lion dance

lion dance

Lion dance, also known as "Lion Dance", "Lion Lantern", "Lion Dance", "Lion Dance", "Lion Dance", is one of the folk dances of all ethnic groups in China, more performances in New Year's Day and festival activities. In the eyes of the Chinese people, lions are auspicious beasts and symbolize good luck. Thus, in the lion dance activities, the good will of the people to eliminate disasters and seek Ginafu is placed. Lion dance is an excellent traditional Chinese art. Every Lantern Festival or gathering celebration, lion dance is used by the people to promote the festival. Lion dancing has a history of more than a thousand years. Lion dancing was called "Taiping Music" in the old days, but it was more widely developed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). At that time, lion art had become a necessary program in the festival and incense walking meeting. In the course of more than 1,000 years'development, lion dance has formed two kinds of performing styles, north and south.

On May 20, 2006, Lion Dance was approved by the State Council and listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Historical Evolution

origin

On the Origin of Han Dynasty

Legend has it that when Emperor Zhangdi of the Han Dynasty, the Dayue State of the Western Regions paid tribute to the Han Dynasty to a golden-haired male lion, and the messenger threatened that if someone could tame the lion, he would continue to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty, otherwise he would sever diplomatic relations.

After the Yueshi envoy left, Emperor Zhangdi of the Han Dynasty chose three people to tame lions successively, but they were unsuccessful. Later, the Golden Mao Lion became mad and was beaten to death by the palace people. The palace people tried to escape the crime of Emperor Zhang. They pulled out the lion skin and dressed the palace brothers as Golden Mao Lions. One of them made them dance. This not only deceived Dayue's envoys, but also convinced Zhang Di that it was true. Later, it came out of the Han Palace. People thought that the lion dance was a symbol of glory and good luck for the country. So he imitated the lion and performed the lion dance. Lion dancing has been popular ever since.

Origin of 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 Huns invaded and disturbed. They specially made wooden carvings and stones, sewed into lion bodies with golden silk and hemp, sent good dancers to pay tribute to the Wei Dynasty, intending to stab the Wei Emperor in the lion dance. Fortunately, they were recognized by loyal ministers and made them retreat from difficulties. Later, because Emperor Wei loved lion dance and ordered imitation, pragmatism was spread to future generations. Yang Xuanzhi's "Luoyang Galan Ji" describes the words of "eliminating evil lions and guiding them before" when the Buddha statues of Changqiu Temple in Luoyang were traveling.

On the Origin of Tang Dynasty

Among the monument envoys are about the Tang Ming Emperor's visit to the Moon Palace, and the lion dance made him wake up after the Tang Ming Emperor's visit to the Moon Palace. This story tells that when the Tang Ming Emperor visited the Moon Palace, a unicorn with a large mouth and nose appeared in front of the steps without malice to the Tang Ming Emperor, and rolled the ball in front of the steps with a mighty posture. Empress Tang Ming wakes up to see this phenomenon again. He wants his courtiers to imitate the beautiful beasts in his dreams. At the same time, the music department accompanies him with powerful gongs and drums to entertain guests. Since then, the lion dance has flowed into the folk. Taiping Music in Tang Dynasty Libujie is also called "Lion Dance of Five Squares". Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, has a poem cloud: "Fake-faced Huren, false lions, carved wood for the head and silk for the tail. Gold-plated eyes and silver-clad teeth, Fenxun sweater with two ears"(Xiliangjie). It can be seen that lion dance existed in Tang Dynasty.

Records of lion dancers are first found in Hanshu Lezhi, which refers to "Elephant Man". According to Meng Kang, a Weiren in the Three Kingdoms period, "Elephant Man" is an artist who plays fish, shrimp and lion. Thus it can be seen that there were lion dancers by the time of the Three Kingdoms.

In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, lion dancers were also popular among the people.

By the Tang Dynasty, lion dancers had developed into large-scale singing and dancing performed by hundreds of people collectively. They also performed as Yanyue dances in the court, called "Taiping Music" or "Wufang Lion Dancer". At that time, lion dancers also spread to Japan. In an ancient Japanese musical picture of Xinxi, there are scenes of ancient Japanese music and dance, similar to those of the Tang Dynasty, but much smaller. After the Tang Dynasty, lion dancers were widely spread among the people.

