Zhejiang Dance can trace its history back to ancient times. In 1973, the archeologists excavated 139 bone whistles from Hemudu Cultural Relics of Yuyao in Zhejiang Province. One of the whistles was 10 centimeters long with 6 horizontal sound holes. Together with them was a pottery Xun, an egg-shaped, holed wind instrument. Here the sound of bone whistle and pottery Xun was not only the signal for laboring or hunting, but also the simple and crude accompaniment for ancient dances. According to homologous theory of music and dance, the multiple holed bone whistles and the pottery Xun left over from Hemudu civilization about 7,000 years ago must have been the earliest proof of the music-and-dance culture on this fertile land of ancient Yue State. So far, the most vivid written record about dances in the ancient Yue State has been the "Sacrificial Dance to Fangfeng". 
     Among the Pre-Qin literature and historical materials, there are occasional accounts of Fangfeng in the second half of Remarks of Monarchs-Lu State, which are told through the mouth of Confucius. When asked "How big can a bone be", Confucius answered, ¡°As far as I know, the bone of Fangfeng is the biggest. Long long ago, Yu asked all the gods to meet in Huiji, but Fangfeng got there very late. So Yu killed him and his bones fully loaded a big handcart." And the guest asked again, "Who was Fangfeng?" Confucius answered, "He was the king of Wangmang, and his territory covered Feng and Yu." During the Three Kingdoms Period, Wei Zhao from Wu State annotated Remarks of Monarchs. According to him, Feng referred to Mt. Feng and Yu referred to Mt.Yu, both of which were located in Yong'an County of Wu State. The county was renamed Wukang in Western Jin Dynasty, and is now a part of Deqing County of Zhejiang Province. In Southern Dynasty (420-589), Ren Fang of Liang State wrote Strange Stories upon ancient short sketches and novels. The first half of the book had a similar story of Fangfeng and indicated that people with the surname Fangfeng living in the mid-south were his offspring and they were all tall and big. According to the book, it was the custom of Yue State that when they offered sacrifice to God Fangfeng, three people danced with disheveled hair to a howl-like music made by a 1 meter long bamboo instrument.    
     Ren Fang's story, together with other materials, shows that this dance has a long history and has been handed down as customs in Yue State in Southern Dynasty. The connotation and the style of the dance are also presumably revealed as follows: In Yue State, those giant descendants of Fangfeng clan played the music that had come down for years with a kind of 1 meter long bamboo wind instrument. The music, mournful and ghastly, sounded like wolves howling in the plateau. Then three men danced to the music with disheveled hair. It was a simple and unsophisticated dance in which hysterics tried to fight its way out of bitterness. 
     As a reflection of slavery politics and economy, dance is inevitably associated with worship to ancestors, gods and heroes. This is confirmed by the unearthed relics in other places of Zhejiang Province. For instance, the bronze cymbal excavated from Jin Gou (Gold Valley) of Shenze Village in Pan'an County of Jinhua was also a sacrificial instrument in Shang and Zhou dynasties. It was a percussion instrument used to heighten the morale of the soldiers at the ceremonies to celebrate victories and honor heroes.  

In the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481BC) and the Warring State Period (403-221BC), the contention between Wu State and Yue State centered upon Zhejiang, an area of great strategic significance. Zhejiang belonged to Yue after the downfall of Wu, and in turn handed over to Chu State when Yue courted destruction. Then Qin State consolidated China and divided the country into 36 counties. It was a time when witch dance was in vogue. "The Baiyue Clan of Zhejiang¡­In pre-Qin times¡­The sacrificial ceremonies were numerous and jumbled, and witchcrafts were popular." (Survey on Zhejiang Customs, Yu Tong). The job of witches and wizards was to entertain gods with music and dance, so the witch dance, as part of the witchcrafts, was a very special folk dance. A cultural relic unearthed from Mt. Fan in Liangzhu of Yuhang County had a picture on it of people singing heartily and dancing with flicking long sleeves to the drumbeats. The Changzhuan Dyke in Haiyan County of Jiaxing once found 45 primitive porcelain instruments, a set of chime bells (altogether 13 bells), and various others like Niu Zhong, Gou Zhai and Dun Yu. These unearthed cultural relics were proofs of how the nobilities and the rich families of ancient Yue State enjoyed music and dance. The NO.306 Warring State tomb in Shaoxing excavated a copper model of a house. In the house were 6 musicians, with a drummer in the east of the first line, two singer-like men in the first middle and the first west, and three Sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument), and stringed instruments players in the back. Though there were no dancing witches or wizards inside, the clear lay-out of the sacrificial ceremony revealed that by the turn from slavery society to feudal society, dance had already had some instrumental accompaniment and ritual procedures. In the same period in history, there appeared many women dancers who were popular both with the folks and the nobilities. They usually dance while singing along among the folks, and due to some reasons, they reformed the folk dance into a new court dance according to the taste of those royalty and nobilities. The legendary Shi Yiguang (Xi Shi) from ZhuLuo West Village of Yue State (the present south of Zhuji in Zhejiang) was a case in point. Both The History of Wu and Yue State by Zhao Ye of Han Dynasty and Rinse The Yarn by Liang Chenyu of Ming Dynasty had accounts of Xi Shi practicing dances. In 491BC, Yue State lost the war with Wu. After being strictly trained in singing, dancing and manners in Shaoxing, Xi Shi was sent to Wu by the king of Yue to tempt the king of Wu. As expected, "the king was so intoxicated by her extraordinary beauty and delicate singing and dancing that he neglected his state affairs." (Qing Dynasty- The History of Zhuji County). So it was one of the most important reasons that led to the downfall of Wu and thriving of Yue. During her stay in Guan Wa Palace, Xi Shi often put on her wooden sandals, tied tiny bells on her dress and danced on the wooden board with other maids-in-waiting. Zhang Dai of Ming Dynasty once described in his book Memories about the Dreams in Tao Hut dancers of his time imitating Xi Shi's dance. They rang around gracefully with slow-going long sleeves, as lithe and delicate as the peonies in autumn.  
