. The main dancer is wilder than the wild animals and full of passion when he strikes the surface of the stage floor; sometimes it feels like moonlight touching the surface of water, other times it feels like spring rain falling into the heart like notes of heavenly music touching every cell of the body; sometimes it feels like the mountains are toppled and the seas are

46 overturned and makes the audience blood boiling. At one point the audience’s attention coalesces as it breaks energetically in rhythmic applause with the drumbeats.

Scene Two: Earth and Moonlight

This part of the programme is generally a solo performed by Yang Liping. Yang thinks that women share some common features with moonlight. Using abstract body language, Yang expresses their parallel sentiments with the help of her imagination. (Chinese Folk Dance

Culture)

Yi Ethnic Group Huayao Tribe Song and Dance

The girls of the Huayao tribe of the Yi ethnic group learn embroidery and needlework from the age of 11 or 12. It usually takes four to five years for a girl to finish a garment used in marriage ceremonies. All of the performers in this part of the programme wear handmade suits to present their song and dance "Seaweed Aria" -- is one of the most beautiful yet complicated folk songs and dance forms in Yunnan. This portion also contains a number of other dances for young people seeking true love.(Chinese Folk Dance Culture)

Scene Three: Homeland

The Faith of Ancestors Sacrifice and Worship of National Totem and Religion

Homeland, ethnic girls in native clothes sing and dance in the traditional folk style to express how they build happy homes, work, live and breed as well as worship the spirits in nature.

Ancestors of the Yunnan people are followers of animism - the belief that nature and inanimate objects have souls -- and there are many sacrificial ceremonies to different gods every year. This worship of nature has greatly helped preserve the province's ecology and environment. This part

47 of the programme is therefore dedicated to the devastating environment in which we live.

(Cultural China)

Scene Four: Fire

It illustrates Yunnanese people’s worship of the sun, yearning and love to the land, attachment to the home, respect to the god of fire and religious pilgrimages in Yunnan. The performance put on stage various farming tools including hoes, water wheels, dustpans, and pots and pans demonstrating the Yunnan ethnic groups' creativity. (Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan)

Hair Dance

Since most of the Wa women have very long hair, swaying one's hair has become a common gesture in their daily lives. Gradually, the custom has become a dance form expressing the women's strong inner sentiments and to symbolize fire.

Gourd Pipe Dance

This ancient dance prevails among a number of ethnic minorities like the Lahu, Wa, Naxi,

Yao and Miao. On the 2,000-year-old bronze drum unearthed in Yunnan in 1958 is an image depicting the Gourd Pipe Dance.

Mask Dance

The mask dance was originally a sacrificial ceremony used to drive away evil spirits.

Ancestors wore masks to ward off demons and disease. The mask dance gradually developed into the Nuo Opera, which is still popular in some parts of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan province.

Bull's Head Dance

The bull was a source of worship for the ancient people of Yunnan. Dancers holding bulls' heads first appeared on a fresco in a stone cave in Yunnan. The bull's head usually symbolizes power and fortune. (Dance with Goddess)

Scene Five: Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage to the divine mountains symbolizes nature worship among some ethnic minorities. This part of the programme incorporates the essence of the Tibetan dance, the

"praying stone," etc, to reveal the hopes and dreams of these people. (Collected Essays of

Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance)

Pilgrimage, Tibetan Buddhists’ lifelong pursuit of truth. Carrying firm beliefs, they are not afraid of any difficulties on the way. Because of their beliefs, the most difficult process becomes meaningful and all of the efforts have a goal. This pure belief and persistence is touching and compelling. In the end, after everything they have been through, they finally dedicated the white hada to the most honorable belief (Collected Essays of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance 28).

Finale: Soul of the Peacock

The Soul of the Peacock presents Yang Liping’s masterful solo dance that is pure elegance.

To the Dai people, the peacock is a symbol of love called "sunbird." Yang Liping has created a series of dances about peacocks. In the epilogue of "Dynamic Yunnan" Yang dynamically integrates her solo dance and group dance for the first time. The new sound and lighting effects also add great appeal to the number(Yunnan Folk Dance Research).

Praising the Bravery and Greatness of Women

A large ensemble of girls in Scene Two, Earth and Moonlight, performs the “clapping dance” where the dancers come to the front of the stage and kneel down in a row and beating the ground with hands, as if communicating with mother earth; their joyful eyes project their wishes for beautiful lives. Moreover, the group dance with men and women in Homeland is inspired by

49 the Chinese folk “cigarette case dance” here presented to represent the sexual union of animals

(ants) and, by metaphor, the process of courtship and human birth, a topic that is otherwise considered vulgar. This presentation demonstrates the great skill and intelligence of Yang Liping to present the integrity of the human experience with aesthetic artistry.

In the Farmland, we see the devotion of the people who express their love of life via dancing. There is a voiceover in Kingdom of Women done by Yang Liping herself, “Can the sun rest? Yes. Can the moon rest? Yes. Can women rest? No. Women need to protect their babies from getting hurt; a home is gathered together if there’s woman in it; if men have women, they won’t be ill.” The touching voiceover ends with sighs. It praises motherhood and women who work hard for the family with no complaint. With the simplest voiceover and dance, it is meant to convey the greatness that is inherent in the most ordinary life, especially. “Listen to the plain yet compelling lyrics: this is the most beautiful image of life and the plainest state of living! It echoes on the stage and lingers around ears!” is the interpretation she gave when she was interviewed by

CCTV.

