• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.381-389
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• 2021

Maogusi dance is an ancient ritual dance of the Tujia, a Chinese ethnic minority living in the remote region of the western Hunan Province of China. With characters, dialogues, simple story plots and unique performance procedures, it expresses ancient people's devout worship of nature, totems, ancestors, and reproduction in the uncivilized age. With the advancement of human civilization and the opening to the outside world, many dances of the ethnic minority gradually have faded out, while the Maogusi dance is still popular among the Tujia people and its spiritual symbols have been passed on through the generations. It is recognized by experts in dance and drama circles as the original source of Chinese dance and drama. From the perspectives of philosophy, religion, anthropology and folklore, this paper tries to remove the mysterious veil covering the Maogusi dance of the Tujia to explain how its ancient spiritual symbols have survived and why the original ecological consciousness has been preserved. These aims would help in understanding the deep connotation of this ancient Chinese art with its long history and profound culture.