Inheriting Chinese traditional culture - Lion dance

On the origins of diversity

Origin in the Han Dynasty
According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, the Western Yuezhi Kingdom presented a golden-haired male lion to the Han Dynasty. The envoy threatened the court and the public that if anyone could tame the lion, they would continue to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty, otherwise diplomatic relations would be severed. After the envoy of the Yuezhi left, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty selected three people to tame the lion, but none of them succeeded. Later, the golden-haired male lion went crazy and was beaten to death by palace servants. In order to avoid punishment from Emperor Zhang, the palace servants took off the lion's skin and had two brothers dress up as golden-haired lions. One of them made the lion dance. This not only deceived the envoy of the Yuezhi, but also Emperor Zhang believed it. Later, the news spread out of the Han Palace, and the people believed that lion dancing was a symbol of glory and auspiciousness for the country. So they imitated lions and performed lion dances. Lion dancing has become popular since then.

Origin in the Northern Wei Dynasty
As a performing art, lion dancing is said to have taken shape in the Northern Wei Dynasty 1,500 years ago, when the Xiongnu in the north invaded and rioted. They specially made many wood carvings and stones, and used gold and hemp to sew lion bodies. They sent dancers to Wei as tribute, intending to assassinate the Wei emperor while dancing the lion. Fortunately, they were discovered by loyal ministers, so they retreated. Later, because the Wei emperor loved lion dancing, he ordered it to be imitated, which made the lion dance spread to later generations. Yang Xuanzhi's "Record of Luoyang Monasteries" recorded that when the Buddha statue of Changqiu Temple in Luoyang was traveling, there was a saying that "the evil-repelling lion led it in front."

Origin of the Tang Dynasty
In the stele history, there is a story about Emperor Minghuang of Tang visiting the Moon Palace. The lion dance was caused by Emperor Minghuang of Tang waking up after visiting the Moon Palace. This story says that when Emperor Minghuang of Tang visited the Moon Palace, a colorful, wide-mouthed and big-nosed unicorn appeared in front of the steps. It had no ill intentions towards Emperor Minghuang of Tang, and rolled a ball in front of the steps with a majestic posture. After waking up, Emperor Minghuang of Tang wanted to see this phenomenon again. He asked his close ministers to imitate the auspicious beast in his dream, and the music club choreographed a dance with majestic gongs and drums to entertain the guests. Since then, lion dance has been popular among the people. The "Taiping Music" in the Tang Dynasty's "Libu Ji" is also called "Five-sided Lion Dance". Bai Juyi, a famous Tang Dynasty poet, wrote in a poem: "Fake-faced Hu people and fake lions, carved wood for the head and silk for the tail. Gold-plated eyes and silver-plated teeth, and the fur coat swings the ears" ("Xilian Ji"). It can be seen that there was already lion dance in the Tang Dynasty.

The earliest record of lion dance can be found in "Han Shu·Yue Zhi", which mentions "elephant man". According to the explanation of Meng Kang, a Wei man during the Three Kingdoms period, "elephant man" is an artist who plays fish, shrimp, and lion. It can be seen that lion dance existed in the Three Kingdoms period.

Situation in the Southern and Northern Dynasties
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, lion dance was also popular among the people. By the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had developed into a large-scale song and dance performed by hundreds of people. It was also performed in the palace as a Yanyue dance, called "Taiping Music", also called "Five-sided Lion Dance". The lion dance at that time also spread to Japan. A Japanese painting called "Shinzai Ancient Music Picture" depicts the ancient Japanese music and dance scene, which is similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, but on a much smaller scale. After the Tang Dynasty, lion dance became popular among the people.

The Song Dynasty's "Dongjing Menghualu" records that some Buddhist temples held lion clubs during festivals, and monks sat on lions to perform rituals and preach to attract tourists.

In "Dreams of Taoan", Zhang Dai of the Ming Dynasty introduced the grand occasion of the lantern festival in Zhejiang, where gongs and drums sounded in the streets and alleys, and people gathered everywhere to watch the lion dance.

