Practiced during Spring Festival in the Chinese lunar calendar, Shehuo is a spontaneous traditional festive occasion for songs and dances prevailing mainly in the countryside of North China. With a long history, these festive affairs are rooted from the primitive sacrificial activities in which ancient people prayed for harvest and affluence with their songs and dances from "She", originally meaning the God of Earth, and "Huo", literally meaning fire which ancient people believed to have the magic power of driving away the evil spirit.

Scattered historical records demonstrate the existences of Shehuo in the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476BC), the Warring States Period (475-221BC) and Song Dynasty (960-1279). By the time of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Shehuo in some places had been incorporated with the Temple Fairs.

But the reasons why Shehuo has survived and developed throughout Chinese history is not only limited to the sacrificial purpose. Shehuo is also a mass entertainment activity that involves a great deal of performers, virtually enabling almost all the men in the village to participate either in the performance or the preparation work. Besides, it is also the natural outpouring of enthusiasm and love for life as well as a demonstration of talents and vitality.

In every first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the neighboring villages will all send their representatives to take part in the region's celebration, making the slack season in farming also the year's most jubilant and joyful period.

There are many kinds of performances in the Shehuo activity. The main kinds include Xinzi (standing on wick), carrying desks, stilts, bamboo horse, lion dance and the land boat. Among them Xinzi and stilts are the most popular.

Xinzi is more like acrobatics. Little girls and boys in the traditional costumes may stand on the edge of a "sword", "flower", "tree branch", or even "corn leaves". Some even use "spears" stabbing into the abdomen of the performer. In the ancient time, four, eight or even a dozen of people would lift up the desks that carry the children. On some desks there are two to four stories with a plate rotating in the center.

Village Carnivals in the Traditional Way

For instance, a boy or a girl riding on a "horse" stays in the center, while the others on the plate run around him or her, just like soldiers running around their general. Nowadays, Xinzi is more stationed on trucks or tractors. While the audience worries about the dangerous gestures and positions of the little girls and boys, the young performers seem to be very relaxed and carefree, forming an amazing scene. The secret lies in the various shapes of hidden "wick" made of steel, which are used to fix the performers.

Adult men, who are usually dressed up as traditional play figures, perform stilts. They usually use the "willow wood legs" longer than five feet, making their performance very thrilling and exciting. What's more amazing is the stilt dance done by some performers.

If a performer stands on a desk carried by others, the scene has another name called "carrying desks". Usually each desk represents a scene of the play; when some desks are linked together, a play has been performed to the audience. Also, the performer on each desk will change their costume to present another part of the play. "Carrying desks" is not only played at the daytime, but also in the evenings under lamps or torches, giving the audience a diverse taste.

Horse Ladle Facial Make-ups in Shehuo

With a history of more than 1,500 years, the horse ladle facial make-ups are a folk art form mainly prevailing in the Central Shaanxi Plain. The horse ladle facial make-ups are not only used in the Shehuo celebrations, but also regarded as refined handicrafts favored by collectors.

Just as the name suggests, horse ladles are used to feed horses in these areas. The round ladles are used to hold water, while the rectangular ones are to hold grain. The patterns painted on the ladles are ways of praying for the livestock's safety and health, thus ensuring people a happy and harmonious life. People in the past used to hang the painted ladles in their houses to drive away the evil spirits, and to avoid sterility and other accidents. The tradition and influence left over from the Shang and Zhou dynasties (About 1600-221BC) can still be perceived from these painted ladles.

Shehuo, horse ladles and facial make-ups are three different folk art forms naturally developed through history. The horse ladle facial make-ups used in Shehuo is a precious art form, demonstrating the unique artistic glamour of West China.

Shehuo, originally a ceremony to honor gods and spirits from heaven and earth, gradually developed to a festive occasion to celebrate and pray for harvest in its long evolutionary process.
Horse ladles are everyday outfits in West China inherited early from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Fine wood from phoenix tree, Chinese toon or peach tree is usually chosen as the raw material, from which horse ladles are delicately carved. These handmade daily appliances can still be found in some areas of West China.

The facial make-ups originated from the tattoo tradition of the ancient people. The tradition developed into face painting during the Xia and Shang dynasties (About 2100-1100BC) with the same purpose of driving away the demons. People at the time believed that the wizards with painted faces were endowed with the magic power to talk to God. The tattoo and face painting traditions are the predecessors of facial make-ups.

Therefore, the horse ladle facial make-ups used in Shehuo in some way passed on the 5,000-year Chinese civilization by recording the ancient folk customs.

Folk artists with solid painting skills mostly paint the modern horse ladle facial make-ups. Multi-layer patterns and the unique West China feature of using bright colors usually characterize the artworks. The steady style, uncouth sculpt, intense colors, simple yet delicate paintings, and bold, pure, fresh, free and exaggerated style can be found from all the original works, demonstrating the rich imagination and wisdom of the working people. The works are mostly paintings of righteous figures who are said to have magic powers in folktales or legends, such as Fengshenbang. Besides its original purpose of warding off evil, the artwork also holds high aesthetic values.

West Chamber Shehuo

Baoji Region of Shaanxi Province, which is customarily known as West Chamber, boasts one of the most representative Shehuo art form in China. The Shehuo facial make-ups in Baoji and Longxian counties are specially known for their fancy molds, bright colors and varied patterns, representing the highest level in the region.

With a wide variety of Shehuo genres prevailing in the region, the most special kind is the Blood Shehuo in Chisha Village of Baoji County, which is also the only existence of its kind all over the country and is only performed in leap years. The performance mainly features the revenge theme from classic stories like Outlaws of the Marsh.

The content usually exhibits the bad folks' heads being pierced in by objects such as axes, scissors, flails and stabbers, forming a realistic and horrible scene. Thus the art form gained its name as blood Shehuo.

The stunt skills of blood Shehuo makeup still remain unknown to outsiders. The performers are usually dressed up in the village's temple, during which the door is always guarded at the time. Also, it is said that the skill is only passed on to sons but not daughters.