Harmonies and Friendships of Diverse Ethnic Groups Expressed in Song

Dynamic Yunnan presents local color and diversity of Yunnan culture. It depicts the vitality of the diverse ethnic groups, and also reflects the harmonious relationships that contribute to a unified experience.

The Mongol composer Sanbao created a musical accompaniment for the dance Soul of the

Peacock to complement the folk-inspired score of Dynamic Yunnan. The entire composition is using the basic chore connections, it is melodious in an ethnic way, incorporating rapid drumming and long instrument sounds. I have interviewed a variety of people (a middle school

History teacher, a high school student, a college student, an old couple, a teenage girl, etc.) about their impression of the score of Dynamic Yunnan. They said that they were pleasantly surprised

50 by the culture of ethnic groups. Because it was not easy for Yang Liping to bring Dynamic

Yunnan to the stage. The process was fraught with obstacles, but her perseverance and commitment ultimately resulted in a triumph (CCTV Music Channel).

People shed tears after hearing the music, which reflect the strong veneration of ethnic lifestyles and beliefs. Perhaps for the first time they heard the “voices” of nature, the sound of living things growing and became purified by the spiritual sources. They reported the music is

“fresh,” “spiritual,” “native” and filled with Asian charm. Listening to the music, some audience members felt like they themselves became the dancers in the center of the stage, and didn’t want it to end when the piece was about to finish. These reactions were not uncommon. For this reason, the success of Dynamic Yunnan is not by accident but destined. It digs deep into the characteristics of local native culture of Yunnan, projects its essence through music and dance, and promotes the redevelopment of native music from a different perspective.

In today’s Chinese society, public aesthetic psychology has been changing subtly. Few people can argue against how the technological development of such tools as television and the internet has significantly improved the quality of life for most people. At the same time, it might be stated that people’s connection to the spiritual self, whether historical or contemporary, is fading.

Pressures from work and living environment, the lack of direct contact with nature, and longing for something as simple and abundant as fresh mountain air seem to overwhelm and compromise physical and mental well-being. Folk music can conjure up a simpler life and a return to nature.

China has witnessed the resurgence of native music in recent years. The music and dance of Dynamic Yunnan have quickly gained popularity for their local characteristics, such as folk melodies and singing styles and authentic costumes which reflect regional diversity. The evolution of aesthetic taste and distinctive emotions of ethnic groups over time are shown in various aspects, including the phrasing, tonal qualities and melodic structures of tunes.

51 Dynamic Yunnan was performed at Beijing’s Poly Theater on April 10, 2004, where it took a solid step towards the goal of “Established in Yunnan, and became “The Source of Chinese

Culture with A World View.” Subsequently, Dynamic Yunnan toured throughout many regions of

China and later went overseas to present on stages in Europe, U.S. and Japan. Wherever it was staged, it received critical acclaim by the reviewers and was popular with the general audiences.

Summarizing the performance of Dynamic Yunnan over 13 years, its success can be ascribed to the following reasons:

Combination of a popular performing artist and native art

When Yang Liping acted as the art director and chief director and starred in Dynamic

Yunnan in 2003, she was already a renowned artist and dancer in China. Because of her love of her hometown and nation as well as her interest and responsibility to native music and dance art, she gave up a comfortable lifestyle in big cities and relocated to forests and villages in Yunnan in order to experience the life, and collect, research and reorganize materials of folk music and dance of all ethnic groups in Yunnan. Her hard work has paid off. After working on it for 3 years, and under her organization and operation, Dynamic Yunnan went into production and reached wide audiences. In a CCTV program Night Talk, when the host asked Yang Liping, “Some people say that you played a major role in Dynamic Yunnan and you had the strongest public appeal. Can you tell me how much of role were you playing actually?” Yang Liping answered honestly, “Of course I’m the core, in the sense of art and performance, as I’m the leading role.”

The host then asked, “Can it do without you?” She replied, “No, I don’t think so, at least not now.” This is the truth: the influence and value of dazzling star cannot be underestimated, and the spirit and value of Yunnan native music and dance art cannot be neglected. It is the combination of these two elements that makes the work standing out.

Combination of folk and modern sentiments, and native and high quality

Dynamic Yunnan is a new stage work that has the traditional beauty and the modern power.

It integrates and reconstructs the essence of contemporary music and dance and the classics of folk music and dance, and interprets the essential aspects of the customs of Yunnan peoples.

In the show, the primitive and traditional native music and dance collides with new artistic conception. Contemporary stagecraft techniques help to project Dynamic Yunnan to the audience.

Dynamic Yunnan has renowned dancer and nationally famous composer as headliners, while 7 out of 10 performers are local actors from prefectures or even farm fields of Yunnan.

Dynamic Yunnan is composed of seven scenes: Cloud, Sun, Moon, Forest, Fire, Mountain and Feather. With the simplest songs and body language, it shows the charm of indigenous music and dance of Yi, Miao, Tibetan, Dai, Bai, Hani and Wa ethnic groups.

Dynamic Yunnan integrates and reconstructs the modern, secular and sacred native classics and newly created choreography and musical score. Through the creators’ artistic skills it projects both the realistic and mystical realms of time and space. The authentic costumes and props, the unpolished singing style and native dancing skills, and the combination of traditional music and dance, and modern choreography recreate strong myth-like national customs of Yunnan. The combination of native music and dance is a style of performing art that is different from the styles of China’s and Yunnan’s contemporary mainstream culture. Through the interpretation of actors and Yang Liping’s dance vocabulary the colorful image of Yunnan may be gleaned from a different angles and reveal that the traditional native music and dance of Yunnan are distinctly viable and filled with profound emotional beauty(Yunnan Folk Dance Research).

