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Lion dance，also known as playing lion, is a form in which performers mimic
a lion’s movements in a lion costume. Unlike dragon dance, a lion is often
operated by two people and the performers' faces are often covered during the
dance while a dragon dance needs more people and the performers can be seen
since the dragon is held upon poles.
There is a legend about lion dance. Once upon a time a monk had a dream in
which there were many sorrows and evils plaguing the land. The monk prayed and
asked the gods how he could prevent these evils from occurring. The gods told
him that a lion would protect them and fight back the evils.
The Chinese people had never seen a lion before, but had heard stories that
the lion was the king of all the other animals, so the monk combined all the
lucky or magical animals he could think of and so made a lion. If you look
closely at any lion, you can see a red sash tied on its horn.
It is told that the lion was disrespectful to the Jade Emperor. This of
course caused the Jade Emperor to get very angry, so as a punishment he chopped
off his horn (The source of his life) and the lion died.
The Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) felt bad for him so she tied his horn back
on with a red sash with golden leaves and chanted to the lion and he came back
to life.
Actually, according to textual research, lions in China were originally
introduced from West Asia through the “Silk Road”, since sending lions to China
wasn’t an easy job accompanied by hardships, very few lions finally arrived at
the destination.
Therefore, the real breathtaking lion dance was only limited to the
imperial palace and wealthy families, and common people never had the chance to
watch it. Therefore, the folk artists created lions through imagination
according to records or legends.
They highlighted the broad forehead, upturned nose and open mouth with
traditional divine and auspicious decorations, presenting the mighty force and
liveliness of lions. In the lion dance, people perform the role of lions.
The performance is divided into civil lion and martial lion according to
the performing styles. Civil lion, in which the lion player always wears a mask,
has a docile and funny image.
For instance, there are the Luohan (Arhat) playing with Lion in Sichuan and
Hunan provinces and the Laughing Monk Playing with Lion in Shanxi Province.
While martial lion portrays the power of the lion, besides the usual jumping,
falling and tumbling, performers will also show their excellent techniques by
climbing upon a high table or stepping on five wooden stakes.
For instance, the Gaotai (High Terrace) Lion Dance of Sichuan Province has
to be performed on seven high tables, which makes the performance highly
difficult.
The performance is also divided into Northern Lion Dance and Southern Lion
Dance according to the factors of geography.
The Northern Lion Dance has a longer history that in the Northern Wei
Dynasty (386-534), the Emperor Wu launched an expedition Hexi Corridor (used to
be a vital passageway of the Old Silk Road) to Gansu Province, and took captive
of more than 100,000 Mongols.
The emperor ordered the Mongols to perform dance and other entertainment.
More than 30 Mongolian warriors held wood carved animal heads and wore animal
skins, dancing before the emperor.
The emperor was very pleased and named it Northern Wei Auspicious Lion, and
allowed the captives to return home. The legend about the Southern Lion Dance is
said that in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Emperor Qianlong dreamed about the
pilgrim of an auspicious animal in colorful hair on his inspection tour south of
the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. More→http://www.beijing-haidian.com/
After his return to Beijing, the capital, the emperor ordered his men to
make one according to the image of the auspicious animal he dreamed about.
He ordered some people to perform whenever there was a festival or a
ceremony, indicating to make the state prosperous and people peaceful.
