A Folk Courtship Dance

Xueqiang, also called “courtship dance,” has won Derong County national fame among cultural workers and researchers. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. However, the county is still largely unknown in the country because of its remote location on the borders of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet, far from the limelight.

In Derong dialect, xue means courting and qiang means jumping. Over time, Xueqiang became standard entertainment at gatherings and parties. Especially at night during the harvest festival, revelers would dance the Xueqiang around a bonfire while drinking and singing. Some would risk “jumping the bonfire,” making the night even more exciting.

Xueqiang has no accompaniment or props. Its main features are the stomping and stepping rhythms that are sometimes strong and powerful, sometimes soft and free. The synchronized pounding of thick leather boots is a thrilling sight.

Tibetan composer Ajin explained to the reporter that Xueqiang singing is complicated in its tune structure, which is usually divided into four parts – intro, bridge, verse, and outro. The intervals are full of ups and downs, while the melody is bright and natural. The scales mainly comprise five tones. At the end of the melody, dancers stomp their feet to fill the pause and create a penetrating, lingering ending. The stomping adds dynamism to the song and dance.

As for the origins of Xueqiang, according to folklore, it can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when Princess Wencheng was sent to marry the King of Tubo, an ancient kingdom in Tibet. The local headman of Derong, Zigeng Awu, called local artists together to compose songs and choreograph dances to greet the princess as she passed through. Eventually, Xueqiang was created, combining the artistic spirits of different ethnic groups co-existing at the time: Han, Tibetan, Naxi, and Bai.

However, this is probably a legend. In recent years, an archaeological research team investigated the ancient route connecting the interior and Tubo. They concluded that the Tang princess would have taken a route via Sershul in the northwest of Garzi, quite a distance from Derong in the southwest corner of the prefecture. Some believe that the dance originated in Zhongdian, also known as Shangri-la in neighboring Yunnan Province, absorbing elements of multiple ethnic groups there. According to the records of the Dianyun Chronicles, the Naxi ethnic group governed a vast area including Derong in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Some scholars hence speculate that Xueqiang originated in dances of the Naxi people.