Combination of maintaining the highest artistic skills and cultivating new artists

53 Yang Lipin recognized that many of her performers were not initially keen on being dancing actors on stage; many were farmers. On the premise of not compromising the artistic result she sought by engaging amateurs as theatrical performers, Yang Liping and her team worked diligently to cultivate their unproven performance skills to serve the work onstage. After long-term training and performance exercise, these new actors are now gradually being recognized by the audience and some of them are capable of taking important roles(Chen, DuZhe

18).

Combination of tour performance and designated performance venue

Apart from touring in China and over the world, Yang Liping and her colleagues borrowed the Broadway pattern and turned Dynamic Yunnan into a classic musical dance drama with regular performance schedule at a “home” theatre. Dynamic Yunnan has been regularly performed at Kunming Congress Hall in Yunnan. There are usually 300 shows per year, and

Yang Liping would always present unless in special circumstances.

Apart from cast for regular performances, successful Broadway musicals would also establish several casts for touring. Yang Liping and her colleagues are currently also exploring this tour pattern.

Combination of women performers and their pursuit of perfection

Throughout the theatre history of China and the world, women have always played negligible roles, and there are only a handful of respected female theatre masters. Yang Liping is to be counted among them for her bravado and rebellious spirit. The dancing style she created is more like ceremonial worship to nature. It is not confined by old-fashioned and inflexible academism.

She enforces strict adherence to daily rehearsals and does not tolerate any slacking off. She is

54 serious and careful about official performance and does not allow any perfunctoriness and mistakes.

Combination of marketing and management

Yang Liping and the producers of Dynamic Yunnan defined the work as an artistic “product”, and developed its operations as a business to become active in the performing arts sector of the economy, including systems for a box office, repertory and actors’ agency. Later, Dynamic

Yunnan series products and derivatives will be released. This cultural brand will become the foundation of a commercial enterprise an important aspect of an artworks’ value. Thus, Yang

Liping has pledged to diligently pursue ways to strengthen internal operations, promote the quality of the production, strengthen marketing objectives and ensure the cast can derive a living wage from their efforts.

Combination of artistic innovation and capital operation

Yang Liping has established Yunnan Yangliping Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yangliping Culture Co.) and is preparing for IPO. If succeeds, Yang Liping Culture

Co. will be the first listing of culture corporation of Yunnan, which gives it the opportunity to lead Yunnan cultural industry into the capital market by going public in the Chinese capital market.

Chinese famous dancer Yang Liping. Oct 27, 2011 in Chengdu, China. Photo credit: Jack. Q

Combination of the primitive art and contemporary popular culture

Dynamic Yunnan is fast becoming more than the sum of its parts. Society has been embracing its notoriety and brand, taking it into other areas of popular culture. Indigenous Yunnan, as projected by the piece, has become folk chic; News press and expert seminars have been held in Beijing; the team has been interviewed by various media, including TV, Internet, newspaper and magazine; VCD, CD and other audiovisual products as well as collectable stamps of Dynamic

Yunnan have been produced; and farmer actors from Dynamic Yunnan were even invited to fashion shows on Beijing streets. Yang Liping and her team win a positive recognition of

Yunnan, across China and the world.

The successful reference and development of Yang Liping’s Dynamic Yunnan is from different cultures and arts:

56 Dynamic Yunnan is refined and developed from the folk music and dance and other customs of ethnic groups in Yunnan.

To fit into the theatrical manifestation of the stage, adaptations and changes of the “native” in Dynamic Yunnan must be adapted to confirm with the aesthetic orientation of current audiences, whether in terms of the direction, range and quality of movement or the change of formation of music.

The peacock dance, native to the Dai people, is a prop dance typically performed in the village square on grand festivals and Buddhist celebrations. It used to be a men’s dance. Since the

1950s, it reached a new height after professional dancer and folk artist Mao Xiang 7 daringly took off the mask and relinquished other props in his performance. This became the foundation for the later female group peacock dance; Until the 1980s, Yang Liping’s solo dance The Soul of

Peacock further upgraded the dance on proscenium stage by creating a resemblance in shape of the spirit, rather than a literal interpretation, evoking the “spiritualism” of peacock through her body language. The gesture alone of holding thumb and index finger together with other fingers turning up has even become the symbol of Yang Liping or peacock. Yang Liping was not the first who put Dai’s native dance on stage, but she is the most appreciated folk dancer in the Chinese dance circle so far.(Chinese Art Developing Report) The Soul of Peacock is no longer a folk dance, a success owing to Yang Liping’s solo presentation and her corporating it into the Finale

7 Mao Xiang (1918-1986), male, born in Hesai Village, Jiexiang Town, Ruili City, Yunnan Province, was a famous folk dancer of Yunnan Dehongzhou Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble early in his career. Mao Xiang was the first Dai folk dancer to grew up in a farmer’s family and the first generation among Dai professional dancers. He later joined Dehongzhou Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble as a dancer after its establishment in 1956. In 1961, he joined the Chinese delegation to visit Myanmar with Premier Zhou Enlai, and his peacock dance impressed Myanmar. He was a member of Chinese Dancers Association and Yunnan Dancers Association, and acted as special representative of the 5th Congress of Chinese Dancers Association. He was well known across the world owing to his unique peacock dance; because of his elegant, flexible and vivid movements, he was known by the popular phrase “a handsome male peacock”. In 1957, his “peacock duet dance” won a silver prize on the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow, solidifying his position as a master at home.