      Bone whistles - representatives of Hemudu Cultural Relics

 During the Three Kingdoms Period, Zhejiang belonged to the Kingdom of Wu. The founder Sun Quan was born in Fuchun of Wu County. He attached great importance to agriculture as he generalized the use of advanced tools and combined mercy with justice to explore the mountains. The aboriginal mountain residents were brought out of the forests and settled for agriculture. In addition to these, the mild climate of Wu and the fertile land further attracted refugees to move to the south of the Changjiang River. This movement lasted for several hundred years from the Three Kingdoms to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Zhejiang, where economy and culture had always been prosperous, became even more ample and harmonious with the newly coming culture elements from the Central Plains and the north. Moreover, Jiao Di and variety shows also had great impact on the dance of the time. As a result, dance became a culture of dazzling exuberance. The figures in the stone tomb of the late Eastern Han Dynasty or Three Kingdom Period, discovered in spring of 1973 in Yuan Jue King Temple in Chang'an Town of Haining County, Zhejiang Province, were clear evidences of how grand and popular dance was at the time. 
      The stone inscription of figures is the first one found in the south of the river and the southeast coast areas. It has rich content. There are many dancing figures on both the east and the west walls of the southern door of the coffin chamber, on the south towards the east wall, and on the second layer of the west and north walls. Among them are solo dance, pas de deux, three-people dance, collective dance, story-telling dance and singing-and-dancing operas like Behead The Snake and The Elderly Huang Of The East Sea. All the figures on the tomb walls are life like with some bowing or bending sideways, some rising high into the air, some doing contra dance and some dancing together in unison. One may not be able to tell their facial expressions, but still can feel their spirit and temperament from their expressive poses. Shaoxing once unearthed a bronze mirror of Eastern Han Dynasty. On it is a dancing figure with curly headdress, bag-sleeved clothes and stretching arms. It is quite similar to the stone inscriptions in Haining in their graceful bearings. 
      The discoveries of diverse ancient dancing figures fully indicated that during the Three Kingdom Period, Zhejiang dance was not only thriving, but also of high cultural level. 
    During Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, the rich areas south to the River were lucky enough to be clear from the continuous wars on the Central Plain. Zhejiang dance continued to flourish with the inherited Han and Wei traditions, the blend of northern and southern cultures and its vivid imitation of real life. 
      At that time, there was a village named Qian Xi (The Front Brook) in Deqing County of Huzhou, where all the villagers were adept at dancing skills. It gave birth to many famous dancers and hence won the name "the shrine of dances" (Hu Zai of Song Dynasty cited from Yu Jing's History of Grand Tang Kingdom in his book Collection of the Fishing Hermit at Tiaoxi Brook). "Qian Xi Singing and Dancing" was a kind of dance created to ¡°The Song of Qian Xi¡± by the native born Cheqi General Chen Chong of Western Jin Dynasty. It prevailed all through the country, and was handed down to Liang, Chen, even to Tang Dynasty. Liu Shan of Chen wrote in his poem, "When the sun sets behind the hill in the chants, Qian Xi dance begins by the pond." Similarly, Cui Hao of Tang Dynasty wrote in his poem, "I love the wonderful Qian Xi dance and sing whole night long, hoping the dawn never to come." According to the textual research of the dance historians, Qian Xi dance "was soft and sweet and full of folk flavors of the River south" (P316, China Dance Dictionary). Qian Xi, was an alias of Yuying Brook in territory of Wukang before its annexation into Deqing County. The History of Wukang County written in the 16th century also has similar records as the following: "Yuying Brook, alias Qian Xi, was about one hundred steps away in the south of the county. ¡­Shen Chong, a local in Wukang in Jin Dynasty¡­" For its unique artistic glamour, the folk dance of Qian Xi had been handed down for 4 to 5 centuries. 
