Dance Characteristics of the Zhenping Nine Lotus Lanterns

Abstract

Located in Nanyang, south-western Henan, Zhenping lies at the junction of the Central Plains and the Jingchu region, where agricultural civilisation and diverse folk customs have long coexisted and intermingled. As a Henan Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage folk lantern dance, the Zhenping Nine Lotus Lanterns serve as a quintessential artistic vehicle for the Central Plains’ rural festive culture and the spirit of neighbourhood community.Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, drawing upon the folk transmission channels of Lantern Festival processions and temple fair parades, and integrating Central Plains festival formations, Nanyang folk tunes and auspicious folk customs, it has gradually evolved into a composite lantern dance art form that unites dance, vocal styles, props and ritual. Taking the Zhenping Nine Lotus Lanterns as its core subject, this paper employs four research methods: literature review, field research, semi-structured interviews with inheritors, and on-site video observation,analysing its artistic characteristics of folk fusion from four dimensions—historical context, costumes and props, performance forms, and contemporary contextual innovation. It interprets the cultural logic by which rural societies in the Central Plains utilise lantern dances to achieve blessings, moral education and community cohesion, thereby providing empirical reference for the living transmission and modern innovation of folk lantern dances in the Central Plains.