In the Lingnan region, a unique form of dragon dance captivates audiences with its vivid and distinctive style: the Drunken Dragon Dance. Performers drink wine while maneuvering a wooden dragon head, occasionally spraying wine from their mouths to create a "drunken dragon spitting fire" effect, producing a spectacle of "dancing dragons, sprinkling alcohol." This mesmerizing tradition hails from Zhongshan in Guangdong.
The reporter of Yangcheng Evening News visited the Changzhou Village in the west district of Zhongshan City , the birthplace of the Drunken Dragon Dance, and interviewed Huang Jinjian, a provincial representative inheritor of this art form, and his Drunken Dragon team. In front of the Huang Family Ancestral Hall, the team performed an exhilarating display of the Drunken Dragon Dance as Huang shared the past and future of this cultural heritage.
The dragon appears drunk but is not in spirit
In Changzhou Village, the annual parade on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month has a long history. Villagers gather in temples to pay respects to deities, and after the rituals, the parade commences, involving the drunken dragon dance.
As far back as the Ming and Qing dynasties, the tradition of Drunken Dragon Dance in Changzhou Village has been established. The performance is an essential part of the parade. Accompanied by the sounds of gongs and drums, performers dance and drink, and stop at altars to pay homage to the gods. The one holding the liquor vessel would step forward to pour liquor onto the dragon dancer. The dancers, though appearing drunken, maintain a steady rhythm and keep performing. After the parade, the aroma of alcohol lingers throughout the village's streets and alleys.
"In the past, our village had a vibrant Drunken Dragon Dance culture. My father was the leader of the dance, leading the parade every Bathing Buddha Festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. It was such a spectacle!" Huang recalls. His father, Huang Zhuogen, dedicated most of his life to the preservation and passing down of the Drunken Dragon Dance.
A heritage passed down through generations
"Passing on the Drunken Dragon Dance from our ancestors is a wish of my father and a commitment I hold dear," says Huang.
This year marks the 60th birthday of Huang. Having engaged in the tradition for half a century, he is the sixth-generation inheritor of the drunken dragon dance in Changzhou. During every performance, Huang adorns a bright red headscarf and wields an 85-centimeter-long dragon head. His performance is agile and versatile, accompanied by spirited shouts of "hey" and "ha" as he dances.
Huang explained that the drunken dragon dance integrates techniques from Southern Fist, Drunken Fist, and acrobatics . Practitioners need a solid foundation in martial arts, requiring at least a year of basic training before learning the movements of the drunken dragon dance. Since taking the "baton" from his father, Huang has become the new leader of the Drunken Dragon Dance. His son, Huang Duquan, has also followed the family tradition, becoming the seventh-generation inheritor.
"In recent years, the Drunken Dragon team has had more opportunities to perform on stage, with over 80 performances annually," Huang tells reporters. Seeing the once nearly-lost Drunken Dragon Dance now thrive, he feels that they have taken another step toward revitalizing this cultural legacy.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
