







































 Humanities and Social Science Research; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2025 

ISSN 2576-3024   E-ISSN 2576-3032 

https://doi.org/10.30560/hssr.v8n4p24 

 24 Published by IDEAS SPREAD 

 

Analysis of the Value of "Monkey Quack Whip" in Community 

Cultural Construction 

Liu Zongyi1 & Chen Yu1 

1 Quanzhou Normal University, China 

Correspondence: Liu Zongyi, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, China 

 

Received: June 29, 2025; Accepted: July 16, 2025; Published: July 17, 2025 

 

Abstract 

This paper delves into the positive role of the intangible cultural heritage dance "Monkey Quack Whip" in 

enhancing community cohesion, inheriting traditional culture, and enriching the spiritual and cultural life of 

residents in community cultural construction. And propose corresponding countermeasures for the challenges 

faced in community cultural construction. The "Monkey Quack Whip" dance, which combines folk tales with 

physical art, enlivenes the community atmosphere with crisp whip sounds, cheerful drumbeats and lively dance 

moves, and attracts residents of all ages. From the exchange of skills in daily rehearsals to the collective appearance 

in festival performances, from the personal instruction of intangible cultural heritage inheritors to family group 

learning, it strengthens cultural identity through interaction and builds a community of cultural memory. It is not 

only a carrier of community cultural construction, but also an important bond that brings people closer together 

and promotes community harmony. 

Keywords: Monkey Quack Whip, community culture building, cohesion, traditional culture, spiritual and cultural 

life 

1. Introduction 

Community cultural construction, as an important carrier of grassroots social governance and spiritual civilization 

construction, carries the core mission of uniting neighborhood sentiments, inheriting local cultural context, and 

enhancing residents' cultural identity. In the current context of accelerated urbanization and multicultural 

integration, how to tap into local cultural resources and activate the contemporary vitality of traditional folk 

customs has become a key issue in building a distinctive community cultural ecosystem. Intangible cultural 

heritage, as a living carrier of national cultural genes, its dynamic inheritance and innovative application in 

community scenarios not only inject unique historical depth into community culture, but also build an effective 

bridge for residents to participate in cultural practice and jointly build a spiritual home. 

"Monkey Quack Whip" is a traditional folk dance form that has been passed down in a specific area. It combines 

dance, music and folk customs. With its cheerful rhythm, lively dance moves and profound folk customs, it has 

extensive cultural memory and emotional connection among the local people. This intangible cultural heritage 

project is not only a vivid representation of local cultural diversity, but also embodies the wisdom of collective 

creation, the spirit of neighborhood collaboration and the expression of life aesthetics. However, under the impact 

of the modernization wave, many traditional folk customs are facing the predicament of broken inheritance and 

shrinking scenes, and the survival and development of "Monkey Quack Whip" also face the realistic challenge of 

how to adapt to the changes in community life and integrate into the demands of contemporary culture. 

Based on this, this paper focuses on the intrinsic connection between "Monkey Gata Whip" and community cultural 

construction, aiming to systematically explore its unique value in enriching the forms of community cultural 

activities, enhancing residents' cultural identity, and promoting the accumulation of community social capital by 

sorting out the historical origin, artistic features and folk functions of "Monkey Gata whip". At the same time, in 

light of the actual needs of current community cultural construction, this paper explores the practical problems and 

innovative paths faced by "Monkey Gua Ta Whip" in the living inheritance, with the aim of providing theoretical 

references and practical lessons for the empowerment of community cultural construction by intangible cultural 

heritage resources, and allowing traditional folk customs to regain new vitality and vigor in the fertile soil of the 

community. 

 



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2. The Basic Situation of the Monkey Quack Whip Dance 

2.1 Origins and Historical Background 

2.1.1 Origin Background 

The Monkey Gata whip dance originated in the late Qing Dynasty in Xihenggouya Village, Lanling Town, Lanling 

County, Shandong Province. The origin of the "Monkey Gada Bian" is detailed in the book "Complete Collection 

of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dances - Shandong Volume" : "The Monkey Gada bian was passed down in 

Xihenggouya Village, Lanling Town, Cangshan County (now Lanling County). It existed during the Daoguang 

period of the Qing Dynasty. At first, it was a means for poor artisans to make a living, performed by a couple. 