      In Tongqing Orchard of Wuyi, Zhejiang, a Vase of Western Jin Dynasty was unearthed. On the neck of the vase were not only dancing figures jumping, clapping and head standing, but also some figures of puppet dancers who performed among the instrument players. 
    In Eastern Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, people of the north moved southward to take shelter from the war. The northern scholars found their dream place for settlement in Zhejiang with its beautiful sceneries and mild climate. The migration of people from the Central Plain brought with them some culture elements of the plain and northwestern minority groups. The dancing figures on the Wu Guan Ping Jian Dui Su from Ou Kiln dating back from Southern Dynasty in Rui'an showed that miscellaneous dances of the plain went hand in hand with Hu Dance which was very popular in Northern and Southern Dynasties. "The accessories, the movements and the bearings are quite similar to Uygur Dance of today, probably introduced from Western Regions at that time." (Chinese Dancers' Movements and Postures of Past Dynasties, Sun Jingchen and Wu Manying). In 1987, Yintou Natural Village of Kongjianong in Changshan County excavated a Sui Dynasty tomb. The brick carvings in it showed dancers with different postures and accessories from Han people in the south of the Changjiang River. Accompanied by the four-string and four-bar bending neck pipa and the long piping, it might be the dance that once appeared in Zhejiang during the grand cultural communication between different people in Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties. 
      Buddhism prevailed in Southern Dynasty as kings built temples one after another to carry forward the teachings of Buddhism. Ayu King Temple of Ningbo, Ling Shi Temple of Huangyan, Tie Fo Temple of Huzhou and Da Fo Temple of Xinchang were all built in this period. It was also in this period that the founder of Tiantai Sect in Buddhism Zhi Yi went to Mt.Tiantai, set up a straw hut there and started to sermon. The Buddhists asked the singers and dancers to help them air the tenets of Buddhism. Little by little, the ritual with singing and dancing was formed and then Buddhist dancing became popular. In addition, some wizards and witches, in order to add mystery to their tricks, always did witch dance when they were at the funerals, the sacrificial ceremonies or seeing the patients. The Buddhist dance, witch dance and Taoist dance in some places constituted the religious dances in Liu Chao Period (six dynasties all with their capital located in Nanjing from 222 to 589). In the book History of Jin-Stories of Hermits, Xia Tong of Yue State once saw a witch, who was very pretty in her graceful dress and good at singing and dancing, moving about airily like a nymph among her guests. 
 The professional court dance culture represented by the court dance "Music of Yan" of Tang Dynasty and the amateur folk dance culture represented by the folk dance teams of Song Dynasty were the two different but inter-mingling magnificent facets of the Chinese dance history. They both had their impact on Zhejiang dance culture.
      In Southern Song Dynasty, the folk dance teams active in "Wa Zi" (alias Wa She, or "Gou Lan") coexisted together with "Worship Coufucius" dance in the folk custom, the religious dance, and the "team dance" which had already been accepted by the court. The folk dance in Zhejiang showed a greater variety and became more prosperous.  
  According to History of Jinhua County written during the reign of Guangxu Emperor, Falong Temple was established in 857 (in Tang Dynasty), in Jin Cheng Si Cun (Golden City Temple Village), which was located in the suburb of Jinhua Town. Under the baldachin of stone pillar were four flying Apsaras playing flute, Sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument), Xiao (a vertical bamboo flute) and pipa respectively. The style and shape of the four with the delicate carvings and flowing lines were similar to those flying apsaras in the frescoes of the Dunhuang Caves especially in that they both had strong flavors of Tang Dynasty court. In the Five Dynasties and Ten States Period after Tang Dynasty, Zhejiang belonged to Wuyue State. The king of Wuyue attached great importance to sea embankments and irrigation projects. People were encouraged to open up wasteland and began to cultivate the area in peace and contentment. Hangzhou, the capital city flourished with great efforts put to its construction. In 978, Qian Hongchu came over and pledged allegiance to Northern Song, so that Zhejiang was free from war for successive 70 years. Then Southern Song kingdom moved to the south of the River and appointed Hangzhou Lin'an District and the royal abode. Since then Lin'an had been even more thriving and become the political, economic as well as the cultural center of Southern Song Dynasty. Swarmed with business people, it was the biggest city in the country and one of the most bustling cities in the world. In order to meet the needs of the increasingly prosperous economic and cultural communication, the artistic activities were active and frequent. Wa She was established all around the city and musicians were called in. "They became the places of entertainment for soldiers in their spare time."