The Rhythm of Dance Steps~The Hallmark of Blessings~The Shenjiang Culture of Luzhou

Shenjiang Culture-Experience Activities

1.Motive and Purpose

We have learned a lot about the Shenjiang culture from teachers, books, and interviews with instructors. There is a famous Chinese saying, “Walking thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books.” Because of this, our instructor assigned a Shenjiang activity to us. We were assigned to go to the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou City, to meet Mr. Liang-chuan Wang and learn more about the Shenjiang statues. He had hoped that this experience would help us to understand the culture more than what we are taught from a textbook. He wanted us to really get to know the Shenjiang culture.

2.Proceeding Activity

Today was a beautiful day. The weather was nice and we were all in good mood because the instructor was going to take us to The Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou City, to see Shenjiang Statues. What are Shenjiang statues? Are those the big dolls usually seen in Luzhou temple worship? We could not believe that we were going to see the statues in person. We were all nervous and excited. When we got there and entered the museum, it seemed like we traveled back in time and went to the real Forbidden City. The traditional building was standing tall with flowing water and large trees. The scenery in front of us was so amazing. At the same time, we saw Mr. Liang-chuan Wang and his son. They had prepared everything for us. Then, we followed Mr. Wang and Class One of sixth graders to the Shenjiang statues. Mr. Wang started to give us a tour after we got there.

Director Cheng explains the procedure for today.	Wow! This is too heavy.
3.Afterthoughts Yu-chi Hsu: Today was my first time going to the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou. I did not expect it to be so beautiful inside. I thought we had gone to the wrong place. Inside the museum, I found out how hard it is to lift up a Shenjiang statue. I used both hands to have a firm grip, and tried to stand straight with my legs, but my body still continued to lean forward. I tried to put my weight on my back and strength on my stomach to stand steadily. Then I encouraged myself to walk forward. I did it with small steps back and forth, but I was getting very tired. I lost my balance on the first step, but luckily didn’t fall and continued walking. My entire body was very sore in those few steps. It had looked so easy when people lifted it during parades, but now, I know that it is difficult. I leaned against the trees to get rest and felt very sore. It is really tiring to lift Shenjiang statues. Maybe this is why young people today do not like Shenjiang.
Po-hung Wang: Today, we joined a Shenjiang-Experiencing camp at the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou City. Mr. Liang-chuan Wang told us that we could not lift up General Qi and General Ba without asking for permission from the gods, so he gave a stick of incense to each of us. I didn’t know what to do other than stand there. After muttering some words, Mr. Wang lifted up General Qi and walked in a circle. Someone in a black dress also lifted up General Ba. Then they started the procedure. It’s hard to describe the moment in words, but I am sure I was very excited. We quietly lined up and took turns to lift up the Shenjiang. Finally it’s my turn! I felt a sense of achievement when lifting the statue; however, I couldn’t swing the arms of the statue, as Mr. Wang did. I tried to imitate Mr. Wang’s action, but the weight of statue was so heavy that I walked groggily like a drunkard. It lasted only ten or so seconds, but it felt much longer than that. Today, I learned a lot from two things: without asking for the permit, we cannot lift up the Shenjiang statue; and without walking correctly, we cannot swing the statue’s arm.
Ah! I am falling down … Come help me.	It was very fun to lift up the Shenjiang Statue.
Ming-hsien Hsu: Today, we went to the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou City, with Mr. Wang to experience lifting Shenjiang statues. I didn’t know that we needed to go through a ceremony, asking the gods for permission before carrying them. We had to hold incense to proceed with the ceremony. After the ceremony, Mr. Wang demonstrated to us how to lift up the Shenjiang statue. When he lifted up the statue, I thought the statue was light. After his demonstration, everyone wanted to try to lift it. Mr. Wang asked us to line up, so everyone quietly lined up like kittens. I was frustrated since I was at the back of the long line. When my turn came, I ran to the statue and started to try and lift it. When I lifted the statue, I discovered that the arms of the statue could swing automatically while I walked. I felt like 70 tons were on my shoulders, so it was hard to walk. Afterwards, Mr. Wang told me that my steps were wrong. People normally want to go straight, but we need a special “ceremony walk” to “drive” the statue. This taught me a new knowledge. After lifting the Shenjiang statue, we said good-bye to Mr. Wang. I learned a lot from Shenjiang experience camp today. First, I learned we need to ask for permission before lifting up a Shenjiang statue, and have to flip fortune-telling blocks to see if the god agrees or not. With the god’s approval, we can then lift up the statue. We had to walk by doing a special V-shape walk, keeping our toes pointed outwards to make the statue arms swing. I thought our arms could control the arms of the statue. The statue is so heavy that only well-trained people can do it well. This Shenjiang experience camp has taught me a lot of valuable knowledge.
Try dancing with the Shenjiang Statue.	Mr. Ling-chuan Wang demonstrated to us how to dance with the Shenjiang statue.
Pin-yu Wu: The trip to the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou City, to lift up a Shenjiang Statue, opened my eyes. In the past, I thought lifting a Shenjiang statue was an easy job. When I saw Mr. Liang-chuan Wang easily demonstrating it, I continued to believe that it was an easy job. However, after experiencing it in person, I now understand that it is not an easy job; in fact, it’s a very tough job. It’s so hot inside the statue, and the statue is so heavy. Lifting a Shenjiang statue is a tough job. In the off-campus lesson today, I not only learned how to lift up a Shenjiang statue, but also learned that Shenjiang statue lifting is a very sacred event. We cannot do it casually or impolitely to gods. Even though I have some complaints to this special lifting experience, I now understand that whenever we see the mighty and powerful Shenjiang statue in parade, we should think about the hard-working people who are lifting the statues.
Yuang-ting Tseng: Today, we went to The Forbidden City Museum in Luzhou City to lift a Shenjiang statue. There are several traditional buildings and peculiar stone carvings over there. Of course, the most important thing was meeting Mr. Liang-chuan Wang, who is a Shenjiang sculptor. I thought we could directly lift the statue after getting there, but I learned we couldn’t lift a Shenjiang statue without going through a ceremony of asking for permission. First, Mr. Wang gave each of us an incense stick and he talked to the gods by holding incense. After that, Mr. Wang and another gentleman lifted up General Qi and General Ba. They bowed to each other. Mr. Wang said, since General Qi is in a higher position, General Ba needed to invite General Qi. After this step was done, the ceremony was complete. After, we started to line up and prepared to lift up the statue. I waited very long to get my turn and when I got in, I found out that the statue was so heavy that I almost fell down. After I regained my balance, the statue continued to lean forward. After this, I learned that it is a hard job for people who lift up Shenjiang statues.
Kuan-ting He: When we walked around in the Forbidden City Museum, in Luzhou, I felt like it was paradise. Mr. Liang-chuan Wang came to teach us very soon. The name of the class was “How to get permission to use a Shenjiang statue”. First, Mr. Wang went inside the General Qi statue. He talked and lifted up General Qi to walk in a circle in the temple. After Mr. Wang circled through the temple, he told us that Ba Lord was coming to invite General Qi. Mr. Wang’s son lifted up Ba Lord to come and invite General Qi. After this ceremony, we got to experience lifting General Qi. I learned that dancing with a Shenjiang statue is not easy, through today’s activity.