The Song Dynasty's Tokyo Dream Record records that some Buddhist temples hold lion meetings on festivals, and monks sit on lions to do things and preach sutras to attract visitors.

Zhang Dai of the Ming Dynasty, in Dream Memory of Tao'an, introduced the occasion of Zhejiang Lantern Festival, with the sound of gongs and drums, and the spectacle of lion dancers surrounded by people everywhere.

Development

With the passage of time, the development of lion dance has become richer and more diverse. In the hundred operas of the Song Dynasty, there were children playing the lion ball dance and the lion and leopard dance. The lion dance in the Qing Dynasty is more unique. In addition to the lion dance pictures in Beijing "Walking Club", it shows a pair of big lions, each with a small lion, beside which two lion grooms are teasing lions. The image of the lion is powerful and interesting. In the folk of our country, the lion dance on the Shangyuan Festival is a favorite event for the masses of the people. Every time around the 15th day of the first lunar month, many towns and villages in our country perform lion dance.

There are two popular lion dancing styles in our country: the literary lion and the martial lion. "Wenlion" is delicate and humorous, mainly expressing the lion's lively and playful manner, such as bowling, playing ball, licking, scratching, rolling, ear washing, dozing and so on, full of interest; while "Wulion" emphasizes the use of skills and martial arts, such as Teng, flash, jump, poke, climb, plum blossom pile and other difficult movements, showing the lion's majestic character.

Stylistic features

Lion dance is an excellent traditional folk art in China. Every Lantern Festival or gathering celebration, lion dance is used by the people to help them enjoy themselves. Lion dancing has a history of more than a thousand years. Lion dancing was called "Taiping Music" in the old days, but it was more widely developed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). At that time, lion art had become a necessary program in the festival and incense walking meeting. In the course of more than 1,000 years'development, lion dance has formed two kinds of performing styles, north and south.

One of the forms of Chinese folk dance. The lion is known as the "king of beasts". It is magnificent and powerful. People regard it as a good animal and it is worshipped. Every festival, lion dancing is a recreational activity corresponding to dragon dancing. It is loved by people everywhere. It is also very popular everywhere, commonly known as "lion playing".

It takes the form of a double lion or a single lion. Covered with lion skin, it looks like a lion. Lion dance performance depends on certain martial arts skills, and to adhere to practice. During the performance, a person holding a colorful ball or head mask in front of the lion to do shaking, scratching, falling, jumping, stepping on the ball, crossing the board, climbing, and accompanied by gongs and drums, action in harmony, delightful and lovely. During the Spring Festival, lion-playing teams from all over the country have to go to villages to perform, commonly known as "lion New Year's greetings". Worshippers or families should hang red envelopes and let lion-playing teams take ladders to pick up envelopes. This is a thrilling performance of skill, which attracts the audience very much.

At first, the northern lion was more popular in the north of the Yangtze River, while the southern lion was popular in South China, South Asia and overseas. There were also dance methods that combined the two, mainly using the southern lion's lion and the northern lion's footwork, known as "the southern lion's northern dance".

North Lion dance

The shape of the Northern Lion is similar to that of a real lion. The lion's head is relatively simple and its body is covered with golden hair. Lion dancers (usually two dancers each)

The trousers and shoes will be covered with wool, and the lion looks very beautiful without dancing. A lion with red knots on its head is a male lion, and a lion with green knots is a female. The North Lion shows flexible movements, which are different from the South Lion's emphasis on power. Dancing is based on throwing, falling, turning, rolling, jumping, scratching and other movements.

The Northern Lion usually appears in pairs of male and female; it is led by the master dressed as a warrior. Sometimes a pair of lions will match a pair of small lions, the small lions tease the big lions, the big lions make fun of children, and show their talent. North Lion's performance is closer to juggling. In terms of music score, Beijing cymbals, gongs and drums are the main instruments.

Southern Lion

Southern lion is also called waking lion. Its shape is more powerful. It pays attention to horse steps when dancing. Southern lion mainly depends on the movements of dancers to show a powerful lion shape, usually only two people dance one. The lion's head uses the spectrums of the opera surface as a guide, with brilliant colors and exquisite fabrication; its eyes and mouth are movable. Strictly speaking, the lion's head is not very lion's head. Some people even think that the lion's head is closer to the animal of the year. The lion's head also has a horn. It is rumored that the lion's head was made of iron in order to cope with the frequent fighting in the lion dance. Traditionally, the lion head of Nanshi can be divided into "Liu Bei", "Guan Yu" and "Zhang Fei". The three kinds of lion heads are not only different in color and decoration, but also different in dance methods according to the personality of the three ancient people.