(Meng Liang Lu - Wa She by Wu Zimu of Song Dynasty) Of course, there were more guests than the soldiers in Wa She since it was established. Fops of the rich and common people alike all lingered in the place for fun. Wa She was so named because it was a place for people to assemble (Wa He) or disorganize (Wa Jie) easily. It was encircled by handrails (Lan Gan), hence another name Gou Lan. For a time, the total number of Wa She in and outside Lin'an amounted to 23. They were extremely busy as dances and opera were shown on stage often all night through. Boisterous people crowded the shores and the boats and the bustling scene was even more unparalleled on the Lantern Festival. "The dancing team started off from the Midwinter Day", "On the evening of the Lantern Festival (the 15th of the first month in Chinese Lunar Calendar), there were dozens of different dancing teams, such as Qing Yin, E Yun, Diao Dao, Bao Lao, Hu Nv, Liu Gun, Qiao San Jiao, Qiao Ying Jiu, Qiao Qin Shi, Jiao Chui Jia Er, Shi Nv, Chu Ge, Zhu Guo Chao, Zhu Ma Er, Cun Tian Le, Shen Gui, Shi Zhai Lang Ge She, Qiao Zhai juan, Han Long Chuan, Ti Deng Bao Lao, Chi Xiang She, Guan Xiang Kou and 24 puppets of Su Jia Xiang." "People were still reluctant to leave the next morning" "It was not until late into the night of the 16th did the dancing teams disperse." (Meng Liang Lu Volume 1 - The Lantern Festival). At the climax of the dancing parade, dozens or even hundreds of the teams joined together, stretching long behind. The Past Stories of Wulin by Zhou Mi of Song Dynasty (Volume 2 "Dancing Teams") enumerated more than 70 programs of them and marveled at their varieties. The following were a few typical examples: Joy On Farmland imaging the life of the village men with straw capes, Song of the Pestle imaging people pounding the earth or pestling rice, Hacking Bao Lao, Jiao Gun Bao Lao, Bao Lao Kicking the Lanterns performed with funny masks, Rowing on Dryland for the dragon boat competition and rowing in the watery region, Ten Zhai Langs mocking the corrupted society through the character Zhai Lang, Tao Qiao Zhu Ma developed from children's games "bamboo horse riding" and "ta qiao", Liangzhou introduced from Liangzhou of Gansu Province, etc. At the time, the folk artists organized societies of their own. Some performed at Wa Zi all the year round, while some others disbanded after the festivals. They often came out on orders, and when Wa Zi was too busy in festivals, they would perform on "Music Canopy" or "Open Stage" outside Wa Zi. Performance in the open was called "Da Ye He" in Chapter 6 of The Past Stories of Wulin. The vase of Long Ren Dui (dragon man tomb) of Southern Song Dynasty unearthed from Li Tan of Wuyi County showed a number of dancers with a huge swirling dragon over their heads, which probably was a reflection of the dancing teams of that time. The famous Ci writer of Southern Song Dynasty Jiang Baishi once gasped in admiration, "There are dancers all around the city, their silk dress covered with beautiful embroidery; They love this precious spring outing night, and wouldn't leave even until the moon is gone."

   In Southern Song Dynasty, the folk dances not only thrived in Lin'an District, but also all around the country. For example, in Dongyang of Wuzhou, the Lotus Flower dancing teams were prevailing. According to Wild Talk in the East of Qi by Zhou Mi, when giving feasts, people of Southern Song Dynasty always asked singers and dancers to come in to entertain the guests. Among the most famous was Yan Rui of Tiantai, who was known for her extraordinary beauty and her exceptional singing-and-dancing skills. 
     The court "team dance" was usually staged together with Bai Xi(hundred operas - variety shows) and Zu-Ju (poetic drama set to music) on the Emperor's birthday or other grand celebrations. In the home of the nobilities and scholar-bureaucrats, mini dancing teams were kept. As the collective sing-and-dancing for the ancient courts, "team dance" originated from Tang Dynasty and thrived in Song Dynasty. Most of the team dancers of Southern Song Dynasty came from among the folks. In 1164, the training school for court performers was removed. Ever since then, performers were chosen temporarily for the court and the kinship between team dance and the folk dance became even closer. 
