Quick Answer
Tu (土族, Tǔzú) Anzhao (安昭, Ānzhāo) is a circle song and dance documented in Huzhu, Qinghai. A singer can lead the tune and other dancers answer as they move. The national inventory describes an unaccompanied form used for celebrations and wedding blessings. It is also written 安召 in local sources.[1][2][3]
- Place: The national entry names Huzhu Tu Autonomous County.[1]
- Sound: One or two skilled singers can lead, and the group joins in a response.[1]
- Occasion: A circle can form in a courtyard, near a wedding entrance or in a space used for New Year gatherings.[2][3]
Listen to the relationship between lead voice and response. The circle is one visible part of a practice that also depends on the song.[1][3]
A wedding can bring the singers outside near the gate. A household gathering may put them around a small garden inside the courtyard. A Mongghul life-history collection documents both settings, giving a picture of how the space and occasion can shape the same tradition.[3]
What Anzhao Means in Huzhu
Huzhu’s national heritage entry describes a Tu dance performed around a circle. The Huzhu County account uses the writing 安召, while the national inventory uses 安昭. The life histories use Anzhog to render a local name. These spellings can help a reader recognise references to the Huzhu tradition across sources.[1][2][3]
The national inventory links Anzhao to celebrations and weddings, including songs of blessing. Lyrics can express hopes for good harvests, praise a landscape or remember earlier generations. The guide to Tu culture places those songs alongside other traditions of Huzhu.[1]
How the Voices and Steps Work Together
The national account describes a lead singer or two carrying the main tune while others follow and sing a refrain. The dancers can move clockwise, and one song accompanies a sequence of repeated movements. The voices give the people in the circle a shared rhythm without an instrumental ensemble.[1][2]
The life histories describe bending, swinging the arms and turning in one local account. They also give an example of a woman leading when men were unavailable or unwilling. An individual performance can therefore show how experienced singers and dancers took on the roles a gathering needed.[3]
Where the Circle Forms
A household courtyard and a threshing ground offer different amounts of space. The life histories describe dancing in both settings, as well as at wedding gates and in lanes around New Year. The inventory notes that the group can range from a few people to much larger gatherings and that participants can join during the dance.[1][3]
The event also gives the song its purpose. A wedding blessing belongs to that family’s celebration, while a New Year gathering can bring neighbours together in a different space. The named occasions make these accounts more precise than a caption that gives only the dance’s name.[1][2][3]
How the Dance Reaches New Performers
Huzhu’s account dates the national listing to 2011. The national profile of Xi Yuxiu records that she began learning Anzhao from her parents in 1972, including the tunes, words and movements. She later became a performer, director and teacher. Her profile also names repeated appearances at Huzhu’s public Spring Festival events from 1987 to 1992.[2][4]
A record of Xi’s public appearances tells us where she performed. Her account of learning from her parents also tells us what had to be passed on together: the words, tunes and movement.[3][4]
FAQs About Tu Anzhao Dance
Does Anzhao Need Instruments?
The Huzhu entries describe unaccompanied circle singing. One or two singers can lead and the dancers respond, giving the group a vocal rhythm.[1][2]
Are Anzhao and Tu Nadun the Same Tradition?
Anzhao is a circle song and dance associated here with Huzhu. The national inventory documents Nadun as a harvest-season festival in the Sanchuan area of Minhe, elsewhere in Qinghai.[1][5]
Источники
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Anzhao national inventory entry
[2] Huzhu County Government. Huzhu Tu Anzhao dance
[3] Asian Highlands Perspectives. Mongghul Memories and Lives
[4] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Representative bearer Xi Yuxiu
[5] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Tu Nadun Festival in Minhe