Later, during the Xuantong period, it evolved into a 'play society', with a significant increase in dance elements 

and the number of performers increased to four.[1]" Lanling Town is a thousand-year-old town with rich historical 

and cultural heritage and a strong wine culture. Li Bai, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, once visited here and 

wrote the famous lines: "Lanling wine is like a tulip, in a jade bowl comes amber light." The local people are 

mainly engaged in farming, have a simple folkways and a bold character. During major festivals, there are 

performances of folk dances and folk music, which are very lively. The rich historical and cultural heritage and 

the natural geographical environment make the working people here love life, are diligent and kind, and love 

dancing. The dance has a history of nearly two hundred years. From its initial purpose of begging, it has evolved 

into a form of performance that combines dance, comedy and folk songs. It was performed on every major festival 

and celebration, with the male characters holding flower sticks and the female characters holding lotuses, 

cooperating with each other. The movements are simple, the performance is flexible and varied, dancing to the 

music, and can improvise on the basis of the original movements when the performance gets hot. 

    

Figure 1. The inheritor demonstrates the Monkey Guata whip dance live and tells the story of its origin and 

development 

 

2.1.2 Current Status of Inheritance and Development 

In order to gain a more accurate and true understanding of the current situation of the development and inheritance 

of the Monkey Quack Whip, the author specially visited the inheritor of the Monkey Quack Whip, Mr. Cao 

Hongbing, in Lanling Town. It was learned that Mr. Cao Hongbing has had forty years of artistic experience since 

he began his apprenticeship at the age of fifteen. Through the form of live demonstrations, he demonstrated superb 

dance skills and appreciated the unique artistic charm of the Monkey Quack Whip. Since taking on the 

responsibility of passing on the art, Cao Hongbing has been actively organizing performances for major festivals, 

celebrations and other themes. In the "Qilu Characteristic Culture Series of Dance", it is mentioned that "Hou Gua 

Ta Ban" has received awards and honors. "In 2001, it was organized by the cultural department of Cangshan 

County and performed on the stage of the first square art festival in Linyi City and received praise, and won the 

'Golden Dragon Award' at the second folk Yangko Festival.[2]" This shows that the performers of this folk art 

have been working hard. In recent years, as efforts to protect and pass on intangible cultural heritage have been 

intensified, the intangible cultural heritage dance "Monkey Quack Whip" has also entered schools and become a 

course in secondary vocational schools, with teachers returning regularly every week to teach. This has greatly 



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broadened the channels for passing on dance skills and promoted this folk dance with local characteristics. Through 

conversation, it was learned that there is a missing "rolling whip" routine in the current Monkey Quack Whip 

performance. Mr. Cao is also doing his best to search for photos of the master's performance and videos taken at 

that time in the hope of restoring it. 

2.2 Artistic Features 

2.2.1 Characters and Costume Props 

Among the male and female characters, the male performers hold flower sticks, wear yellow special monkey 

costumes, apply monkey face makeup, imitate monkey forms, perform vividly and flexibly. The flower sticks used 

by the performers are made of high-quality bamboo poles. The inside of the bamboo nodes is all cut through and 

a pair of copper coins need to be drilled through each node for fixation. Hitting them during the performance makes 

a sound. The surface of the flower sticks is painted multiple times, with red and green as the main colors, and 

yellow at the middle joints, both for aesthetic purposes and to prevent damage from insects and ants. A square 

piece of cloth is tied to each end, with one side being red and the other green. The female performers, dressed in 

Yangko costumes and holding lotuses (bamboo boards, trash spappers), perform in coordination with the male 

characters. 

2.2.2 Dance Movements and Performance Forms 

The movements are characteristic of the local area and have a distinct rhythm. The book "Illustrated Catalogue of 

Shandong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List" summarizes the artistic features of the monkey Gua Ta 

whip. "The rhythm is fast, the action is strong, and the atmosphere is lively. In particular, men with whips imitate 

the form of monkeys with great skill, leaping and moving, interspersed with action combinations such as "single 

whip playing with a move", "double whip playing with a move", and "fighting flower whips", full of the unique 

rural flavor of southern Shandong, forming an artistic style that combines dance, play and song.[3] I learned about 

the eight basic movements of the monkey Gua Ta whip and the combinations of movements commonly used in 

the performance through communication and learning with the inheritors. The male flower stick is composed of 

eight basic movements: one for the left wrist, two for the left elbow, three for the left shoulder, four for the right 

shoulder, five for the left hand, six for the inner side of the right foot, seven for the outer side of the right foot, and 

eight for the left foot. The movements are coherent and rhythmically distinct. The combinations of the Monkey 

