“Finger Guozhuang” makes first public appearance

“Finger Guozhuang” circle dance with the right forefinger, and the middle finger as the medium and is supplemented with lyric recitation.

Photo shows a live demonstration of Baiyu county "finger Guozhuang" folk art

Folk artists from Baiyu county does a demonstration of a standard step of the “finger Guozhuang” dance.

On August 11, there was a major discovery with the Baiyu county intangible cultural asset project, and a traditional Guozhuang dance news conference was conducted in Dardo county, excavated in Baiyu county’s Geyu township and Denglong township, the “finger Guozhuang” circle dance came into public view for the very first time.

A survey conducted in 2015 regarding the Baiyu county intangible cultural heritage found finger Guozhuang circle dance, the unique dance formations of the Khampa Tibetan inhabited areas. In order to go one step further in researching the special characteristics and historical following, the county invited leading experts to conduct an on-site investigation and verify that finger dancing were unique to Baiyu County.

"Finger Guozhuang” circle with the right forefinger, and the middle finger as the medium and is supplemented with lyric recitation to form a dance pattern. Survey reports from experts indicate that at present there are only 4 people that grasp the “Finger Guozhuang” folk art continuation patterns. The dance has 8 basic patterns, more than 120 songs, and is regarded by experts as the “dance based written account of life as an encoding of Tibetan pots”.

The Sichuan Province Research Institute researcher and intangible cultural heritage committee member Prof Li Yang explained that there is evidence that the finger Guozhuang circle dance tradition has been passed down for more than 1000 years. During the Shama dynasty period in the Khampa region every time there was an important festival headman required the masses to continue the Guozhuang circle dance  as long as one day and one night, yet because the dances body strength was not enough the permitted them to use their fingers to express the Guozhuang circle dance. In this way, it was suitable for elderly artists to pass it down, and also allowed the elderly to partake in all kinds of festival activities. The enthusiastic dancers could overcome the challenges including the climate and other limitations and would perform in an improvisational manner next to bonfires, on top of Tibetan tables or during other breaks.

Li Yang said that the discovery of the Baiyu finger Guozhuang circle dance is of important significance in the regards of its unique artistic expression, in the regard of researching the origins of Khampa Guozhuang circle dance culture as well as for continuation and protection, education and arrangement etc. At present, the Guozhuang finger dance cultural phenomenon is only found within the borders of Baiyu county. It is regarded by experts as the very origin of Khampa bowls, and the county is also regarded as one of the points from which Khampa bowls were originally disseminated from.

The “finger Guozhuang” circle dance intangible cultural asset project has already become a county level affair. In the next steps, they will apply for intangible cultural heritage recognition at the provincial level, the district and even the national level.