The modern significance of dragon and lion dance

Dragon Dance

Dragon dance is also called "dragon lantern dancing" or "dragon lantern dance". From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, dragon dancing is a custom in many places. The dragon represents auspiciousness, nobility, bravery, and a symbol of power in the Chinese nation. People dance dragons on festive days to pray for the dragon's blessing, hoping for good weather and good harvests. The main prop for dragon dance is "dragon". Dragons are made of grass, bamboo, cloth, etc. The number of dragon sections is an odd number, which is auspicious. Nine-section dragons, eleven-section dragons, thirteen-section dragons are common, and the most common ones can reach twenty-nine sections. Dragons with more than fifteen knots are relatively bulky and not suitable for dancing. They are mainly used for ornamental purposes. This kind of dragon pays special attention to decoration and has high craftsmanship value. There is also a kind of "fire dragon", which is made of bamboo strips woven into a cylinder to form a cage, covered with a transparent and beautiful dragon robe, and burning candles or oil lamps. The night performance is very spectacular. Today, through continuous development and improvement, dragon dance has often become an ornamental competitive sport. The movements of the dragon dance are ever-changing, and those within nine sections focus on tricks. The more common movements include: dragon roaming, dragon head drilling into a stall, head and tail drilling together, dragon wagging its tail, snake shedding, etc. The dragons in the eleventh and thirteenth sections focus on action performances. The golden dragon chases the orb, soars and jumps, sometimes flies; sometimes it is in the clouds, sometimes it enters the sea and breaks the waves. Coupled with dragon beads and drum music, it becomes an art style that integrates martial arts, drum music, opera and dragon art.

Lion Dance

The lion has a majestic appearance, vigorous movements, and changeable expressions. There are many different legends among the people. Sometimes it becomes a myth, and sometimes it is pulled into history, adding a lot of meaning to lion dance. The lack of mystery also makes it more popular among the people. People believe that lions are auspicious animals and that lion dance can bring good luck. Therefore, during the Spring Festival or other celebrations, lion dances are performed amidst the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers to help celebrate and pray for good luck. The lion dance with brocade is an excellent folk art in my country. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people often use lion dance to add to the fun. This custom originated during the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. According to legend, it was first introduced from the Western Regions. The lion is the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. With the introduction of Buddhism to China, lion dance activities were also introduced to China. The lion was a tribute brought back together with the peacock and others after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions. The skill of lion dance is derived from Xiliang's "Mask Show". Some people believe that lion dance originated from the Liu Song army in the fifth century and was later spread among the people. Both statements have their own basis, and today it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong.

However, in the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had become a popular activity in the palace, the military, and among the people. It is said in "Yuefu Zaxun" by Duan'an Festival of the Tang Dynasty: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet tall, each dressed in five colors. Each lion has twelve people, wearing red and wiping their foreheads, wearing painted clothes, and holding red whisks. It is called The Lion Man dances to Taiping music. This is vividly described in the poem "Xiliang Ji" by the poet Bai Juyi: "Xiliang Ji, Xiliang Ji, a disguised barbarian with a fake lion's head and silk tail, and a gold-plated head." The eyes are as silver as the teeth. The Fenxun sweaters are on the ears, as if they have traveled thousands of miles from quicksand. "The poem describes the scene of the lion dance at that time. In the development process of more than a thousand years, lion dance has formed two performance styles, northern and southern.

The Northern Lion Dance mainly focuses on the performance of "Martial Lion", which is the "Auspicious Lion" of the Northern Wei Dynasty designated by Emperor Wu of Wei Dynasty. The small lion is danced by one person, and the big lion is danced by two people. One person stands and dances the lion's head, and the other bends down and dances the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer wears a lion quilt all over his body, and wears green lion pants and gold-clawed boots with the same coat color as the lion's body. People cannot identify the shape of the lion dancer. Its appearance is very similar to a real lion. The lion leader is dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a rotating hydrangea in his hand, accompanied by gongs, drums and cymbals to lure the auspicious lion. Under the guidance of the "Lion Man", the lions perform tricks such as flipping, falling, jumping, climbing, and worshiping. They also perform difficult actions such as walking on plum blossom piles, jumping around tables, and stepping on rolling balls. The Southern Lion Dance mainly focuses on "literary lion" performances. The performance pays attention to expressions, including tickling, hair shaking, licking and other movements, which are lifelike and cute. It also has more difficult skills such as spitting balls. Nanshi is centered in Guangdong, and is popular in Hong Kong, Macao, and the hometowns of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.

Although the Southern Lion is also a duet dance, the lion dancer wears bloomers and only a colorful lion quilt on top. Different from the Northern Lion, the "Lion Man" wears a big-headed Buddha mask, a long robe, and a colorful belt around his waist. He holds a sunflower fan in his hand to tease the lion, and uses it to dance various graceful moves with funny and humorous movements. There are many schools of southern lions, including the "Chicken-Gong Lion" from Qingyuan and Yingde, the "Big-headed Lion" from Guangzhou and Foshan, the "Duck-billed Lion" from Gaohe and Zhongshan, and the "Qilin Lion" from Dongguan, etc.

In addition to their different appearances, Southern Lions also have different personalities. The dance range of the white-bearded lion is not wide, and there are not many varieties of colors. However, it is calm, vigorous, majestic and powerful. It is called "Liu Bei Lion" among the people. The black-bearded red-faced lion, known as the "Guan Gong Lion", dances bravely and majesticly, with extraordinary spirit. The gray-bearded lion has rough and warlike movements and is commonly known as "Zhang Fei Lion". The lion is the king of beasts, with a majestic and mighty image, giving people a sense of majesty and bravery. The ancients regarded it as a symbol of bravery and strength, believing that it could exorcise evil spirits, suppress demons, and protect humans and animals. Therefore, people gradually formed the custom of lion dancing during the Lantern Festival and other major events to pray for good luck and peace in life. The clusters of artworks incorporate various expressions of joy, anger, sadness, joy, movement, stillness, surprise and suspicion. When they dance, they turn into a living lion. Several big lions jump and move around happily, adding to the festival. There was a lot of joy and excitement.