57 of Dynamic Yunnan. Yang Liping made developments again by combing solo dance with group dance and adding sound and lighting in choreography.

Through Dynamic Yunnan, what we can see is not only the local flavor of 9 out of 25 ethnic groups in Yunnan, but also the nearly extinct drumming and native songs and customs, and the artistry of Yang Liping as a dancer. She considers the protection of Yunnan native dances as her personal responsibility. “Discovering and saving endangered native art to preserve a live native culture museum for audience and descendants” is Yang Liping’s ultimate mission.

Yang Liping knows that to make Dynamic Yunnan sustainable over time requires continuous innovation and development of new audiences, and she has continued to work to this end. As noted previously, there are 25 ethnic groups in Yunnan, and 15 of them are exclusive to

Yunnan Province. Yang Liping and her team plan to develop a series of works on the model of

Dynamic Yunnan, which only featured the cultural traditions of nine, to feature other groups. The success of Dynamic Yunnan is also the success of “Interculturalism”.

In some societies throughout time and space, imitation and storytelling usually reserved for priviledged “audiences”, such as gods, priestly class or nobility, during rituals and religious celebrations have turned into theatrical activities accessible to common people. The first western culture to realized this appropriation was in the 5th Century in Ancient Greece. During the

Archaic Period or Golden Age of Ancient Greece, a time similar to Yang Liping’s China, Athens has made notable achievements in politics, philosophy, science and art including theatre.

Of special importance of ancient Greek theatre is the sacrificial ceremony of Dionysus8 – the god of wine, harvest and ecstasy. Later, ancient Greek theatre was staged to offer sacrifices to

8 Dionysus was the god of wine in Greek mythology, equivalent to Bacchus of ancient Rome. Worshiped by Thracians of ancient Greece, Dionysus not only possessed the charming power of wine, but also offered happiness and love. He was a god with strong charisma. He promoted the civilization of ancient society, established rules and maintained world peace. Moreover, he protected the agricultural and theatre culture of Greece. In the legend of Olympia mountain,

58 Dionysus. Most historians believe that the theatre of Ancient Greece gave rise to the presence of a chorus, whether dancing, singing or chanting. Yang Liang’s staging of Dynamic Yunnan also employs a “chorus” in many scenes.

Ancient Greek cities held sacrificial ceremonies every year, and theatre performances became the central feature of ancient Greek festivals. In Athens, the spring festival is called “city

Dionysia”, which mainly offers sacrifices to Dionysus. Greek mythology is full of legends that have passed through generations via theatre to explain interpersonal relationships and problems, disasters and opportunities affecting individual lives.

Like ancient Greece, all 26 ethnic groups in Yunnan have a legacy of polytheism, not to mention have been exposed to the world’s five major religions (including Judaism, Islam,

Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism) coming through its 16 national boundaries. There are various religions that are closely related to distinct indigenous groups with mythologies, yet in practice, the people relate in harmonious ways. In fact, the myths are similar to those of ancient

Greece. For example, Dynamic Yunnan describes the polytheism of Yi, Bai and Hani ethnic groups whose festivals and sacrifices are similar to those of the Greeks.

The Torch Festival of Yi has a similar narrative. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a demon named Shidali, who came to earth from heaven to sabotage people’s lives.

Once discovered, people started to question him. For no reason, Shidali wanted to wrestle, and he even fought and defeated a strong bull purely as provocation. (Thus, bullfighting is the first item of the Torch Festival) His action provoked a Yi hero named Bao Cong who stepped out of the crowd and wrestled with Shidali for three days and nights, but the outcome was a tie. Then

he was the son of Zeus and Semele, or possibly the son of Zeus and Persephone. Worshiping the god of wine was a secretive religious ritual to the ancient Greek, which was similar to Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. Fox skin was worn in the rituals of Thracians, which was a symbol of rebirth. And the Dionysus Carnival Ceremony exclusive to the god of wine was the most secretive religious ritual. (see previous comment about the deleted text)

59 people started to play sanxian and piccolo, clapping and stomping to cheer for Bao Cong, and he finally won. The demon was furious and released all kinds of pests to destroy the crops that people worked very hard to grow. But the people got together again and set fires to the pests.

Finally, all of the pests were killed on 24 June of Chinese lunar calendar. To celebrate the victory, people kill cows and sheep and host all kinds of activities to symbolize the fighting spirit of Yi people who dare to defy brutal force and fight for happy lives. On this day, warriors wrestle with demons and people set fire to pests to pray for happiness, peace and favorable weather.

Dynamic Yunnan, Tibetan Mysteries and Voice of Yunnan represent a new theatrical form that incorporates music, ritual ceremony and folk music and dance.

Throughout the history of theatre, all of the civilizations have developed mass

entertainment activities, which attracted interest from all levels of society and required no

higher education background, social background or cultural cultivation. Many mass

entertainment activities require live performers, which in essence is theatrical.(Chinese Art

Developing Report 78)

The scenic presentation and modes of artistry represented in Dynamic Yunnan coincides

with the mass entertainment of ancient Rome theatre. A number of scenes in Dynamic Yunnan

display group dancing and singing of the common people, whether usually done in special

locations in or out of the village. The “ant dance” and “cigarette case dance” in Dynamic

Yunnan are two examples of popular performance activities by everyday people appropriated

for performance by actors in stage entertainment. It should not be overlooked that Dynamic

Yunnan also displays popular entertainment methods as well as traditional narratives. This in

turn impacts today’s popular culture.

