The Journal of Society for Dance Documentation & History

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Asian Dance Journal

Chinese Local Cultural Elements in Jeongjae Oyangseon

정재 오양선에 있어서 중국의 지방문화적 요소

Im, Jang Hyuk,Yeom, Hee Jae 임장혁,염희재

DOI:10.26861/sddh.2020.57.111

Asian Dance Journal
Vol.57 pp.111-136

Abstract
Chinese Local Cultural Elements in Jeongjae Oyangseon ×

Oyangseon (五羊仙, Daoist hermits of five sheep) is known as one of the fourteen dances of Dangakjeongjae (唐樂呈才, Chinese court dance). It has been performed since the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) as a royal dance transmitted from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) of China with a background of the Oyang (五羊, Five sheep) legend. The existing research on Oyangseon focuses on the transformation of Oyangseon, production composition, and narrative analysis based on historical materials, though with little examination of symbolic or metaphorical expressions in choreography. Oyangseon is a dance performance based on a folk tale set in Chinese Weo (越) culture. According to W. Eberhart, Weol culture was developed in combination with the Thai culture and the Yao culture. The present study aims to provide an interpretation of Oyangseon based on the motifs and cultural elements of Oyangseon’s tale from a Weol cultural perspective. Oyangseon's tale tells the story of five sheep delivering grain from the holy world to the human world for a good harvest and well-being. Oyangseon can be understood as a work strengthening or renewing royal authority by invoking the relation between spirituality and farming. Jukgan (竹竿, a bamboo pole) is a ritual-offering-object widely used in Chinese palaces and even in the private sector which represents the presence of deity. Meanwhile, the choreography of Jeonjae is same as the Chinese Ubo (禹步). Marcel Granet said Ubo is an expression of the one-legged goblin's walking (movement) in Chinese myth. The goblin can be recognized as the mountain god or mountain god's messenger whose appearance is interpreted as a metaphor of blessing to human world.

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