外国语中心

Giant Horse Lantern honored as national intangible cultural heritage

Every year from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, the locals in Dongba (Eastern Dam) town, Gaochun district of Nanjing city, Jiangsu province will weave some “Dama Lanterns” (Giant Horse Lantern, a portable radiant horse-like lantern which could be wore and operated) and wear them across the streets to give a splendid performance.
The folk activity which could be dated back to the Ming and Qing dynasties was recently honored as a national intangible cultural heritage. It usually involves a team of seven “horses”, each one of which is operated by two performers.
A “Giant Horse Lantern” show usually involves performers of three generations. The elderly direct the music band and control the speed of the show, the young hide inside the “horse” and operate the lantern, and the children play roles from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The “Giant Horse Lantern” is huger than ordinary horse lanterns, and is operated by two strong and swift young men, one of who plays the horse head, and the other its body. It is composed of a bamboo-made “horse skeleton”, a piece of “horse skin” made by velveteen, a saddle, a halter, and brass bells, etc.
It’s said that the leading operators of the “Giant Horse Lantern” are Tang Yudao who is included by the Ministry of Culture of the PRC in its third list of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritages, Tang Chunshan and Tang Haitou, who are included by Jiangsu Cultural Bureau in its second list of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritages.
Now in Dongba, we could still see some old brick-and-wood performing stages. The great stage in the court of the government offices building of Dongzhen town is one of them. Boasting a roof with single eaves, the two-story stage records a height of 10 meters, and covers an area of over 150 square meters. It faces the south and consists of three performing booths, which is now one of the cultural relics under provincial-level protection.