The Nakahata (fig. 647) is a traditional activity, and it has been in its form as early as the Tang and Song dynasties. When Qianlong reached Beijing during the Qing Dynasty, the “Night Talk Record” recorded that “there was a man named Sanguanbao, who used to practice Zhongqian in the Guandi Temple outside Di’anmen, and once swept the Nine Cities.” Nakahata is a representative project of the “Thirteen Files of the Banner and Drum Qi” of the Qing Dynasty’s Internal Affairs Office.
In the early years of the Republic of China, Wang Xiaojian and Bao Shanlin (Baosan) played in Beijing. Bao Shanlin passed on the Chinese banner to the wrestling masters Chen Jinquan, Li Baoru, Xu Mao and others, and Li Baoru passed on his skills to wrestler Zhou Quansheng and others, forming the tradition of Beijing wrestlers practicing the middle flag.
The middle banner is composed of a bamboo pole three feet long and flags, umbrellas, clothes, covers, bells, etc., the performers are bareback or wearing national costumes, and the banner is placed on the head, shoulders, hands, back, elbows and other parts to keep it stable, not oblique, dancing in the hand, showing in the wind, and the sound of the bell is pleasant, very spectacular. Jingcheng wrestlers practice the nakahata to show their strong physique and superb skills in order to exercise their wrestling power.
Nakahata can be practiced alone, as well as in pairs and in large groups. There are dozens of technical moves and combination routines. Performers should show the coherence and stability of their movements, be full of spirit, be generous, and progress from simple to complex.
Nakahata’s actions include dozens of names, such as Feng Hou Hang Yin (Fig. 648), Taigong Fishing (Fig. 649), Overlord Juding, Erlang Zhanshan, and Golden Rooster on the Shelf (Fig. 650). The brief introduction is as follows.
