A Study On The Culture Of Stilt Walking Beasts In Jishan,Shanxi Province In The Context Of Villages

The Stilt Walking-beast is a representative culture passed down in Yangcheng Village,Qinghe Town,Jishan County,Yuncheng City,Shanxi Province,while the Beixin Sacred Beast in Beixinzhuang,Qinghe Town,Jishan County,Yuncheng City,Shanxi Province.In traditional villages,the sacrifice ritual performance,which takes a village-based tour as its main form,is meant to express a folk idea of their godly respect and humane entertainment,of their pursuit of a good life.As a consequence of rapid changes in social development,the performance of Jishan-Yangcheng Stilt Walking-beast is no longer limited to the Huoshen Niangniang(Fire Goddess)Sacrifice(on Lunar Jan.29th of the leap year)and the Beixin Sacred Beast to the Sacrifice of the Dragon(Lunar March 5th),Houji(Lunar April 17th)and Jiang Yuan(Lunar Jan.23rd),and turned to a greater social audience outside its former villages as a cultural performance.Turning from a traditional village-based ritual performance to an outward cultural performance is a self-conscious decision made by a passed-down tradition to fit in with the social changes.Literary criticism,field working,interviewing and comparative analysis are the main research methods of the thesis.From the data collected through such methods,the thesis firstly describes the village-based environment in the light of the genesis and development of Jishan Yangcheng and the Beixin Stilt Walking-beast.The thesis secondly analyses the old folk belief and ritual performance of Jishan Yangcheng and the Beixin Stilt Walking-beast in a comparative perspective,interpreting its cultural functions of luck benefitting,godly respect and humane entertainment,and the dividing of cultural boundaries.The thesis at length analyses the dilemma faced by Stilt Walking-beast inheritance,and its adaptations,as a consequence of passing-down and preservations of the Jishan Yangcheng Walking-beast as a national intangible cultural heritage,and Beixin Stilt Walking-beast as a municipal intangible cultural heritage,aiming at better protection and flourishment of the fine traditional Chinese culture.