Dynamic Yunnan faithfully reproduces various scenes of popular entertainment styles,

which coincide both with ancient Rome and today’s TV, film, concert and square singing and

60 dancing, much like the use of various art forms during the Classical Period and the Hellenistic

Age.

Mimicry is of particular interest. During the Classical Period and the Hellenistic Age, mimes existed extensively through the Greek world. Historians believe that mimes may have existed since 4th or 5th Century BC, yet a great deal of debate focuses on the form of mimes. It is often believed that ancient Greek mimes present family trifles and make “dirty” jokes about sex.

Ancient Greek mimes might be the first theatrical style of mimicking figures to impart stories of

Greek mythology.

Mimes sometimes are solo performance, but in the Hellenistic Age, people would often form a group. Mimes were never performed on theatre festivals, as they are considered as a lower form of theatrical art. Women were later allowed to perform in mime groups. In the Hellenistic

Age, mime actors often didn’t wear masks. To save costs and increase income, mime groups often traveled around to perform. For this reason, many people believe that mime performers of

Greece had an influence on the development of Roman theatre and mass entertainment.

The mass entertainment that was popular in public places was also a component of popular

Roman theatre and performing arts. Mime groups survived through Roman times, and Rome contributed a new form of mime, which has a male dancer illustrating classic texts and sometimes there was chorus or musicians accompanying.

But the Romans also organized more spectacular scenes. As we have noticed, they built grand circuses, large stadiums and the Coliseum. For example, some circuses have racetracks for chariots. And the Coliseum was used to hold animal athletics, gladiator fights and animal baiting; arenas and the Coliseum were all built for this kind of events.

In modern times, we can see some popular entertainment similar to those in ancient Greek and ancient Rome period in Dynamic Yunnan and other popular performing arts in China and

61 throughout the world. Stand-up comedy and small comic groups remind us of mimes. Indoor and outdoor sports grounds, such as football field and boxing ring, are similar to the Coliseum and circuses. These sports events are also dramatic, with high theatrical components in before, during and after event performance.

Some historians believe that the 20th Century American culture, together with highly developed mass entertainment activities – TV, film, rock concert, and other complicated theatrical art – are extremely similar to the culture of ancient Rome. And the reason is that the entertainment activities of the Romans and that of modern people are fairly consistent. The

Romans loved chariot race, horsemanship, acrobatics, wrestling, unarmed boxing and gladiators fighting.

The relation and difference between the musical dance drama Dynamic Yunnan and musical theatre of today is important to note. Musical theatre focuses on the combination of music, plot, song and dance, and Yang Liping’s musical dance drama emphasis the combination of contemporary music and choreography with folk song and dance. Musical dance has long been associated with theatre.

All of the theatrical structures are completed in music; opera being a prime example.

Musical theatre also includes operetta, which has scenes of reading lines; musical comedy is a delightful performance form with pop music; musical drama, is derived from musical comedy and antimasque that satirizes current events. There are also informal versions such as comic playlets and, as mentioned, standup comedy which may incorporate music and dance. Most of the modern musicals were created by Americans. It is the only theatrical form invented by

Americans. 19th Century and the beginning of 20th Century was the period when many pioneers of modern musicals appeared, including in operetta, juggling and antimasque.

62 American musicals started to take shape in the early 20th Century and reached its Golden

Age early in the 1940s to late 1960s. Among the large number of performances, some became modern classics. These musicals are combinations of dancing and singing, which employ a formulaic narrative to create a diverse yet unified structure and are extremely popular.

Nowadays, we should notice that “folk art” has been in vogue, and the performance of

Dynamic Yunnan is a good example. Ordinary theatre goers, people who live mechanized or digitalized cosmopolitan lives, would prefer to see something different to contemporary urban lives. Further, modern societies are becoming more and more diverse and seek out a variety of cultural opportunities and products to satisfy their needs. Native dance provides alternative appreciation for audience. In the operation of dance market, the originality of folk dance is also known as the “native” nature of folk dance. It is a treasure which can attract more attention from the audience if used correctly. Because of the difference from modern life, native folk dance will receive response from more audience. Native folk dance stresses that it is from the field, which can present more contents of different cultures and is different from the culture that people are tired and indifferent of.

63 Chapter 3: Multiculturalism to Transculturation—From the Perspective of Dynamic

Yunnan

In the fast-changing process of the globalization of world economy and culture, impacted by mass communication of human culture, ethnic music and dance are endangered and possibly faced with the threat of extinction. Local folk music and dance forms not only have cultural significance and economic value to the people who practice them today, but there is value in preserving and further developing them for the future and for all people (Ethnic Dance History in

Yunnan).

Yang Liping’s achievements in performance art demonstrate that “national art is also international art.”

Dynamic Yunnan is the reflection of ethnic naturalness and diversity. It is easy to tell from the success of Dynamic Yunnan that the folk culture of Yunnan is reflected in the colorful and distinctive music and dance forms of its ethnic groups. The traditional music and dance of

Yunnan ethnic groups have the geographical features of diversity, naturalness, civility and agreeableness.

A nation can earn enormous respect from other nations by promoting and presenting its distinct cultural assets on the world stage. During the integration of world economy and open exposure of its distinct culture, different nations need to keep their culture relatively independent to avoid losing themselves and their cultural features, because the coexistence of diversified and colorful national culture will make the world culture more dynamic.

Our world only exists because of the richness and diversity of all regions and nations.

According to DuZhe Magazine, a nation without its own cultural features is a nation with no

64 sense of existence. A nation without its own history cannot stand straight and upright in the world.