     Team dance was interlinked with Zhi Yu, dancing and singing. The gorgeous and sumptuous dance conveyed graceful artistic conception. The team dance of Southern Song Dynasty not only inherited a lot from Yan Yue (Music of Man) of Sui and Tang dynasties, but also was innovative itself. The music they danced to was mainly "Da Qu (grand music)", which set the structure and the form for the dance. Adding lyrics to "Da Qu", the dancers performed out the story through singing and dancing. The procedure of team dance has many affinities with the later Southern Operas, Za-Ju and legendary operas. According to the recordings in ancient books like Meng Liang Lu and Past Stories of Wulin, Da Qu singing and dancing on feasts in Southern Song Dynasty usually presented as follows: "Da Sheng Yue", "Zhong He Yue", "Liu Yao" (alias "Lv Yao"), "Bo Mei", "Yi Zhou", "Xi Zhou", "Liang Zhou", etc. In order to meet the needs of the dainty royal court and scholar-bureaucrat class, the court team dance was more delicate and more skill-and-form-oriented than the local flavored folk dance. But due to the civilian background of the dancers and reservation of some folk dance elements, team dance did not break away from folk dance from the beginning till the end. For instance, Ya Gu Er Xi Zhou in Gong Ben Za-Ju Duan Shu (court script of Za-Ju) was originally mini-type folk singing and dance. Programs such as "Si Guo Chao", "Wu Zhong Kui", "Pu Hu Die", and "Xiao Xiang Sheng" for Yuan Xi dancing teams in Hangzhou contributed directly to such Da Qu dance programs as "Si Guo Chao", "Zhong Kui Cuan", "Pu Hu Die Cuan" and "Xiang Sheng Cuan". "Liangzhou" and "Liu Yao", loved very much by Gaozong Emperor of Song Dynasty, was a regular program for both court and folk stage. Mei Shengyu of Song Dynasty wrote in his poem that "Music was resounding and prolonged in the open, red ribbons on drummers' arms flied up and down. 'Liu Yao' was first played and then 'Liangzhou', made the nobles alongside cheerful and overjoyed."

   Zhou Mi of Song Dynasty once referred to Deshou Palace as Dance Notation (hereinafter the Notation) in his book The Miscellaneous in Year Kuixin. The Notation was produced when Gaozong Emperor abdicated in favor of his son and moved to Deshou Palace (Palace of Virtue and Longevity). It was recorded in verbs or configuration of animals as training materials for the performers in the palace. There were nine categories (totaling 63 kinds) of dancing poses or team formations in the chart. According to history books, there was a Madam Ju at the time. She used to be the head of the singing-and-dancing team in Xianshaoyuan of Gaozong Emperor. For not winning fondness of the emperor, she went back to Lin'an. But later on, she was again summoned to the Palace of Virtue and Longevity and contributed her wisdom to the creation of the Notation. Though a bit lagging behind Dunhuang Dance Notation of the Five Dynasties Period, the Notation still came out much earlier than those in other countries of the world. 
         Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, is the most famous thinker and educator of ancient China. The monarchs of the past dynasties all canonized him and Confucianism as orthodox to reinforce their imperial power and to protect their interests. In 1128, the 48th generation offspring of Confucius moved southward with Gaozong Emperor. They chose Quzhou of Zhejiang to be the site of Confucius Temple; hence the popularization of "worshipping Confucius" customs and its dances. 
         According to existing notations of dance for the worship of Confucius in Quzhou and Ningbo during Xianfeng's Reign in Qing Dynasty, Yu Yue dance was a kind of scholar's dance which evolved from Shao dance of Shun's time. And the sacrificial dances started officially from the third year of Yong Ming of Qi State, Southern Dynasties. The traceable "worshipping Confucius" dance in Zhejiang history probably dated back to late Tang Dynasty, developed in Northern Song Dynasty and prevailed in Southern Song Dynasty. "The Confucius Temple of Ningbo was first established in 788¡­In 1018, Cang Shui (green water) road was built to it." "the Confucius Temple of Yinxian was turned into the county school in 1048 by county magistrate Wang Anshi" "The 'worshipping Confucius' ceremony was held together with that of the prefecture on the same day." (Survey of Confucius Worshipping in Ningbo by Hong Keyao) When the clan temple of Confucius in the south was established in Quzhou, the sacrifice activities were more frequent than ever and went on continually until the end of Qing Dynasty. 
    The "worshipping Confucius" dance was an indispensable part of sacrificial rituals. The existing dance notations included not only detailed pictures of poses and movements, names and illustrations, but also rather insightful theoretical analysis, as in On Ancient Dance Ranks. In the book, chapters like "Yong Wu Zhi Shi (the beginning)", "Wu Wu (soldiers' dance)", "Shu (numerals)", "Ren Shu (number of dancers)", "Tu Pu (picture chart)", "Chi Ji (pace of movements)" and "Wu Qi (the dancers' ware) traced back to the origin of the dance, followed the reforms, described movements and summarized the artistic features of the dance, for instance, "one pace should accord with one music beat"; "dancers in the back should follow those in the front to abide the formality of the dance, but this is not found in today's dances". The close relationship of dance and fussy etiquettes was illustrated vividly in the book. 
 In Zhejiang Province, Buddhism was the most influential of all religions. On temple fair in the countryside, there were many Buddhist dances as part of the Buddhist ceremony. In Ningbo, Ayu King Temple, Tian Tong (heavenly child) Temple as well as Qi Ta (seven pagoda) Temple all keep Buddist rhymed formula of more than a hundred yoga poses; the pagoda of Yan Qing Temple of Songyang, built in 979, have pictures of arhats and flying asparas on the wall, with the latter as vivid as those of Tang Dynasty. 
