Shehuo in China
2 min readWhat is Shehuo
Shehuo is now one of the traditional show for rural people of northernwest of China to celebrate Chinese New Year（Spring Festival）.The show consists of Gao Qiao（walking on stilts），Pao Han Chuan（boat rowing on the ground），dragon and lion dancing etc.The string players make up as local opera figures and move forward in the main street and hundreds of people gather together to watch the performance.The celebration will culminate on fifth of the lunar year（Festival of Lanterns）.
The History of Shehuo
Comeing from the sacrifices of primitive society，Shehuo has a history of more than 5000 years.During the Dynasty of Shang and Zhou，specific ceremony was held by the royal court for driving devil away.Gradually，thus ceremony was introduced to civilian and shade into performance at temple fair to celebrate Chinese new year，to pray for rain，and to fete the god.The players made up like wearing a mask on the face.Audiences identified every individual mask to recognize what role the player acted.Afterward，people used the woody ladle painted with She Huo Mask to feed horses and cattle to prevent murrain，or hung the ladle-shape mask on the wall in their house to impetrate safety，harmony，and happiness.
Shehuo in Modern China
In recent years，with the improvement of people’s living condition and the increase of international economic and cultural exchange，shehuo，as a special flavor of Chinese culture，tend to be more popular.Combined with advanced light and sound effect technology，shehuo is more varied in content and spectacular in scene.Shehuo not only displays traditional Chinese culture but also flavor to people’s happy life.