The origin of Foshan, Guangdong
In ancient times, a strange beast appeared in Zhongyi Township, Foshan Town, Nanhai County, Guangdong. It was eight feet long, with a big head and a small body, eyes like copper bells, a green face and fangs, and a single horn on its head. This strange beast appeared on New Year's Eve, came and went like the wind, and specialized in destroying folk crops including rice, vegetables, etc. The villagers were fed up with it because it appeared every New Year, so people called it "Nian Beast". The villagers discussed how to eliminate it. A wise man suggested using bamboo strips and paper to make a strange beast and color it. Use cloth of various shapes such as squares and triangles to weave the beast's body, and then gather a dozen warriors, holding pots and other utensils that can make noises, and one person holding two kitchen knives, standing next to a round anvil ready to hit. They ambushed under a bridge, which was a place where the Nian Beast must pass.

When the Nian Beast appeared, the warriors rushed out and beat the instruments to make "clang clang" and "dong dong" sounds, like thunder in the ears. When the Nian Beast saw it, it was frightened and fled, and disappeared from then on. In order to celebrate the success of driving away the Nian Beast and commemorate the merits of the paper-made beast head, the villagers took it out to dance during the Spring Festival. Some people even suggested naming it lion dance: because the lion is the king of beasts, the representative of bravery, and the symbol of auspiciousness. Some also call it "Walking the Holy Head" or "Walking the Rui Head".

In addition to performing lion dances during the New Year, villagers also perform them at god birthdays or celebrations to add to the lively atmosphere. The instruments used in lion dances are changed to gongs and drums, which are often used in welcoming god competitions to pay respect to the gods. It is meant to calm the house, make the gods and ghosts descend, bring peace to the country, and ensure a good harvest.

History of Lion Dance

Early stage
Lion dance is a traditional Asian folk performing art. Performers dress up as lions and perform various lion movements to the sound of gongs and drums. Chinese folk tradition believes that lion dance can drive away evil spirits. Therefore, every festive occasion, such as new opening celebrations, Spring Festival competitions, etc., people like to beat gongs and drums and dance lions to celebrate. Lion dance also became famous around the world with the migration of Chinese people overseas. Lion dance is quite popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Chinatowns in various countries. Overseas Chinese living in Europe and the United States have also formed many lion dance clubs. Every year during the Spring Festival or major festivals, they will celebrate lion dances all over the world.

There are many different opinions about the origin of lion dance. According to mythology, lions appeared in the mountains and ate the villagers in the village. Later, the villagers learned martial arts and killed the lions. The villagers imitated the lions and became lion dancers; there is also a mythological version that says that the Tathagata Buddha led the lion away, so there is often a "big-headed Buddha" leading the lion in the southern lion. There is also a legend that villagers used paper lions and gongs and drums to drive away the Nian beast, which evolved into lion dance.

A more reliable statement is that there are no lions in China itself. In Chinese culture, "lions" are just mythical animals like "dragons" and "unicorns". It was not until the Han Dynasty that a small number of real lions were introduced from the Western Regions for the first time. People at that time imitated their appearance and movements to perform plays, and it developed into lion dance during the Three Kingdoms period; it became popular with the rise of Buddhism during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the history books, "Han Shu Li Yue Zhi" mentioned "elephant man", which, according to the explanation during the Three Kingdoms period, was an artist who played "fish, shrimp, and lion". In the Tang Dynasty, lion dance was a large-scale court dance performance. The "Taiping Music" at that time was also called "Five-Direction Lion Dance" and originated from countries such as Tianzhu and Lion Country. Bai Juyi's poem describes lion dance: "Mask-faced Hu people and mask-faced lions, carved wood for heads and silk for tails, gold-plated eyes and silver for teeth, and furry sweaters swinging their ears", which shows that the lion dance at that time was very similar to what we see.

Lion dance has a long history and is a product of cultural exchanges between China and the Western Regions. As early as 1900 years ago, Persia conducted bilateral commercial trade with China through the Silk Road, and also promoted cultural exchanges between the two countries. Persian envoys also transported lions and other animals to China. At that time, lions were not produced in the Central Plains of China, but with the friendly exchanges between ancient China and West Asia, India and other countries, more lions came to China.