         In Southern Song Dynasty, the She group gradually moved from Fujian Province to Zhejiang, hence the increasing show of She dance in the sacrificial ceremonies to ancestors. 
         During Southern Song Dynasty, on one hand, the folk dances flourished. On the other hand, people kept looking for better artistic form to image the comprehensive real life. As a result, the art of opera emerged. And it was at this time that some singing-and-dancing turned into operas. 
    Southern Opera originated from Za-Ju of Wenzhou (alias Yongjia Za Ju). Wenzhou was called Dong'ou in the ancient times and was well known for their advocacy of singing-and-dancing. The opera researchers say, "These popular singing-and-dancing programs were bound to find their way into the early operas" (A Prove into Southern Opera edited by Art Research Office of Wenzhou). Singing-and-dancing had their great impact on opera and in turn was greatly influenced by the artistic features of opera. This mutual influence of the two lasted from Southern Song Dynasty until now.  
    In Ming and Qing dynasties, the feudal society waned from its height of power and splendor. The dogmatic Confucian school, which tried every way to maintain the feudal ethical codes, put chains to further development of dances. In addition, after absorbing useful elements in the communication with Za-Ju of the north in Yuan Dynasty, the Southern Opera reached its unprecedented zenith and fully developed into the legend operas of Ming Dynasty. The development of Zhejiang dance came to a period of stagnancy, as audience was attracted to the sponging, changing and colorful operas. However, generally speaking, the dances still experienced a favorable turn from the strict restriction in Yuan Dynasty. 
   In this period, dances for performance alone became rare and made place for operas which could manifest the complex social life. But at the same time, there were more dances for self-entertainment, such as those in the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, "Sai Hui (contest meetings)" and "Shi Ri (fair's day)". 
 The "Fish Lantern Dance" of Qingtian was said to evolve from one of the founding fathers of Ming Dynasty Liu Ji drilling his soldiers in battle array with fish lanterns, while the "Rattan Shield Dance" of Wenzhou was created by the famous general of Ming Dynasty Qi Jiguang to train the recruits in order to fight against the Japanese pirates. "Ask them to move with the rattan shield and see if they know how to take defense¡­" (Training Diary by Qi Jiguang) The dance belonged to the same category with "Gan Qi" and "Man Pai", but it put more emphasis on the actual effects in the battle. Some country dances, which were believed to have the power to drive away diseases and ghosts, had always been going around in Zhejiang since ancient times. The Jiaxing Prefecture Annals written around 16th and 17th century had the following record: "in the twelve month of the lunar year, the countrymen blacken their face with ink and danced in the streets in ancient ways to drive away the ghosts." The Ninghai County Annals of Yiyin Year in Guangxu's Reign of Qing Dynasty also had records in its customs and practices chapter: in midwinter, people made dumplings with glutinous rice powder as sacrifice to gods and ancestors, and stuffed in them red beans. An old beggar turned himself into the judge of the nether world, pointing his sword towards the sun while dancing and chanting incantations. This ritual was called "Kua Ling Wang" among the folks and could be seen on festivals. Zhu Shu of Qing Dynasty wrote in his book ¡°The Miscellaneous of Gu He¡±: "Before Beginning of Spring, people played music and beat drums at Dong Ta (East Pagoda) Temple while a beggar played the role of the Spring God¡­", "almost all the dancing wares were ready from children's adornments, the row boats to straw capes and hoes¡­", "On Lantern Festival, people danced to the sonorous music and drum beats with their dragon lantern, revolving horse lantern or other various lanterns." "At noon on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month¡­people beat gongs and drums, and danced in the role of the blackened faced Zhong Kui (a deity who can drive away evil spirits in Chinese folklore) and the red faced Heavenly Master. Various kinds of folk dances were vivid through the description of the annals. The De Qing folk dance "Cleaning the Silkworm Room" had a long history of more than one hundred years. Every year around the Pure Brightness Festival when every household was cleaning the room for raising silkworms, the folk artists would always dance out their course of production to show that they were ready for a whole year's labor. "Picking Tea Leaves" was originally a song or an opera, which started from the Kuocang Mountains in southern Zhejiang at the turn from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. The local peasants used to dance it as a kind of self-entertainment to celebrate good harvest in public squares or canopies of temple fairs or bazaars at festivals. The predecessor of "Hundred Leaf Dragon" was the folk dance of Anji "Hua Long Deng (changing dragon lantern)" with a history of more than a hundred years and passed down for four generations. It was also a self-entertaining dance when the local people built new houses, held wedding ceremonies and prayed for good luck¡­From Wenzhou Bamboo Branch Ci written by Fang Dinrui in Tongzhi's Reign of Qing Dynasty, one is able to find traces of the folk dances of the time: 
         Floats parade along the roads every year to celebrate good harvest; Children on bamboo horse back compete to sing praise of God; Thousands of lanterns bring dazzling brightness. While dragon boats are racing in this crisscross watery region; Witch dancers push their way through the busy, boisterous crowds; With their eyes and ears dyed golden, They whirl as if they truly saw Gods come in; And truly drove away diseases. Squares and streets are decorated with colorful ribbons; Endless lines of candles are ablaze all through the night; Songs and music last well into Spring for three months. Who cares money at this moment? Just go to buy more lanterns.