There are many dancing styles in Nanshi, such as rising, normal, rising, doubting, scratching, greeting, saluting, jumping, examining, sleeping, going out of the hole, expressing prestige, crossing the hill, going upstairs and so on. Dancers express various shapes abstractly through different horse steps, cooperating with lion head movements. Therefore, Nanlion pays attention to intentions and similarities. Southern lions have performances such as going out of caves, going up mountains, touring mountains to meet lions, collecting green and entering caves. Among them, "green picking" is the most common.

Legend has it that "picking up green" was originally meant to "fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty". Nowadays, it is generally meant to be "vigorous" and symbolizes the prosperity of business. Green uses lettuce. Hang the lettuce and the red envelope. The lion danced several times before the green. He hesitated. Then he jumped up and ate the green vegetables in one mouthful. Then he bit the lettuce and spit it out. Then he saluted everyone. In order to increase entertainment, some special effects are also used, such as upper shoulder (lion dancer standing on lion tail shoulder), folding arhat, upper pole (climbing bamboo pole), or over plum toon (passing through different height and length of toon) and so on.

Southern Lion Dance is accompanied by gongs, drums and cymbals. The lion's dance should match the rhythm of the music. Sometimes there will be a person dressed as "Big Head Buddha" in the Southern Lion Dance, with a sunflower fan in his hand.

Lion dancing is usually preceded by a "light-up" ceremony. The ceremony was performed by the honored guests, who painted cinnabar on the lion's eyes to symbolize giving life.

Lion Dancer: Bai Juyi's Biography of Xiliang: A masked beard, a false lion, carved wood for the head and silk for the tail. Gold-plated eyes, silver cladding teeth, Fenxun sweater with ears. For example, from quicksand to ten thousand miles, purple beard with deep eyes and two beards. Dance beams should come to speak like Liangzhou is not sunset. When Anxi escorted in. Lion dancing started in the original Northern and Southern Dynasties, that is, the era of the rise of Buddhism.

Lion Dance Everywhere

In the long-term spread, through the continuous creation of folk artists, the lion dance in different regions has different styles and characteristics.

For example, "Lion Dance" in Gaobeidian, Beijing, is famous for the weight of lion head, which weighs more than 90 kilograms. The lion dance in Xushui County, Hebei Province, is vigorous and can jump onto five square tables and perform on the table.

Anhui's "Hand Lion" is small and exquisite, while Shandong's "Big Lion" leaps and bounds in the midst of smoke, which is both dangerous and brave.

Sichuan's "Gaotai Lion" and "Site Lion" are characterized by deductive breakthrough: "Lion dancing is also practiced in minority areas, and the Tibetan Snow Lion in Qinghai Province has its own characteristics. Guangdong Awakening Lion Dance, with its unique shape, magnificent drum music, Southern martial arts and other characteristics, has won a high reputation at home and abroad, with far-reaching impact.

The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, the lion dance was approved by the State Council and listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Xu Shui Lion Dance

Hebei is the birthplace of the Northern Lion. The Lion Club of Beili Village, Xushui County, was founded in 1925. It exists in the form of folk Flower Fairs and has developed rapidly since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Xushui Lion Dance mainly takes place during the Spring Festival and the Spring Temple Fair. During the performance, two people cooperate. The former acts as a lion's head with props in both hands. The latter holds the lion's waist with both hands. The latter acts as a lion with a lion's skin covered with cow's hair. The two acts as a big lion, called Taishi, while the other acts as a small lion with a lion's head mask and a lion's skin. The son is called a lion, and the lion lion is called a lion lion by the person who teases the lion with an embroidery ball.

The lion dancer plays an important role in the whole lion dance. He should not only have heroic spirit, but also have good martial arts. He can perform such actions as "overturning the lion in front of the sky", "overturning the high table in the back" and "overturning the plum blossom stake in the clouds". It is an important feature of lion dance in the north that the lion and the lion cooperate tacitly. The basic features of Xushui Lion Dance are exaggerated appearance, big lion head, flexible eyes, wide mouth opening and closing, both majestic and sturdy. It can imitate real lion's watching, standing, walking, running, jumping, rolling, sleeping, shaking and other movements. It can also show "bench playing", "plum blossom pile", "pile-jumping", "pile-dividing jumping", "light moving" and "360 degrees". Some difficult techniques such as twisting bending, single pile jumping, two-stage down pile with forward overturning and back overturning are introduced.