Such sense of existence and honor that belongs to a nation is unique and irreplaceable. It is the footstone for a nation to stand erect in the world as a group.

Diversity of national culture is an indispensable component in the development process of

China. Multiculturalism means that under the circumstances of the growing complication of human society and the continuous development of information flow, the update and transformation of culture will gradually speed up, the development of all kinds of cultures will face different opportunities and challenges, and new cultures will emerge constantly. Under such a modern and complicated social structure, various cultures are required to serve social development, which brings diversification to the culture, also known as multiculturalism in the complicated social background, or frequently mentioned “cultural diversity”(Chinese Folk Dance

Culture 66).

Multiculturalism is a feature as well as advantage of the Yunnan region. Whether in China or the whole world, as long as nations exist, differences and gaps always exist. Difference is the nature and feature of nations, such as the difference of language, religion, habit, cultural tradition and even psychological feature of all nations. As long as nations exist, they will possess this nature and feature. Gap refers to the difference in education level and economic income due to the inequivalence of economic and social development level, which could be narrowed. Multi- ethnicity is a distinct feature of China and Yunnan Province, as well as an advantage of development. In other words, the difference of all nations embodies this advantage and makes it a favorable factor for national and regional development. Stressing and giving play to such advantage and potential is an important guarantee of realizing common prosperity of all nations.

65 Cultural diversity can promote multiculturalism, lead to multi-civilization and enrich human culture and heritage when multi-language displays its indispensable talent on the world stage. Different languages start to compete and integrate. For instance, Japanese integrates some features of Chinese but has its own characteristics, which creates a special linguistic feature. And the difference between Chinese and foreign diets has been changed and promoted during the process of cultural diversification. Cultural diversity leads to competition and promotes the development of human society. The diversity of national culture is an indispensable component in the development process of China.

National culture is also world culture. First of all, culture is the sum of material wealth and spiritual wealth created by mankind during the progress of social and historical development. Just like both sides of hands are composed of flesh and blood, it is two sides of the same object. We cannot deliberately divide culture into essence and dross, which is one-sided and superficial.

Secondly, national culture is the culture with characteristics of the nation created and developed during the historical development of all nations, which includes material culture and spiritual culture(Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan, 43).

National culture has the following features: 1) National culture is the culture with characteristics of the nation. It can represent national characteristics and reflect national spirit and it is rooted on national connotation; 2) National culture is created and developed during the historical development of the nation. It is selective, self-developing and self-evolving. The more a national culture that complies with these two features, the more it has a national culture.(44)

What is the concept of world culture? The so-called world culture is the grand coalition of national cultures which maintain its own features during the constant development and communication in the world. To sum up, the more a culture can be global and enrich the diversity of world culture, the more it is a world culture.

66 It is not difficult to tell that in terms of culture, the more it fits the two features of national culture, the more it is able to enrich world culture. The reasons are as follows: 1) What makes world culture attractive to people is its diversity. Different countries and nations have different cultures and their own symbols and representatives, such as the America’s Statue of Liberty,

Japan’s kimono, the France’s wine, Korea’s kimch’i, etc. Because of these national objects are broadly familiar across the globe, the nation’s distinct culture may be said to be global. 2)

Because of increased globalization and communications, the culture of one nations can affect the development of other nations(Ethnic Dance History in Yunnan 101). For instance, Peking Opera has had a profound influence on the work of German theatre master Bertolt Brecht, and existentialist Heidegger was deeply influenced by Laoism in his later years. A nation must help sustain its distinct cultural forms for it to influence the development of those of other nations and make contributions to the enrichment of world culture as a whole.

To sum up, in terms of culture, the more it fits the two features of national culture, the more it is able to enrich world culture. Only if we hold to the national spirit of our nation, can we play an active role on the world stage. We need culture, not generalization or assimilation. From the examples I mentioned earlier, it proves that the more national it is, the more international it is.

Dynamic Yunnan gives us a vivid example and powerful proof.

Analysis of the causes of the loss of a nation’s native folk music and dance

Throughout the history, many civilizations have been considered extinct and their intangible cultural attributes, such as folk music and dance, have been lost. These are the main reasons:

The lack of support on cultural activities with ethnic consciousness(Dance with Goddess

32). Most of the local folk music and dance forms are incorporated into ritual activities, such as the sacrifice ceremony dance in Dynamic Yunnan. Others have been seated in the secular

67 activities of the nation, such as dances for entertainment or national festivals. In both cases these ethnic “performing arts” are presented within the context of formalized rituals or national holidays supported by institutional bodies, such as a religious or governmental groups and occur on specific dates. Once these folk rituals, festivals or institutional groups disappear or these dates no longer are significant to the population, these intangible cultural assets may partially or completely disappear.

People’s affinity for certain intangible (and tangible) properties can change with time. For example, many people now rarely consider dancing as the primary form of entertainment. During my field trip in some areas in Yunnan where Yi and Bai people live, I discovered that even in some less developed and less populated counties and towns, the main entertainment pastime is watching TV, singing karaoke and even surfing the Internet. It is rare to see people amuse themselves by dancing after work. In some relatively developed cities with concentrated population, I have found some young dance amateur, but their interest is not in local folk dance, but rather the more international forms of jazz dance, street dance, ballroom dance, etc.

Moreover, during my investigation, I found some people who enjoy practicing local folk dances, but their dances have been transformed by professional dancers. When I asked “why not learn and practice the traditional form”, some answered “I don’t know how”, and others answered, “It’s too simple and boring”. Dancing can only happen by moving the body and is taught through demonstration and explanation (oral or visual). Thus, when there is no one to demonstrate or teach, dances will be lost.

