Si-Si Dragon(44 Dragon)
In the 1970s and 1980s, the most impressive show on Double Tenth National Days had been the dragon performances presented by the Si-Si Arsenal Dragon Team. The smoke blown out from the Dragon's mouth and the shape of plum blossom the dragon formed in the end of the show had highlighted the performances. What are the connection between the Si-Si Dragon and the Si-Si Nan Cun? We are trying to reconstruct the glory era of the Si-Si Dragon through memories of the villagers and historic images of the dragon.
On the National Day in 1976, the narrator enunciated through the TTV news broadcast, “Wuchuan Arsenal staff, dancing the dragon of 120 yards, fanfare amid deafening din of gongs and drums…( Nan Cun cultural worker Chen Ching Hsiang told us that Wuchuan Arsenal is the code for the Forty-Fourth Arsenal in the army)
Weixuan’s great grandfather in front of the Si-Si Dragon. Weixuan’s grandma and great grandfather had been doing the accounting job for Si-Si Dragon, in charge of its financial expense.
In the photo provided by Mr. Chen Ching Hsiang we met again with Weixuan's great-grandfather.
Weixuan's grandfather and the Dragon
From the photo we know that the Si-Si Dragon Team was founded in 1956.
At first, the Si-Si Dragon was danced by the staffs of the Forty-Fourth Arsenal. Later on, Combined Logistics Command Technical School was founded and then a number of the students joined in the Dragon Team.
Dragon Flag Presentation Ceremony in 1956
Weixuan’s great-grandfather's handwriting behind the photo: Taken at the first Flag Presentation Ceremony held at the Headquarter: From left to right were Fan Buyun, Executive Director, and second, I, third, political warfare director Zhang Fuyu, fourth, Xu Shaoli, Fifth, director of the second section, Ren Quan, and sixth, guardian officer Li Shouzhong. The Dragon Team performed later on after the ceremony.
A photo of Si-Si Dragon was on the back cover of “Combined Logistics Command Monthly” (February, 1973). The lines on the photo meant: “New charm for Chinese New Year. The dragons are flying in the sky. With world-class reputation at home and abroad, the Si-Si Dragon is going to liven up in Taipei again this year.”
As for the reason why the dragon appeared in the Forty-Fourth Arsenal? It is said that in the anti-communist period, in order to boost morale in the army, the superiors held recreational competitions every year. However, most of the Arsenal employees came from the North and were new to dragon dance and lion dance, which were originally from the South. As a result, they lost all the competitions during the years, and might be subject to disciplinary actions by the Chief. Later on, there was Colonel Fan, who made a giant dragon with cloth and bamboo. The dragon had forty-four sections, which represented the name of the Arsenal, and each section was one meter long. Originally the giant dragon was too long and heavy to dance, so they remade it with nylon material and lighter carriages, and then the dance of the dragon went successfully. Afterwards the Si-Si Dragon won the championship in the annual recreational games every year. Late President Chiang Kai-shek was impressed and delighted by the Si-Si Dragon, and he renamed it as Chinese Si-Si Dragon.
At present, with the migration of Si-Si Arsenal and demolition of the village, the Army no longer supports non-military activities. The once active Si-Si Dragon was retired. After several twists and turns, the Dragon has been kept by different units and is currently housed by Vehicle Base Service Factory of Combined Logistics Command in Yingko, New Taipei City.
As seen in news photographs from the web, the Dragon looks brilliant as before. Unfortunately, people are not allowed to enter the Army barracks to visit the Dragon. The Dragon hung in the Si-Si Nan Cun Military Dependents ' Villages Museum is just a miniature version of the Si-Si Dragon, trying to awaken the public memory of the Dragon.