Late Period
Lions are majestic and are known as the king of beasts. China is generally not harmed by lions, so people have a sense of intimacy with lions, and regard them as a symbol of power and auspiciousness. They hope to use the majestic image of lions to drive away demons and evil spirits, creating lion shapes to suppress or show power.

Chinese society has always been based on agriculture. In conjunction with the changes in solar terms and agricultural life, various festivals or welcoming ceremonies came into being. In these festivals, people use gods or auspicious animals to drive away ghosts and entertain gods in order to seek a peaceful and peaceful life. This form gradually has the meaning of entertaining the people. As people became more fond of lions, they were no longer satisfied with the static lion images on door piers, eaves, stone railings, seals, and New Year pictures. They wanted to make the lions come alive, so they created dances that simulated the behavior of lions, and then improved and developed them into a unique art of the Chinese nation.

Although folk lion dance activities have a long history, there are many different opinions about the origin of this art. Experts have read many books and can only get some clues from various records, including various legends.

Chinese lion dance

Initially, the northern lion was more popular in the north of the Yangtze River, while the southern lion was popular in southern China, Southeast Asia and overseas. In recent years, there are also dances that blend the two, mainly using the lion of the southern lion and the steps of the northern lion, which is called "Southern Lion Northern Dance".

Northern Lion
The shape of the northern lion is very similar to that of a real lion, with a simpler lion head and golden fur all over the body. The pants and shoes of the lion dancers (usually two people dancing one lion) are covered with fur, and they look like a lifelike lion before they dance. The lion with a red knot on its head is a male lion, and the one with a green knot is a female. The northern lion performs flexible movements, which is different from the southern lion's emphasis on fierceness. The dancing is mainly based on pounce, fall, flip, roll, jump, scratch and other movements.

Northern lions usually appear in pairs of male and female; led by the owner dressed as a warrior. Sometimes a pair of northern lions will be paired with a pair of small northern lions, the small lion teases the big lion, and the big lion plays with the child for fun, showing the family love. The performance of the northern lion is closer to juggling. In terms of music, Beijing cymbals, Beijing gongs and Beijing drums are the main instruments.

Hebei, China is the birthplace of the northern lion. The Lion Club of Beili Village, Xushui County was founded in 1925. It existed as a folk flower fair and developed rapidly after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Xushui lion dance is mainly held during the Spring Festival and the spring temple ceremonies. During the performance, two people cooperate with each other. The former holds the props on his head and plays the lion head, while the latter leans over and grabs the waist of the former with both hands, and puts on a lion skin cover made of cow hair to play the lion body. The two cooperate to dress up as a big lion, called Taishi; another person wears a lion head mask and a lion skin to play the little lion, called Shaoshi; the person who holds a hydrangea to tease the lion is called Yinshilang. Yinshilang plays an important role in the entire lion dance activity. He must not only have heroic spirit, but also have good martial arts, and can perform actions such as "front flip over the lion", "back flip on the high table", and "flip down the plum blossom pile in the cloud". Yinshilang and the lion cooperate tacitly, forming an important feature of northern lion dance. The basic characteristics of Xushui lion dance are exaggerated appearance, big round lion head, smart eyes, and a big mouth that opens and closes in moderation. It is both majestic and naive. During the performance, it can imitate the movements of a real lion, such as looking, standing, walking, running, jumping, rolling, sleeping, and shaking hair. The appearance is realistic, and it can also show difficult skills such as "playing with benches", "plum blossom piles", "jumping piles", "jumping between piles", "showing the shape", "360-degree twisting", "independent single pile jumping", "front flip two-level down pile", and "back flip down pile".

Xushui lion dance occupies an important position in Chinese folk art performances. In 1953, it went to the capital Beijing to participate in the Chinese Folk Art Festival and performed on behalf of the country many times. It won the first prize in the "Fourth World Youth Festival" held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. In October 2001, the Hebei Acrobatic Association officially named Beili Village as the "Hometown of Acrobatic Lion Dance". Nowadays, due to the expensive lion dance props and the difficulty in training new talents, Xushui lion dance is facing a crisis of inheritance and urgently needs rescue and support from relevant departments.