Factors of contemporary cultural environment is the fundamental reason why native folk performance art could be lost. Art exits within the context of cultural life. Contemporary cultural life is not supportive of folk performance art. First of all, the industrialization of production, the modernization of life, the urbanization of residences and the internationalization of information

68 are weakening the natural ecological environment where native folk performance art is rooted and would otherwise naturally thrive. Secondly, the yearning of modern civilization and the contempt of traditional culture of the contemporary people, especially young people’s dismissiveness of local traditional culture in light of the current attraction to foreign culture cause native folk performance art to lose the psychological and social basis of indigenous national culture. Thirdly, the cultural departments of local governments do not value or otherwise provide enough support of its local folk performance art.

While these factors impact the possibility that the native folk music and dance performance art of a nation will be lost, it is also possible that it could be preserved. Intentional protection on the part of a nonaffiliated cultural institution is required for all intangible performing arts forms if there is no other institutional structure (i.e. religious or secular entity) interested. This requires awareness of the ultimate significance of the intangible property today and efforts to secure its sustainability across generations, from master to apprentice.

The significance of promoting and protecting native folk music and dance from the

perspective of Dynamic Yunnan:

The success of Dynamic Yunnan tells us from the cultural perspective that a nation without its own cultural features is a nation with no sense of existence. A nation without its own history cannot stand straight and upright in the world. The significance of protecting indigenous national and folk music and dance lies in that:

They support the existence of a vital ethnic culture. The indigenous music and dance cultures of ethnic groups in Yunnan not only have a long history but also are themselves distinctive. Due to various historical reasons, ethnic groups in Yunnan have witnessed imbalanced social development. As a result, the native music and dance culture of ethnic groups

69 not only reveals different ethnic features but also cultural features at different social development stages. Moreover, due to the difference of natural and social environment where ethnic groups live and breed as well as the history and culture they inherit, different features of cultural ecology can also be found. And these characteristics and features were gradually formed in the long history and passed down to the present. It can be said that the native folk music and dance culture of Yunnan ethnic groups is a vivid development history of people’s music and dance culture, which makes it significantly valuable in culture history. Secondly, the protection of native folk music and dance culture of ethnic groups has great significance to the preservation of the diversity of Yunnan ethnic music and dance culture. Especially in the global environment with open information and frequent communication, the music and dance culture of all countries and nations must possess its own characteristics. On this significance, I agree with the point of view that “the more national a culture is, the more international it is”.(Dance with Goddess) To preserve national characteristics for the long run, the protection of native folk music and dance culture of ethnic groups seems more important, as the native folk music and dance of ethnic groups is the root of reproducing and creating sub-native folk music and dance, and we should keep the root.

It is conducive to promoting local economic construction by sustaining the development of similar performance programs. The music and dance of ethnic groups in Yunnan not only have a long history but also are distinctive. Thus, it will become a cultural resource of value. The performance of Dynamic Yunnan has proved this point. The growing number of domestic and foreign visitors in Yunnan every year is owing to the rich and colorful local ethnic culture, and

Dynamic Yunnan presents the attraction of folk music and dance of ethnic groups (Yunnan

Daily). That is to say, we should not only display and promote traditional culture of all nations, but also consider it a resource of creating economic value. In this case, we will be able to gain

70 social and economic benefits at the same time and rejuvenate native folk music and dance of all ethnic groups.

It helps the common prosperity for all ethnic groups and the harmony and advance of social life. The native folk music and dance of all nations is rooted among the people and has close connection to the natural environment, production and labor, customs and religious beliefs.

As a result, the content and format of native folk music and dance embody rich ethnic characteristics. Meanwhile, in the long river of history, the people created music and dance forms of multi-functions and multi-forms on the basis of life. Thus, the ethnic style and diversified music and dance forms laid a solid foundation for the heritage and development of native music and dance culture. To sum up, the support and practice of folk music and dance is foundation upon which cultural tradition may be preserved and contemporary music and dance with national characteristics may be developed. Extending the gift of exchange of indigenous folk traditions from one nation to another is a powerful way to strengthen connection, to learn from each other and promote friendship and unity. Yang Liping’s presentations incorporating Yunnan folk music and dance are receiving critical acclaim from the international media.

In The New York Times, columnist David Barboza wrote, “March 5, 2005, Kunming,

China- Ever since Yang Liping won first prize in a national dance competition in 1986, she has been delighting Chinese audiences with her signature dance, "Spirit of the Peacock." Now, Ms.

Yang, one of China's best-known dancers, is the director, choreographer and star of a new show that is drawing sellout crowds all over the country.

"Dynamic Yunnan" is expected to travel to Europe and the United States later this year, features Ms. Yang and about 70 other performers from Yunnan Province, in southwestern China, staging ritualistic folk dances, beating drums, stomping, singing and floating elegantly across the stage like butterflies. The show is the latest coming-out party for Ms. Yang, who, though not well

71 known outside of China, is known here as a stern but creative and independent force in Chinese dance. And even at 47, she can dance like a spirited youth, contorting her slender frame and whipping her arms, legs and fingers in vivid representations of animals and other aspects of the natural world.

In The Japan Times, Natsume Date commented, “Yet even in that small role Yang far outshone the lead dancer, and was soon promoted to the Beijing-based China Central Ethnic

Song and Dance Ensemble. There, however, Yang’s individuality made it hard for her to dance in strict formations, so before long she left to embark on a career producing solo works. That decision paid off in 1986, when her 20-minute piece, “Spirit of the Peacock,” was hugely successful and she became known nationwide. –The Japan Times, “Yang Liping Speaks Out,” by

Natsume Date, May 21, 2014.