Xu Shuishi Lion Dance occupies an important position in Chinese folk art performance. In 1953, Xu Shuishi Lion Dance attended the national folk art performance in Beijing, the capital, and made many visits on behalf of the country. He won the first prize in the 4th World Youth Festival held in Bucharest, Romania. Hebei Acrobatics Association officially named Beili Village as "the land of acrobatics lion dance" in October 2001. Because of the expensive props and the difficulty in training new people, Xushui Lion Dance is facing a crisis of inheritance, which urgently needs rescue and support from relevant departments.

Lion Dance in Tianta

The lion dance of Xiangfen Qitao Temple in Shanxi Province began in Sui and Tang Dynasties. It went through Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and lasted forever. It was called "Tianta Lion Dance". Tianta Lion Dance has the artistic characteristics of surprise, danger, wonder, absoluteness and beauty. It is amazing that the tower stands tall and its movements fluctuate greatly; the performance process contains scientific mechanics principles, coupled with safety protection measures, it looks dangerous but not dangerous; the lion's eyes, tongue and tail move freely and can perform such performances as exporting banners, which makes people feel strange.

Tianta Lion Dance can be regarded as an absolute combination of skills in strength and culture in acrobatics. This kind of high-rise performance, with beautiful aerial shape, shows a moving charm.

Tianta Lion Dance has its unique performance form and superb skills. Tianta Lion Dance was awarded the Excellent Award of the 7th Art Festival of China and the Gold Award of the 1st and 3rd Square Culture Festival of Shanxi Province.

Rescue, protection and study of lion dance are of great significance to the study of aesthetics, folklore and the history of music and dance.

Yellow Sand Lion

"Huangsha Lion" was founded in the Northern Song Dynasty, mainly in the Huangshayang area of Baishuiyang Town in the Northwest Mountainous Area of Linhai City, Zhejiang Province. The local folk custom is fierce, simple and Maoming in ancient times, advocating the practice of martial arts, and the custom of lion dance has a long history.

The greatest feature of this traditional performing art is to skillfully combine folk martial arts with traditional lion dance performance, which integrates martial arts. It can not only roll and play on the ground, but also perform various interesting actions on the high platform. During the performance, the actor flies on the eight immortal tables, while also playing the turning table movements of "hall crossing", "table wrestling", "down climbing point", "hanging table foot", "folding arhat". Jumping table is the most difficult part of the whole performance. Forty tables are trapezoidal. When jumping to the top, nine tables are stacked up about three feet two feet high. A word "absolute" falls on the four feet of the ninth highest table - table feet facing the sky. An artist moves step on the four feet of the table, takes off his shoes and socks, and shows great skill.

Huangsha Lion Dance and Martial Arts, entertaining gods and entertaining people, combining rigidity and softness, has unique local cultural characteristics, and places people's good expectations. From the beginning of New Year's 30 to the beginning of February 2, artists will go to villages and villages to perform. People in the central area of Huangshayang Lion and its spreading areas hope that the weather will be smooth, the grain will be plentiful, the people will be prosperous and the money will be prosperous, and the luck will be safe. They all hope that the Lion Dance will give them good luck, alleviate disasters and bring down blessings, and have a lively festival.

Huangsha Lion has research value in folklore, sociology, aesthetics, anthropology and so on. With the rapid economic development in the eastern coastal areas of China and the changes in the aesthetic concepts and cultural lifestyles of traditional society, there are less than 10 artists who can perform the Yellow Sand Lion today. This highly ornamental traditional folk dance form is facing the crisis of dynastic discontinuity and loss of inheritance.

Guangdong Awakening Lion

The waking lion belongs to the southern lion in the Chinese lion dance. Historically, the lion dance was born in the Tang Dynasty. After Five Dynasties and ten countries, with the migration of immigrants from the Central Plains to the south, the lion dance culture entered Lingnan region. In the Ming Dynasty, the waking lion appeared in Guangdong, originating in Nanhai County. It spreads among overseas Chinese in Guangdong, Guangxi and Southeast Asian countries, and mainly distributes in Foshan, Suixi, Guangzhou and other counties and cities in Guangdong.