Gua Ta whip include: the leg suction kick jump combination, the front and back lunge hitting stick squatting and 

hitting the ground combination, the leg suction crossbar hitting shoulder combination, the front and back kick 

swing combination, and the double jump single drop push combination. The basic movements performed by the 

female character are the lozi step, standing on tiptoes with feet together, holding the board with the right hand and 

the knuckle with the left hand. Four beats are used as a foundation and can be performed forward, backward, left 

and right. 

   

Figure 2. The inheritor's stage performance photo 

 

2.2.3 Musical Accompaniment and Lyrics 

The music is mostly folk songs. In "Research on the Customs and Culture of Lanling", many examples are given 

for the musical repertoire of "Monkey Gua Ta Bi". "The singing repertoire is mostly folk songs, and women have 

to sing along at the same time, such as' Great Spring Outing ', 'Little Spring Outing', 'Twelve Escort', 'Embroidered 

Lantern', etc. The content mainly reflects love and labor life.[4]" In recent years, the music accompaniment has also 

included modern songs with distinct rhythms, as well as the highly local "Yimeng Mountain Ballad", and the 

selection of music has covered young people, which to some extent reflects the development of the dance. 



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3. The Value of the Monkey Quack Whip Dance in Community Cultural Construction 

3.1 Enhance Community Cohesion and a Sense of Belonging 

3.1.1 Community Activities Participated in Together 

One of the major features of the Monkey Quack Whip dance is that its movements can be either simple or complex, 

which to some extent expands the range of performers to cover people of different ages and physical abilities: the 

elderly in the community can choose combinations of basic movements with smaller magnitudes, and the young 

can appropriately add technical movements such as jumps to make the performance more passionate. This 

inclusiveness allows the residents of the community, regardless of occupation or age differences, to find their place 

in the dance activities, creating a good atmosphere of "helping each other when needed and rehearsing together 

when free", increasing the frequency of interaction among residents and enhancing the overall cohesion of the 

community. 

In Lanling, during the annual holiday, a large number of young and middle-aged people return to their hometowns. 

Since they spend most of the year away from home, this period is a rare opportunity for family reunion and close 

friends to strengthen their bonds. From the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Monkey Quack 

Whip dance team appears in the bustling town and county square. After the Monkey Quack Whip dance team 

performs, the performers invite people of all ages and genders to join in and teach hands-on, allowing the 

participants to fully experience the authenticity of folk art. 

3.1.2 Emotional Bonds and Identity 

After years of development, the Monkey Quack Whip dance has become an iconic cultural symbol, and its 

performance carries the collective memory of several generations, unconsciously becoming a carrier of emotional 

resonance among people. With the vigorous development of society and the continuous improvement of people's 

material living standards, people have gradually moved to residential buildings in communities and diversified 

forms of entertainment, etc. Many elderly people still often feel the passage of time. Fortunately, this intangible 

cultural heritage skill has gradually been valued again in recent years. More and more young people have begun 

to be attracted by this skill. After learning about the origin, development and glorious history of the monkey Gua 

Ta whip, they have joined the ranks of protection and inheritance. The elderly teach the skill carefully, and the 

young people learn it with great enthusiasm. 

In the process of learning and training, this art form builds a bridge of emotions between new and old performers, 

allowing people to understand its unique value and realize that this dynamic art should become more colorful with 

the development of society and pass on the unique artistic charm of the Monkey Quack Whip better. Originating 

from Lanling, a place rich in cultural heritage, the passionate performance of the performers on the stage is a 

genuine expression of love for the local culture and emphasis on inheritance and development, making more and 

more people know Lanling and understand the Monkey Quack Whip, and making positive contributions to the 

cultural tourism of the hometown. 

3.2 Inherit and Promote Traditional Culture 

3.2.1 Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage 

As a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Shandong Province, the Monkey Quack Whip dance has 

received increasing attention and protection in recent years. One of the major characteristics of the community is 

the concentration of population. Through publicity and performance in the community, more enthusiasts can be 

drawn into the ranks of protecting and inheriting the Monkey Quack Whip, and better living inheritance can be 

achieved. Dance is a dynamic performance that is different from the static art forms such as calligraphy and 

painting. Only its physical performance costumes, props, awards and photos and videos can be statically displayed. 

