Gaojia Ancient Village, Jiangyong, Hunan

Gaojia Village includes three natural villages: Gaojia, Yueliangtan, and Dongzaishang, with a total of 388 households and 1,738 people. The surnames He, Yang, and Yi (Yao nationality) originated here. The He family moved here in the first year of the Shaosheng period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1098); the Yang family moved here in the first year of the Chonghe period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1118); the Yi family moved here in the ninth year of the Dade period of the Yuan Dynasty (1305). The ancient buildings here are built along the mountains and rivers, with a majestic momentum. There are many ancient public buildings with rich content. In addition to the magnificent Wutong Ganying Temple and the well-preserved Wenchang Pavilion, there are also ancient stele walls, ancient docks (sites), ancient theaters (sites), Gaoxia Temple (site), 6 gatehouses, and ancestral halls. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are arranged in a "one" shape, making it a place of religious belief and integration. Most of the villagers in Gaojia Village are ethnic minorities, the Yao nationality, who are naturally fond of singing and dancing. Their traditional dance is the "Sheep Horn Long Drum Dance." Legend has it that Panwang, the ancestor of the Yao nationality, died when he hit a tree while hunting a goat. His children killed the goat, cut down the tree, and hollowed out the trunk to make a long drum. Every year on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, they play the lusheng and beat the long drum to dance and worship Panwang. There is no limit to the number of performers. Two people hold sheep horns to lead the team, two people hold sheep whips to break the team, and the others hold long drums in the middle. It is said that there are more than a dozen ways to dance, but now only four are preserved: single beat, double beat, four bows, and inverted drum. During the dance, the long drum is hung horizontally on the waist and beaten rhythmically with the accompaniment melody. The dancers sway up and down, rotate left and right, sometimes leaping into the air like lightning and thunder, sometimes strong and vigorous like two tigers fighting, and sometimes soft and simple like children playing, fully expressing the Yao people's nostalgia and remembrance of Panwang. The fifth batch of Chinese traditional villages.