Awakening lion is a cultural activity that integrates martial arts, dance and music. During the performance, gongs and drums are beating. The lion dancer first takes a burst of Nanquan, which is called "Pile Opening", and then two people play a lion dancing. The other one wears a big Buddha with a smiling face and leads the lion to the stage with a big sunflower fan in his hand. Lion dancers mostly take the Nanquan horse step as their main action. Lion movements include "open eyes", "wash beards", "lick body", "shake hair" and so on. The main routines include "picking green", "drinking water in Gaotai", "throwing balls by lions" and "stepping on plum blossom piles". Among them, "picking up green" is the essence of awakening lion. It has the process of starting, inheriting, transferring and combining, which is dramatic and storytelling. "Qing-Picking" has undergone many changes, resulting in a variety of routines, which are widely circulated.

Suixi Awakening Lion gradually developed from the traditional ground lion to the bench lion, from the bench lion to the high platform lion, the high pole lion, and from the high pole lion to the pile lion. The difficulty of stake lion is also increasing, such as increasing the performance of steel wire walking, air jumping and so on. The tallest pile is close to 3 meters and its span is up to 3.7 meters. It fully reflects the characteristics of "new, high, difficult and dangerous", and is praised as "one of the best in China". The props of the lion in Guangzhou's sand pit are characterized by its high and narrow forehead, large eyes, wide mouth and pen, wide back, nose collapse, full cheeks, and hidden teeth. The performances are divided into three categories: lion dancing, lion dancing and lion dancing. The lion's eight states of joy, anger, sadness, joy, movement, silence, surprise and suspicion are deduced by taking off, moving, flashing, throwing, swinging and leaping on the ground or in piles to show the lion's power and strength.

Since ancient times, the awakening lion in Guangdong Province has been regarded as a mascot to exorcise evil spirits and avoid harm. Every festival or major event, the awakening lion will be helpful and prosperous, which has been handed down from generation to generation.

Since the 1980s, almost all villages and villages have their own lion wake-up teams. All the year round, the opening celebrations of gongs and drums continue. During the festival, the lion teams go to the streets to collect green and tour. The popularity of lion art in towns and villages is unprecedented. Guangdong Xingshi has become a well-known folk dance brand in Guangdong. Lion awakening activities are also widely spread in overseas Chinese communities, becoming a cultural bridge for overseas compatriots to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors. Its cultural value and significance are far-reaching.

Dongguan Lion Dance

Lion dance, commonly known as lion dance. Dongguan Lion Dance belongs to the South Lion of China. It originated in the Ming Dynasty and has been handed down from generation to generation. Lion dancing is a popular form of performance for people to pray for peace and auspiciousness in the festivals of red festivals and Chinese New Year. The former wears a lion's head, while the latter bends over to grasp the waist of the former, wears a lion's skin covered with fur to play the lion's body, and the two play a big lion in cooperation. The performing procedures of the waking lion dance are: out of the hole, down the hill, across the bridge, drinking water, picking green, sleeping drunk, waking up drunk, going up the hill, playing ball, big head Buddhist opera lion, and picking green is the climax. The routines are rich, colorful, highly skilled and difficult. In addition, there are "Lion Lantern", "Lion Sputting Ball", "Big Head Buddha Leading Lion" and modern highly competitive "high-staked lion", "plum-blossom staked lion" and "lion walking wire" and other stunts.

According to research, lion dance was spread from the Central Plains to the folk in Lingnan area after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Historically, there were many wars and turmoil in the Central Plains. The people of the Central Plains had three major migrations, and Lingnan was one of their main settlements. It is logical that the southward migration of the people of the Central Plains will inevitably bring about the culture of the Central Plains and the lion dance favored by the people.

Lion dance has a long history in Shipai Town, which has been well inherited and developed in Dongguan. Especially in modern times, Dongguan Xinglion absorbs the advantages of the North Lion, integrates the north and South lion type and meaning, achieves the spirit and charm of the type, and constantly absorbs other art forms, such as drama, martial arts, etc., so that this ancient art radiates new vitality. So far, lion dance has become a unique folk art activity in Dongguan.

The government has insufficient support for traditional culture such as awakening lion, the lion team's survival and operation are difficult, and the lion dance skills are lack of successors. This activity has a large amount of sports and certain sports risks. In addition, the degree of commercialization of awakening lion is insufficient, and the income is insufficient, so the attraction for young people is not too big, and it is difficult to recruit excellent lion dancers.