Through regular activities held in the community to explain and demonstrate, one can feel its charm and value 

more vividly and graphically, through the combination of oral instruction and video recording. It avoids the risk 

of loss due to the absence of written records. 

By organizing regular performance teams in the community, some major festivals can be used to create an 

atmosphere and enhance visibility, thereby strengthening the vitality of intangible cultural heritage in concrete 

practice. This way of highlighting performances during festivals and reinforcing customs through performances 

will make the Monkey Quack Whip more and more famous. In addition, various communities can hold 

competitions, with each community's performance team actively participating to enhance their own team strength 

through competitions, and the positive atmosphere formed by the team members during the preparation process 

promotes the healthy development of community cultural construction. 



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3.2.2 Cultural Education and Inheritance 

Invite the inheritors to hold regular weekend cultural promotion events with the theme of Monkey Quack Whip in 

the community, to present the Monkey Quack Whip dance more directly to teenagers, internalize it in their hearts 

and externalize it in their actions. On the one hand, it helps to further inject fresh blood into the inheritance of 

intangible cultural heritage for better development; on the other hand, it enhances teenagers' emphasis on 

traditional culture. In the community where they live, rather than passive indoctrination and acceptance, the 

inheritance and development of this art are achieved through active identification through osmosis, allowing 

teenagers to naturally understand the historical and cultural genes of their hometown in the process of learning to 

dance. Through educational practice, the emotions of the younger generation towards the Monkey Quack Whip 

dance have evolved from "strangeness" to "curiosity", then to "pride", and eventually become active inheritors of 

traditional culture. 

3.3 Promote Communication and Enrich Life 

3.3.1 Communication Across Age Groups 

The Monkey Quack Whip dance, with its inclusiveness, allows enthusiasts of all ages to participate, serving as a 

"lubricant" for communication among residents of different ages and creating a good community atmosphere. In 

daily rehearsals, young people help older people shoot videos of daily rehearsals and adjust sound equipment. The 

older man's steady character prompts them to be more demanding about the accuracy of the dance, teaching the 

young man the details of the movements and some precautions step by step. As a result, the Monkey Quack Whip 

can serve as a bridge of communication between the young and the old, making intergenerational communication 

more warm and bringing together the age groups that originally played separately. In the interaction and 

communication, the group consensus is subtly strengthened, and the harmonious atmosphere permeates every 

aspect of daily life. 

3.3.2 Enrich the Spiritual and Cultural Life 

The Monkey Quack Whip dance, which combines physical expression and musical interaction, can provide 

residents with a more immersive cultural experience. It has the advantages of cultivating one's character and 

strengthening one's body, providing community residents with more options for entertainment, leisure and cultural 

cultivation. With its unique artistic charm, it adds interest to the spiritual and cultural life of community residents. 

It can be used as a way to relieve work stress and relax the body after daily work, experiencing the charm of culture 

in an immersive way. Short videos are currently popular, and shooting with the theme of community intangible 

cultural heritage dance can also be a direction for short video producers. Record the daily rehearsals and 

performances of community residents, and let more people know about this dance art by telling stories and 

developments through short videos. This form not only expands the path of spiritual and cultural practice for 

residents, but also achieves the release of individual emotions and the construction of group cultural identity 

through the combination of body movement and artistic expression. 

4. Challenges and Coping Strategies for the Monkey Quack Whip Dance in Community Cultural 

Construction 

4.1 Challenges Faced 

4.1.1 Underfunded 

The issue of funds must be taken into account because the use of props and costumes for the performance of 

Monkey Quack Whip has a certain cycle. As a regular daily community activity, props and costumes are frequently 

used items, and this is a necessary expense that needs to be considered. For organizing the performance activities, 

there are costs involved in the construction of some stages and the adjustment of lighting, etc. It is very meaningful 

to hold the Monkey Quack Whip theme activities on several major festivals throughout the year, which will play 

a positive role in promoting the inheritance and development of the intangible cultural heritage dance itself, but 

the community's self-funding capacity is limited. The insufficiency of funds will directly affect the frequency and 

quality of the community's activities. To some extent, it will also dampen the enthusiasm of resident performers 

and affect the inheritance and development of the intangible cultural heritage dance Monkey Quack Whip in the 

community. 

