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Mr. Mi Cheng-wen, the successor of Four-tile dance(Zhang Cheng-fang) Q：What’s the origin of Four-tile Dance? A: It’s said that there was a large part of wheat fields, where pest disaster always happened. In order to drive away pests, people held sacrificial ceremony. Generally, they found that frogs could eat pests and thus protect the field. People showed great gratitude to those heroes. In ancient times, people were ignorant about nature, and thus they had no ideas when natural disasters happened. They wanted to pray for god’s blessing by holding sacrificial ceremony. They expected good harvest. Gradually, the sacrificial ceremony evolved into a kind of dance- Four-Tile Dance. Q:What’s the costume of Four-tile Dance? A:With the development of society, people’s requirement of costumes is raising. The clothes are made by yellow silk and head ornament is more beautiful. All the clothes are especially designed in Xi’an. |
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Interview Liang We-de, a successor of Four-tile Dance(Ma Li-ping) Q:When you saw the essay about Four-tile Dance on Xihai Rural Newspaper, what was your feeling? A:?I am the only successor of Four-tile Dance and I am very proud of applying to national cultural heritage successfully. Though the costume is changing, the meaning of Four-tile Dance is the same. The original dance actions, tools, and frog taboos must keep the style, and pass on for generations. Q:Could you tell us how to play this dance? A:It’s the simulation of frog’s jumping and crying. The rhythm is jump for three times and stop for a while. Q:When did you begin to play this dance? A: ?I learned it in my thirties. Now I am 64 years old. There must be young people to take over this precious cultural heritage. |
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Mr. Che Guo-hu: young successor of Four-tile Dance(Ma Qing-yuang) Q:Did you participate in 1996 Qinghai Shehuo Performance? A:Yes, at that time, I was only 20 years old. There were more than 40 people participating in it. Q:How do you make the tools in the dance? A:Firstly, the camel bones are boiled in the water to get rid of oil. Secondly, the bones are cut into slices, 2.5cm wide and 10 cm long. Q:We find that few people can play Four-tile Dance in Huangjiazhai Town. What’s your opinion? A:With the development of society, traditional folk culture is facing serious attack. People become interested in foreign culture, which leads to the ignorance of our traditional folk culture. We should do something to protect it and train young people to take over it. |