At present, the Shipai Town Committee and the town government have increased the support funds for cultural tourism, requiring the village committee to give sufficient support to re-integrate the lion dance team.

Lincheng Green Lion

Lion dance originated from Buddhism and first appeared in the form of "Flower Festival", which began in the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In rural areas, stone lions of different shapes are still distributed on both sides of bridges and public venues. People take lions as objects of evasion and auspicious symbols. When worshipping gods and ancestors, lion dancing conventions are used to express good wishes of harvest and peace. Lion dancing is usually carried out by a special organization of Lion Banda in the first month or festival. Every time the Lion Band enters the village to perform, there are special reports, and the sound of trumpets, gongs, drums, firecrackers, warm and extraordinary, indicating the auspicious arrival.

The green lion in Lincheng was introduced to the local area by Henan people who lived in Changxing in the early 20th century. According to the old artists, there was a "green lion" in ancient times. In order to defend the country, loyalty and perseverance, the emperor defended the imperial residence and put an end to the intruders'civil strife. In order to reward it, the Emperor gave the throne a special gift and wrote "Lion King Town House" which came from it. After the spread and evolution, lion dancing and lion dancing came from it. In the 1950s and 1960s, the activities of green lions in Lincheng were frequent and the scope of performances was wide. In addition to performances in various parts of the county, the performances also involved Anhui, Jiangsu and other regions.

Lincheng green lions are generally admitted by the gongs and drums of "Rapid Wind" (also playing special music). The "green lion" is green all over and has a smaller lion head. Each lion is dressed up by two people. The former holds the lion head props on its head with both hands, while the latter bends over and grabs the waistband of the former and wears the lion skin woven from hemp and wool. With the sound of gongs and drums, a pair of lions (a female and a male) dance happily and perform flexibly. Their movements include jumping, jumping, lion standing upright, lion kissing, scratching, lion table climbing, lion table jumping, lion table side jumping, lion rolling and so on. Lion dancers are more difficult to perform and can only be competent after continuous hard training.

In addition to "worship the door" in the first month, the green lion in Lincheng also has "playing the ground" performances, that is, to perform collective performances in the countryside during festive festivals, and to perform "shouting" by the foreman, that is, to let the lion dance while singing some auspicious words (commonly known as "seeking auspicious luck"), but without a regular tune, the leading lion will perform "colorful", that is, the owner will tie the red envelope. On a stick, when the lion is raised, the lion picks up the red envelope with its mouth. The higher the jump, the more money the red envelope gives, commonly known as "picking up the lottery head". In the "playing field", there is a performance action called "backpack" by the local people. The green lion dancers will integrate some martial arts and acrobatics on the basis of the original performance action, with higher skills and more exciting scenes. The whole lion dance usually lasts about 15 minutes, and gongs can be collected after three stages of performance.

Liangzhou Lion Dance

Lion dance prevailed in Liangzhou very early, and spread to Chang'an in Tang Dynasty. It became an indispensable program in court music and dance. At that time, the lion dance performed by Xiliangjie was one of the main performances in court banquets, greeting envoys and celebration ceremonies.

In Liangzhou, in addition to the Spring Festival, lion dancing is often used to help on other festive days. The common lion dance is that two people cooperate to dress up as a big lion, commonly known as "Tailion"; one person dresses up as a small lion, commonly known as "Little Lion"; the other is a warrior, playing the role of command and dispatch. Up to now, warriors in some parts of Liangzhou folk still dress as "Hu people" with embroidery balls as a guide, and fist, kick and jump to attract lions to dance. Knights who play embroidery ball and lions should have strong physique, excellent martial arts and skilled and accurate coordination and cooperation, so that they can be proficient and perform freely. Before and during the performance of Lion Dance, firecrackers should be set off to cheer the lion. After a burst of firecrackers, in the smoke soaring, with the light, heavy, fast and slow point of gongs and drums, the lion looked up, looked down, prostrated, wagged his head and tail, and chased with the lions in all sorts of ways, interesting and interesting. A wise man can even imitate many of the lion's movements, such as licking, rubbing feet, scratching his head, washing his ears, worshipping, rolling, etc., which are vivid and lifelike.