Southern Lion
The Southern Lion is also called the awakening lion. It has a more powerful shape and focuses on horse stance when dancing. The Southern Lion mainly relies on the movements of the dancers to show the powerful lion form. Generally, only two people dance one lion. The lion head is inspired by the facial makeup of operas. It is colorful and exquisitely made; the eyelids and mouth can move. Strictly speaking, the lion head of the Southern Lion does not look like a lion head. Some people even think that the Southern Lion is closer to the Nian beast. The lion head of the Southern Lion also has a horn. It is said that it was made of iron in the past to cope with the frequent fighting during lion dancing. Traditionally, the Southern Lion head is divided into "Liu Bei", "Guan Yu" and "Zhang Fei". The three lion heads are not only different in color and decoration, but also in dance methods according to the personalities of the three ancient people. Red is the Guan Gong lion, representing loyalty and victory. Since Guan Yu is the God of Wealth in the eyes of Chinese people, the Guan Gong lion also represents wealth; yellow is the Liu Bei lion, representing the benefit of the people, benevolence and royal nobility; black is the Zhang Fei lion, representing domineering and bravery, so generally the Zhang Fei lion is only used in competitions or challenges. Generally, red and yellow are more common in festive occasions.

There are many dancing styles of Nanshi, including: starting, normal, rising, doubtful, scratching, welcoming treasure, bowing, jumping in surprise, examining, sleeping soundly, leaving the cave, showing off, crossing the mountain, going up the building, etc. The dancers use different horse steps and the lion head movements to express various shapes abstractly. Therefore, the southern lion emphasizes the meaning and spirit. There are performances of the southern lion such as leaving the cave, going up the mountain, patrolling the mountain and meeting the lion, picking green, and entering the cave. Among them, "picking green" is the most common. According to legend, "Cai Qing" originally meant "anti-Qing and restoration of Ming", but nowadays it is generally taken for its meaning, which means "vigorous" and a symbol of prosperous business. "Qing" is a homonym of lettuce (making money). Lettuce and lucky money (red envelopes) are hung up, and the lion dances several times in front of "Qing", showing hesitation, then jumps up, eats the green vegetables in one bite (called Cai Qing), and then bites the lettuce into pieces (called broken green), and imitates the expression of a lion when it is full (called drunk green) and spits out the bitten green to greet everyone (called making money everywhere). In order to increase the entertainment, Cai Qing sometimes uses various ways of Cai Qing (Cai Tian Qing, Cai Di Qing, Cai Shui Qing, etc.) and is accompanied by various stunts, such as shoulder climbing (the head of the lion stands on the shoulders of the tail of the lion), stacking Arhats, climbing up a bamboo pole, or passing through plum blossom toons (passing through long wooden toons of different heights), etc.

The Southern Lion Dance is accompanied by gongs, drums and cymbals. The lion dances to the rhythm of the music. Sometimes there is a person dressed as a "big-headed Buddha" holding a sunflower fan to lead the dance. Before the lion dance, there is usually a "dotting the eyes" ceremony. The ceremony is performed by the officiating guest, and cinnabar is applied to the eyes and forehead of the lion, symbolizing the granting of aura and life.

The Southern Lion head can generally be divided into Heshan lion and Foshan lion. The Foshan lion head is larger and rounder, with a wide and powerful forehead and a flatter mouth; while the Heshan lion head is flatter and longer, with a protruding mouth like a duck's mouth, so insiders call it a "duck-billed lion".

Traditionally, the Southern Lion head is divided into "Liu Bei Lion", "Guan Gong Lion" and "Zhang Fei Lion". The three lion heads are not only different in color and decoration, but also in dance styles according to the personalities of the three ancients. For example, the dance style of the Zhang Fei lion must be brave and domineering.