4.1.2 Insufficient Attention 

The popularity of the Monkey Quack Whip is limited to the surrounding areas of its place of origin. It is relatively 

easy to promote it in the surrounding communities, but building popularity to attract more people to participate is 

mainly limited by geographical and promotional channels. On the one hand, when local traditional intangible 



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cultural heritage crosses cities and provinces, fewer people know about it. The resulting low popularity directly 

makes it difficult for the dance to reach other places. On the other hand, the Monkey Quack Whip has not fully 

utilized several mainstream new media platforms for systematic promotion. The fact that its rich historical and 

cultural heritage, unique fun and health benefits have not been fully promoted will inevitably affect the further 

understanding of the dance by community residents, the current development status and so on will increase the 

difficulty of introducing the Monkey Quack Whip into the community for inheritance and development. This 

shows that the lack of attention is an aspect that needs to be given special attention. 

4.2 Coping Strategies 

4.2.1 Seek Financial Support 

Organize a promotional performance to allow residents to directly experience the unique artistic charm of the 

monkey Gua Ta whip, promote it to the residents of the community, explain in detail the purpose and advantages 

of the activity to win their support, and prepare some practical small gifts, such as dolls, folding fans, pendants, 

etc. as a return. Make it clear that all funds will be used for the necessary expenses of subsequent daily rehearsals, 

performances, etc. Establish a transparent account of the use of funds and regularly publicize it to the community 

to enhance credibility. For the first time participating performers join the team, they are provided with the 

necessary costumes and props for free. At the same time, a special team is established to maintain the props and 

costumes regularly to reduce certain daily expenses and avoid unnecessary waste. 

4.2.2 Increase Social Visibility 

Leverage mainstream new media platforms for promotion, invite local Internet celebrities and tourism bloggers to 

live-stream and film some historical stories, current development status, and the charm of the art itself about the 

Monkey Quack Whip, in order to attract more people to learn about the Monkey Quack Whip. Publish highlight 

videos on Douyin short Video platform, fully combine skill and beauty to create high-quality works, and regularly 

live-stream demonstrations, daily rehearsals, and actively interact to increase fans' awareness and affection for 

Monkey Quack Whip. Create a wechat official account dedicated to promoting Monkey Quack Whip, post 

regularly, focus on its own cultural connotations and the fitness functions of the dance, and break down and explain 

some movement combinations. Design a representative logo specifically, which can be a representative flower 

stick from the Monkey Quack Whip, because this prop is one of the main props for the performance and is simple 

and recognizable. Collaborate with a well-known local product to increase visibility. The increase in social 

recognition can boost the entry of Monkey Guata bian into communities, creating a virtuous cycle of inheritance 

and development. 

5. Conclusion 

The Monkey Quack Whip, an intangible cultural heritage dance with distinct local characteristics, originated from 

the folk and is bound to play a more active role in the construction of community culture: Further enhance 

community cohesion and belonging, inherit and promote this traditional art through mass participation, enrich the 

spiritual and cultural life of residents with unique performance forms, shorten the distance between the elderly and 

the young, enhance the feelings of community residents, and create a harmonious community atmosphere. Its value 

lies in being both a "symbol" of community cultural identity and a "bridge" connecting tradition and modernity, 

facilitating the better inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage dance. Future research could 

further explore quantifiable studies on the impact of dance activities on the well-being of community residents and 

provide some scientific and accurate data. 

References 

[1] Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance Ensemble Editorial Department. (1998). Chinese folk and ethnic dance 

collection: Shandong volume (pp. 847–857). Beijing: China ISBN Center. 

[2] Zhu, Z., & Sun, L. (2004). Qilu characteristic culture series of dance (pp. 217–218). Jinan: Shandong 

Friendship Publishing House. 

[3] Lee, C. W. (2012). Illustrated catalogue of Shandong provincial intangible cultural heritage list (pp. 145–147). 

Jinan: Shandong Friendship Publishing House. 

[4] Zhou, Y. (2013). Research on Lanling ritual culture (pp. 206–207). Jinan: Shandong People's Publishing House. 

 

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