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The Lion's Dance

Lion dancing is a form of kung fu. Traditionally, it is danced to celebrate the Chinese New Year, holidays and other festive occasions. The purpose of the dance is to bring luck to the community and ward off evil spirits.

The lion is actually a mythical animal, which allegedly originated in heaven. It was very mischievous and created a great deal of trouble. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor became furious with the lion for being so bothersome and cut off his head. Once severed, he proceeded to throw the head and body down to earth to rot.

Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy, took pity on the lion and decided to help it. She sent an enchanted red ribbon to tie its head back on. The red ribbon also had the ability to frighten evil spirits and for this reason the lion became especially powerful.

There are two distinctive lions in China, northern and southern.

The northern lions are represented by a tight-fitting, full body costume that resembles an actual lion. The costume is usually tan or yellow and contains two men. Northern Lions are not seen walking on the streets. They perform on stage where their dance can be fully choreographed. Due to the fact that the northern lions are more entertainment oriented, their dances are usually more acrobatic than their southern counterparts.

Southern lions come in a variety of styles. Their heads are made of strong strips of thin bamboo covered with paper mache. Black heads represent young, vigorous lions. These lions are usually equipped with short black beards and facial hare. "Old" lion heads, which have long white beards and white fur on their heads, represented old established schools. Each type has a rough convex mirror on its forehead. This is used to scare off evil spirits who when confronted by the lion will see their own reflection, become frightened and flee.

The lion's dance performers can be generally divided into four categories. They are the head, tail, Buddha and percussion (drum, gong, symbols and wooden sticks). The prestige roles are the head and the drum.

There are essentially two styles of lion dances, prearranged and freestyle. Prearranged dance routines or sets are usually used for demonstration purposes. Freestyle dancing is usually done in the streets. In the street dance, the lion goes from door to door visiting the various shops and homes that he passes. This visit reputedly brings good luck to these places.

Tests are sometimes given to the lion in order to test his skill; e.g. the lion eats lettuce as a symbol of good luck. He may have to overcome several obstacles in order to reach the lettuce; one such obstacle would be to climb a pole to procure it.
In the old days, friendly lions from different schools would politely bow when meeting but fierce fights would often erupt when lions of rival schools confronted each other.

Gung Hay Fat Choy-------Happy New Year!

See Also:

 

• History of Kung Fu
• Kuan Ti
• Lao Tzu
• Chinese Wisdom
• Confucius
• Leong Sil Jong
• The Lion's Dance
• Vocabulary

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