What does the "lion dance" mean in the opening ceremony?

At various opening ceremonies, we often see lion dancing, which on the one hand represents the excitement, and on the other hand represents the significance of lion dancing being worshipped by people. Let's take a look: Lion dance has a long history and is the product of cultural exchange between China and the western regions. As early as 1900 years ago, Persia conducted commercial trade with China through the Silk Road, which also promoted cultural exchanges between the two countries. Persian messengers also brought 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 countries such as West Asia and India, more lions came to China. Lions are powerful and known as the king of beasts, but China is generally not harmed by lions. Therefore, the people have friendly feelings for the lion, and regard it as a symbol of courage and good luck, hoping to use the powerful image of the lion to exorcise evil spirits, resulting in lion modeling to suppress or show martial arts. China society has always been dominated by agriculture. With the changes of solar terms and agricultural life, various festivals or ceremonies to greet the gods have emerged. In these festivals, people use gods or auspicious animals to exorcise ghosts and entertain gods, which gradually has the significance of entertaining people. With people's love for lions, they are no longer satisfied with the static artistic image of lions in doorways, eaves, stone fences, seals and New Year pictures. They wanted the lion to live, so they created a dance that imitated the lion's behavior, and then improved it and developed it into a unique art of the Chinese nation. Although the folk lion dance has a long history, there are different opinions about the origin of this art. Experts have rummaged through a batch of books and can only get some clues from various records, including various legends. Among them: the origin of the Han Dynasty: It is said that during the reign of Emperor Gaozu Zhang, the Yue State in the western regions presented a golden lion to the Han Dynasty, and the emissary threatened that whoever could tame the lion would continue to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty, otherwise diplomatic relations would be severed. After the messenger of the moon left, Emperor Zhang Han chose three people to train the lion, but none of them succeeded. Later, the golden lion violently attacked and was killed by the imperial secretary. In order to avoid the punishment of Emperor Zhang, the imperial secretary tore off the lion's skin. The imperial secretary's two brothers dressed up as golden lions, and one teased him to start a dance. This not only fooled Ambassador Yue, but also believed Zhang Di. After this incident, it spread to the Han Palace, and the people thought that lion dancing was a symbol of national glory and good luck. So he imitated the lion and performed a lion dance. Since then, lion dancing has been very popular. According to the origin of the Northern Wei Dynasty, lion dance, as a performing art, is believed to have taken shape in the Northern Wei Dynasty 1500 years ago, when the northern Xiongnu invaded and rebelled. They specially carved many wooden stones, sewed them into a lion's body with golden silk hemp, and sent good dancers to pay tribute to Wei, with the intention of stabbing Wei Emperor to death during the lion dance. Fortunately, the loyal minister saw through it and made him retreat. Later, because Wei Di loved lion dancing, he ordered imitation, and pragmatism spread to later generations. The origin of the Tang Dynasty says: There is a story about Emperor Tang Ming's visit to the Moon Palace in the monument, and lion dancing woke him up and gave him a lion dance. This story tells that when Emperor Tang Ming visited the Moon Palace, a colorful unicorn with a big mouth and a big nose appeared in front of the steps, which was harmless to Emperor Tang Ming and rolled the ball in front of the steps with a dignified posture. Emperor Tang Ming woke up and wanted to see this phenomenon again. He wants ministers to imitate auspicious animals in his dreams, and at the same time, the music department should be equipped with gorgeous gongs and drums to entertain guests. Since then, lion dance has flowed into the people. Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in a poem: "Masked conference semifinals are fake lions, and woodcarving is the beginning and the end. Gold-plated eyes and silver teeth, brave fast sweater with ears? Quot It can be seen that lion dancing existed in the Tang Dynasty. The internationally accepted theory of the origin of Foshan: In ancient times, a strange beast appeared in Zhong Yi Township, Foshan Town, Nanhai County, Guangdong Province. It is eight feet long, with a big head and a small body. Its eyes are like two bells, its green face and fangs, and its first horn. This strange beast appeared on New Year's Eve and came and went like the wind, destroying folk crops including rice and vegetables. Folks and villagers are very annoyed, because he appears every New Year, so people call him "Nian Beast". The villagers discussed how to destroy the "Nian beast". Some wise men made suggestions, tied it into a strange beast shape with bamboo sticks and paper, and colored it. Weave animal carcasses with cloth of various shapes, such as squares and triangles, and then gather a dozen warriors, holding pots and other rattles, and one with a double kitchen knife, standing by the circular anvil ready to be beaten. They lie in ambush under a bridge, which is the only place for young animals. As soon as the beast of that year appeared, all the warriors rushed out and struck the instruments to make a "clang" and "thump" sound like thunder. Nian beast saw it and fled in horror. He disappeared and never appeared again. In order to celebrate the success of driving away strange animals and commemorate the contribution of tying animal heads with paper, it is convenient for villagers to take them out to dance during the Spring Festival. Some people even suggested naming it the lion dance: because the lion is the king of beasts, a representative of courage and a symbol of good luck. Some are also called dance heads. In addition to dancing lions during the New Year, villagers will also perform on God's birthday or celebration to increase the lively atmosphere. When dancing the lion, the musical instrument is changed to gongs and drums, which are usually used in various places to participate in the game of meeting the gods. It has a certain rhythm, which means that the house can flourish, the ghosts and gods are superior, the environment is peaceful and the harvest is good. Dongguan Win-Win Culture Communication Co., Ltd. is a professional etiquette celebration planning company, providing services such as Dongguan etiquette miss, audio rental, opening ceremony, performance company, etiquette celebration planning company, event planning company, part-time etiquette, Dongguan model and so on. Years of quality, forever classic! Welcome friends who need etiquette celebration planning to come to consult and cooperate!