In the lion dance skills, the northern lion emphasizes realism, while the southern lion emphasizes freehand painting. In the southern lion performance, the lion should be sometimes mighty and brave, majestic and majestic, and sometimes playful and joyful, humorous and witty, so the expressions of joy, anger, drunkenness, happiness, fierceness, surprise, doubt, movement, stillness, and awakening should be performed vividly, superbly, and thoroughly. A successful performance often allows the audience to see not only the exquisite skills and superb difficulty, but more importantly, it allows the audience to see or understand the various thoughts and purposes of the lion in the performance, anthropomorphize the lion dance performance, and give it human thoughts. Let people sometimes feel nervous, sometimes surprised, happy, and intoxicated when watching the lion dance performance, so as to gain life insights and enlightenment, sublimate their thoughts, and enjoy the beautiful art.

 Lion dance culture has a profound historical and cultural background in China and is an important part of traditional festivals. Its history can be traced back thousands of years. It was originally a ritual activity for praying for blessings, exorcising evil spirits and avoiding disasters. Today, lion dance has evolved into a folk activity that integrates performance, art, and sports, and carries multiple cultural and social significance.

Historical and cultural background
Lion dance first appeared in the Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Lions are regarded as a symbol of auspiciousness. They were not native in ancient China, but gradually became sacred animals through the influence of the Silk Road and Buddhist culture. The lion dance tradition incorporates ancient beliefs such as praying for blessings, exorcising evil spirits and avoiding harm, and has gradually become a fixed performance program for various major events.

Manifestation of national spirit
Lion dance performances not only demonstrate the combination of strength and skills, but also symbolize the perseverance and cleverness of the Chinese nation. The bravery and agility shown in the lion dance movements reflect the importance of unity, courage and cooperation in Chinese culture. The coordination and skills in lion dance require a high degree of tacit understanding between dancers. This spirit of unity and cooperation is not only shown in lion dance, but also has symbolic significance in broader social and cultural interactions.

Social Function and Harmony
The group performance of lion dance itself embodies the value of cooperation. Whether it is "civil lion" or "martial lion", it requires tacit understanding and coordination between performers. Such a performance is not only a display of skills, but also a symbol - showing the importance of teamwork and social harmony. In the community, lion dance activities can also enhance the cohesion and centripetal force of society, so that people can feel the power and sense of belonging of the collective in the common celebration.

Cultural inheritance and educational significance
Lion dance has been passed down from generation to generation, and the culture and wisdom of the Chinese nation have been passed down to this day. Lion dance activities in many places are closely integrated with local unique customs, such as Cantonese lion dance, Chaoshan lion dance, etc., each with its own characteristics. For the younger generation, lion dance is not only a carrier of culture, but also a way to cultivate physical fitness and spiritual cultivation. The inheritors teach the younger generation skills through oral and heart-to-heart teaching, and also convey to them the profound cultural value behind lion dance.

Cultural implication and philosophy of life
Lion dance performances are usually accompanied by traditional rituals and beliefs, implying the smoothness, perfection and progress of life. Whether it is "welcoming the New Year" or celebrating the opening of a business, lion dance has a strong nature of blessing and conveys the vision of a better life. In addition, lion dance is also inextricably linked to feng shui, folk beliefs, etc., showing the profound pursuit of harmony between nature, society, and people in Chinese culture.

Globalization of modern lion dance
With the global spread of culture, lion dance is not only active in various parts of China, but also an important program for celebrations in Chinese communities around the world. Especially during festivals such as the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival, overseas Chinese express their longing for their hometown and cultural identity through lion dance activities. At the same time, the internationalization of lion dance activities is also attracting more and more foreign friends to participate, becoming a bridge for them to understand Chinese traditional culture.

In general, as a traditional folk art, lion dance not only brings visual and artistic enjoyment in form, but also carries the cultural essence of the Chinese nation at the spiritual level. It has been passed down from generation to generation and has become one of the important symbols of Chinese culture, and it still has vitality in modern society，The popular lion dance culture will encourage more young people to plant the "lion dance dream" and become the "lion boys" who are both cool and passionate, so that the lion dance spirit will be passed down from generation to generation and radiate infinite vitality and vigor.