In the Republic of China, based on the inherited customs and traditions, some programs of Zhejiang dance underwent changes and development. However, generally speaking, the folk dance development was seriously hindered by the political situation of the time. There were only occasional folk dance activities. Among the rare ones, the 1946's Lantern Festival was worth mentioning. In order to celebrate the victory in the Anti-Japanese War, a dragon dance contest was held in the hometown of dragon dance - Fenghua. One hundred and eight teams participated in this contest. On the second day of the lunar year in 1947, the famous dragon dancer of Tiaozhai Village of Fenghua led the team to Xikou. It was so coincidental that Jiang Jieshi and his son were spending holidays there in Xikou, their hometown. The dragon dancing team was sent for and they performed at "Feng Hao Fang (The House of Richness and Brightness)". Their masterly and strong flavored skills made Jiang beam with great joy. Later, Mrs. Jiang tipped the dragon dancing team for their excellent performance. ¡°Enjoying Operas at Duyin Garden¡±, written by the late gentry Mr. Zhang Zhenxuan of Qingtian, Rui'an and prepared by Shen Chen for publication, referred to the folk singing-and-dancing activities of the time several times. For instance, in its April 1st diary of 1928, Mr. Zhang wrote: "It is the Pure Brightness Festival. In the old days, it was to be a busy time for Rui'an people to worship the town god. But last year, it was cancelled for the obstruction from the party. We had planned to resume the custom this year, but due to the curfew and the turbulent situation, the plan failed. No places other than Wujiao and Haicheng have some activities as before just for the sake of the festival." Except for some particular reasons, the diary of Mr. Zhang Zhenxuan never stopped a day for more than fifty years from the second day of the 14th year of Guangxu's reign to the eighth day of the 31st year of the Republic of China. So it was the precious historical material about operas and folk singing-and-dancing in southern Zhejiang for a half century. It was a pity that Mr. Zhang should finish his diary in lament over the folk dances of the time: "It used to be a grand ceremony to welcome the god in this place. But as inflation spirals inexorably on, every household is impoverished¡­with still the curfew¡­ceremonies of all kinds are called off." 
         In some places under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party, though regular singing-and-dancing activities were impossible due to the tough revolutionary fight, some folk artists and cultural workers created new patterns of folk dance with revolution as their component part. "Painful Foot-Binding" appearing during the Great Revolution in Sanmen County was a typical case in point. In 1927 before the Tingpang Revolt led by the Communist Party, the Peasants Association and Women's Association made known to people the Party tenets through folk dances like "Vehicle Lantern" and "Lion's Meet". "Lu Yi (Art of Shangdong Province)" and "Social Education Team" of the Mt. Siming Base used to do some collection, sorting out works of Yangge (a popular rural folk dance) and other folk dances. According to Hu Zhangsheng, the ex-chairman of Ningbo General Worker's Union, during the Anti-Japanese War, those who wanted to save the nation from extinction inspirited people with a combination of the traditional folk dance "Rowing in the Lake" and the song "Come and Join the Army to Kill the Enemy". They also adapted the folk "Lion Dance" into "Beat the Tiger", a dance about defeating the Japanese soldiers. 
Going for the Singing Contest

   After liberation, the Communist Party and the people's government showed great concern about the development of Zhejiang traditional folk dances. Meanwhile, great efforts have been made to promote professional dances. Though there used to be twists and turns, Zhejiang dances developed forward under the guidance of the Party's Cultural Policy as well as people's endeavor. 
       In recent years, the folk dances and the dances of minority groups grow more active than ever before. Fresh and original programs appear on festivals. The collective dance and the ballroom dance are unprecedentedly popularized for self-entertainment, and the joint-performances, "Music and Dance Festival", "Culture Festival", ¡°the Square Folk Dance Competition¡± and ¡°the Rural Dance Competition¡± are held regularly. In 1981, the National Culture Ministry, the National Ethnic Affairs Committee and the Chinese Dancers Association issued a joint notice to prepare for the edit and publication of The Grand Compendium of Chinese Folk Dances and Dances of Minority Groups (hereinafter The Compendium). Catching the opportunity provided by the publication of Zhejiang Volume of The Compendium and of The History of Chinese Dances in 1999, Zhejiang traditional dances were further tapped. The Compendium and the summary part of the latter book organized, for the first time, the dance history of ancient Yue State and Zhejiang into an integrative one, and fill in the gap in Zhejiang culture history and Chinese dance history alike. 