Dancer and choreographer Yang Liping performs onstage during the dance drama 'The

Peacock' on November 23, 2015 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province of China. apher Yang Liping performs onstage during the dance drama “The Peacock” on November 23, 2

These are two examples of how Yang Liping’s performance art demonstrates that “national art is also international art.” It further proves that Chinese performing arts are developed not only in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, but also can evolve from the local traditions in remote cities like Yunnan. In China, the performing arts of Yang Liping’s ethnic folk songs and dances

73 is one of the intangible cultural contemporary treasures of China. It should be the major topic to continuously concern and practice for theatre practitioners that how the refining nature of art of native ethnic folk songs and dances can be maintained, communicated and accepted at the same time under the historical background of cultural diversity.

74 Conclusion

China in 2016 has more and more artists focusing on the development of original indigenous song and dance, following as a model example Yang Liping’s Dynamic Yunnan. In addition to its artistic acclaim, Dynamic Yunnan is credited with sparking a resurgence of popularity and support of indigenous regional dance and music as well. With the increasing influence of Dynamic Yunnan, a number of other performing arts programs based on distinct regional ethnic characteristic have come one after another. These include Guilin Reflection (2004, directed by Zhang Yimou), Colorful Guizhou (2013, created by Guizhou Cultural Experience

Center), Lijiang (2010, created by Lijiang Cultural Experience Center), and others. Also, Yang

Liping has continued to organize and create new works including The Sound of Yunnan, the companion piece of Dynamic Yunnan, that highlights other ethnic groups of the province, the musical dance drama Tibetan Mystery, and others.

The performance of Dynamic Yunnan triggered a renewed interest in “minority culture” in

China as exemplified the series of similar performing art presentations. This new fascination with the indigenous culture pursues authenticity of the source. It promotes a respect for nature as it evokes the cultural memories of a simpler daily existence before the urbanized frenzy brought upon by the popular contemporary cosmopolitan life. And it honors the local Yunnanese culture as a way for Chinese people to take pride in the diversity of China’s heritage to protect fragile folk culture. Meanwhile, the commercial success of Dynamic Yunnan has a strong brand recognition that provides it with an economic foothold and opportunities to capitalize on its notoriety to myriad audiences.

China has always maintained its national identity through integration. There have been two specific patterns of manifestation: one is that inferior nations or groups eventually assimilate into

75 the mainstream Chinese culture; the other is that sometimes advanced nations or groups integrate into the lesser nations or groups. Either way, the mainstream Chinese culture continued despite the historical and social upheavals throughout its long history. The ethnic minorities of Yunnan have lived in harmony for a long time influencing each other within the confines of the mainstream Chinese society. Transculturalism is not only a long process of historical development, but the inevitable trend of historical development. China advocates national harmony beyond the cultural and ethnic diversity. Multiculturalism has always thrived in the long

Chinese history but it does not mean to imply that diversity superseded integration. Yang Liping exemplifies a multicultural performance artist who utilizes her ethnic background in valorizing minority culture and heritage in her new, authentic performance art for the contemporary Chinese as well as global audiences.

76 Dancer and choreographer Yang Liping performs onstage during the dance drama 'The

Peacock' on November 23, 2015 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province of China.

While preserving traditional ethnic features, it is possible for folk music and dance performance art to keep current with the times through artistic innovation as well as marketing.

The latter includes not only reaching greater audiences, but by riding the wave of popular culture.

This by no means diminishes the authenticity and earnestness of the traditional peoples who present their folk music and dance on stage. This work, even in its innovative presentation to cosmopolitan audiences, helps to sustain the value, vitality and viability of lifestyles of unique, common people, such as the traditional songs that female farmhands in the old society sang when they were suffering, the lullabies women sang when they put babies to bed, folk song sung in the fields during work, children’s song sung while playing games, romantic folk songs that express affectionate love, and joyful and amusing playing songs. These intangible art forms become a legacy of people and nation that can be passed down from generation to generation by local artists. Nowadays, native folk music and dance in Yunnan, China has become “new” as a result of the success of Dynamic Yunnan and Yang Liping’s determination, innovation, dream, respect for her own culture and her artistry. The “newness” is mainly reflected in the change in the form of native folk music and dance caused by theatricality; the change of native culture caused by staged native folk music and dance; the change of farmer actors’ lives caused by professionalism.

“Newness” is the quality of artistic creation, which is reflected in two aspects, time features and life basis. Thus, contemporary native national folk music and dance are getting closer to perfection after improvement, which not only preserve local features of native folk music and dance, but also fulfill contemporary need for cultural enrichment and innovation.

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81 Appendix

The Works of Yang Liping

Dance

1. The Soul of Peacock

Choreographer: Yang Liping

This title reveals the creator’s high demand on the connotation of the work. In every

movement, we can see the peacock “standing against the wind”, “jumping and spinning” and

“spreading wings to fly”, but it is much more than imitation, but the blending and

presentation of the body and soul of the dancer as “peacock”.

2. Two Trees

Choreographer: Yang Liping

According to legend, there were two lovers who cannot be together, and even after they

died, they were not buried together. But two trees were grown out of their graves and

intertwined together, which is called intertwined branches. Yang Liping admires the love

that has both physical and spiritual connection. Her Two Trees was selected as China’s