Lion dance has another trick, that is, two big lions, a male and a female, the male lion is full of golden hair, the female lion is full of green hair, each rate of two small lions performance. The procedure of the performance is basically similar, but the most interesting thing is that when the performance reaches its climax, the female lion has a "litter" performance. Before giving birth, the female lion will perform various kinds of "antenatal signs", such as upright, rolling, shaking her head, tail flicking, eye movement, hair shaking and so on, to show the pain before delivery. Next, the lioness lay on her stomach, trembling all over and looking miserable. At this time, the lion-inducing warrior placed the hydrangea ball in front of the lioness head, fired firecrackers, and then walked around the lion body. The sound of gongs and drums became louder and the sound of firecrackers was louder in the performance hall. The lioness gradually stood up in the tremor of Serso and moved forward with her legs raised. As soon as he lifted his legs, a lively and lovely little lion rolled out from his crotch, leaping and galloping happily, with her four hoofs fluttering, and a string of golden bells ringing on her neck. Then, the second and the third... Five or six lions can be born in a row. The lioness after the birth, full of the joy of motherhood, flirted with the lions and became very intimate. The dancers also cheered and jumped. People and lions are intimate, communicating with each other, forgetting themselves and sharing the happiness of heaven and earth.

Liangzhou Lion Dance also has a breathtaking and wonderful trick, that is, Gaotai Lion Dance. In the old days, the Gaotai Lion Dance was usually organized in the first month. In the city, it was organized by the Chamber of Commerce, and in the countryside, it was organized by the Society of Fire and Water. Before the performance, a square tower about ten meters high was built with a special wooden bench. In order to maintain stability, the foot of the stool is padded with a thick layer of hemp paper. At the beginning of the performance, the lion dancer holds the embroidery ball, turns a string of heels in the empty field under the tower, plays several kinds of fists and feet, and then leads out the lion. In the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, the lion dancer climbs the tower and dances while climbing, to amuse the lion with various movements. The lion held his head high, climbed the wooden tower under the guidance of the embroidery ball, climbed up the steps and made all kinds of thrilling movements. Especially after climbing to the top of the tower, there are some wonderful performances with high difficulty. After the performance, the lion dancer turned down the top of the tower, held the wooden bench at the lion's mouth, and dismantled it layer by layer. It was as dangerous as acrobatics.

Meishan Lion Dance

Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture recently released the list of "Hometown of Zhejiang Folk Culture and Art". Meishan Street in Beilun District was named "Hometown of Zhejiang Folk Culture and Art" on the list of "Meishan Lion Dance" items.

Beilun Lion Dance is a traditional folk dance popular with the masses, especially the red-haired lion dance in Meishan Township. Folk art "Meishan Lion Dance" has a history of more than 180 years and is a non-heritage project at the municipal level in Ningbo. "Meishan Lion King" Lion Dance Team takes the promotion of local traditional culture as its responsibility, insists on intensive training for many years, and on the basis of tradition, integrates acrobatics, martial arts, skills and dancing into lion art. It successively masters such high-difficulty lion dance skills as "Plum Blossom Stake", "Eight Immortal Table" and "High-pole Lion Dance". It expresses the lion's calm, forceful and perseverant character vividly. To bring strength and aesthetic artistic enjoyment to the audience. Meishan Lion Dance was invited to perform at the Shanghai World Expo. In May 2016, it also went abroad to perform in Nara, Japan, as a Sino-Japanese cultural exchange project in the "East Asian Cultural Capital" in 2016.

Inheritance Significance

Lion dance has a long history in China. From the north to the south, from the city to the countryside, during festivals and celebrations, we can see happy lion dance activities. Lion dance expresses people's joy vividly and vividly. Lion dance, also known as "lion dance", "lion lamp", "lion dance" and "lion dance".

The lion is regarded as a good animal in the eyes of the people of all nationalities in China, which symbolizes good luck. Therefore, in the lion dance activities, the lion is relying on the good will of the people to eliminate disasters and seek Ginafu. The lion dance has a long history, and the "elephant man" recorded in the Book of Rites and Music of the Han Dynasty is the predecessor of the lion dance. There are many vivid descriptions of the lion dance in Tang and Song poetry. Existing lion dances can be divided into two categories: the South lion and the North lion. The South lion has more martial arts skills, vigorous and ferocious manner; the north lion is charming and lovely, mostly playing as the performance content; according to the different fake lion production materials and tie-up methods, there are many kinds of lion dances in different places.