     Before liberation, Zhejiang Province did not have any professional dancing troupes. But the Zhejiang Folk Singing-and-Dancing Troupe was established in 1957, which transformed to Zhejiang Singing-and-Dancing Troupe in 1966, Zhejiang General Troupe of Singing-and-Dancing in 1990, and now the Zhejiang Singing, Dancing and Opera Troupe (hereinafter the Troupe). The Troupe was first comprised of the excellent dancers, folk singers standing out from the provincial folk and amateur joint performances and those who transferred to civilian work from the military cultural troupes. In its course of development, many talented performers from every line and from the art schools were introduced into the Troupe. Ever since the 50's till now, the Troupe has produced many super programs with rich flavors of the River south area. Among the long list are dance programs like Pick Tea Leaves, Weave Fishnet, Blessing Water, The Beekeeping Girl, Returning Late From The Mulberry Wood, Travel Along Spring River, Tunes Among The Flowers, Mini Nichang (an ancient tune handed down from Tang Dynasty), Rain Over Spring River, Flower Lantern Dance, Three Songs Of The Plum Flowers and dancing operas like Qiujin (a heroine during the Great Revolution). One after another, many programs are invited to perform in a dozen foreign countries. The Beekeeping Girl won the second prize for choreographer-director and the third price for dancer in the 1St National Dance Contest; Returning Late From The Mulberry Wood won the first prize for both creation and performance in the 1st East China Dance Joint Performance, and won the third prize for both choreographer-director and dancer in the 2nd National Dance Contest; Tunes Among The Flowers won first prize for both creation and performance in the 2nd East China Dance Joint Performance; Travel Along Spring River won the first prize for creation and the second and the third prize for performers in the 1st East China Dance Joint Performance. Programs like Pick Tea Leaves and Weave Fishnet are very popular among people and prevail in Zhejiang Province.  
   The Hangzhou Sing-and-Dancing Troupe was established in June 1959. It always stresses the creation and development of dancing operas with distinct cultural features of the region. Among the favorably commented programs are mini-sized dances: Three Poles Mirroring The Moon, Eagle and Snake; the large-scaled dances: Adorned Or Not, The Elegant River South and the dancing opera The White Snake and Xuxian. Another dancing opera, Sister Drum, won seven prizes such as the best program of the National Wenhua Award, and the best program of the National New Program Exhibition Performance. 
      Ningbo Singing-and-Dancing Troupe was established in 1990. Its serial dance The Unique Scenery, mini-sized operas such as Love of The Shell Girl, Spirit On The Road and the dance with pipa accompaniment Autumn Water Under The Setting Sun are praised for their distinct regional flavor and time spirit. Another dancing opera, Man Jiang Hong (Red All Over The River), won the silver award of the National "Lotus Flower Award". 
     Wenzhou Singing-and-Dancing Troupe was transformed in 1982 from Wenzhou Cultural Troupe. But it stopped between 1991 and 1994 for lack of funds. After it was rebuilt in 1995, it produced such excellent programs as The Wrong Done To Dou'e, Wake Up, Brother, The Beauty of River Ou and The Bird Couple. Some programs full of ethos and rural flavors have won national or provincial prizes.

 Zhejiang Art Vocational School (formerly Zhejiang Art School) and the dance department of Wenzhou Children's' Art School not only train a large number of professional talents, but also contributed many excellent programs. 
 Dance Breeze Over Mt. She

In addition to the institutes mentioned above, the folk singing-and-dancing teams initiated by Zhejiang Mass Art Center, municipal culture centers or stations and all kinds of enterprises are always active. The folk dances, usually giving a full play of their skills on Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc, greatly enrich people's life. These activities give birth to the excellent programs like Riffles of the Green Lotus Leaves, Country Willow, Nv Er Hong (wine prepared for the daughter's wedding), Moon in Hometown, Out There of the River Head, Lessons From The Sea, March in Watery Region, The Long and Winding Nanxi River, Night Chat in the Fishing Hut, The Sea Wind Blows. Among them, Hundred Leave Dragon and Flower Lantern Dance, which are dances for the squares, won the gold award of "All Star Award" issued by the National Culture Ministry; Riffles of the Green Lotus Leaves won the first prize in the National Folk Music and Dance Competition. 
    In 1999, the folk dances for squares Haining Flower Lantern Dance, Yuhang Rolling Lantern Dance and Qingtian Fish Lantern Dance were invited to perform in the variety show in the middle of Tian'an Men Square for the 50th birthday of People's Republic of China. They met with thunderous applause from the Party representatives and the leaders of the nation and won many prizes. 
          While carrying on the past, Zhejiang dance keeps changing, developing and opens a way for its bright, prosperous future.

 
     (Writer: Wu Lusheng, Translator: Zhang Ying)