brief introduction
Lion dance is a traditional performing art in East Asia, which originated in China. Under the sound of gongs and drums, the performers dressed up as lions and made various movements of lions. China folk tradition holds that lion dancing can exorcise evil spirits. Therefore, whenever there are festive festivals, such as the New Zhang Celebration and the Spring Festival Sports Meeting, people like beating gongs and drums and dancing lions. Lion dance is also famous with Chinese emigrating overseas, and it is quite popular in Malaysia, Singapore and other places. However, the number of folk lion dances in Chinese mainland has actually decreased. Overseas Chinese living in Europe and America have also formed many lion dance clubs. Every year during the Spring Festival or major festivals, they will dance lions around the world to celebrate.
There are different opinions about the origin of lion dance. According to myths and legends, lions appeared in the mountains before and ate the villagers in the village. Later, the villagers learned martial arts and killed the lion. The villagers imitated the shape of a lion and became lion dancers. There is also a myth that the Tathagata leads the lion away, so there is often a "big head Buddha" among the southern lions to lead the lion. There is also a legend that some villagers used paper lions and gongs and drums to drive away Nian animals and turned them into lion dances.
It is more reliable to say that China itself has no lions. In China culture, lions were originally mythical animals like dragons and unicorns. It was not until the Han dynasty that a small number of real lions were introduced from the western regions for the first time. At that time, people imitated its external shackles and movements to play games, which developed into the lion dance in the Three Kingdoms period. With the rise of Buddhism in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it became popular. In the history books, the "Elephant Man" mentioned in the Book of Rites and Music in the Han Dynasty is an artist who plays the role of "fish, shrimp and lion". In the Tang Dynasty, lion dance was a large-scale court dance performance. At that time, "Taiping Music", also known as "Five-Party Lion Dance", originated in Tianzhu and Lion Country. The description of lion dance in Bai Juyi's poems is: "Masked Ren Hu masked masked lion, carved with wood as the head and silver teeth, bravely wearing a sweater and ears", which shows that the lion dance at that time was very similar to what we see today.
According to historical legend, it was first introduced from the western regions. The lion is the mount of Manjushri. As Buddhism was introduced into China, lion dance was also introduced into China. The lion is a tribute brought back with the peacock after Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions.
However, the skill of lion dance originated from Xiliang's "masked play". Some people think that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong today. However, in the Tang Dynasty, lion dance has become a popular activity in the court, the army and the people.
Tang Duanan Festival "Yuefu Miscellaneous Search" said: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet high, each with five colors. Each lion has 12 people, wearing red stripes, wearing clothes and painting clothes, and holding red pens. They are called lion lang and dance Taiping music. " The poet Bai Juyi described it vividly in his poem "West Cool Geisha": "West Cool Geisha, West Cool Geisha, Masked Hu Ren, False Lion. Wood carvings at the head and tail, gold-plated eyes and silver teeth. Fenxun sweaters have ears, such as coming to Wan Li from quicksand. " This poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time.
Lion dance has a long history in China, and it can be seen in festivals and celebrations from the north to the south, from the city to the countryside. Lion dance has a long history, and the "Elephant Man" recorded in Hanshu Li Yuezhi is the predecessor of lion dance. The existing lion dances are divided into two categories: Southern Lion and Northern Lion. Nanshi has higher martial arts and is vigorous and fierce. The northern lion is charming and lovely, and the performance content is mostly banter. According to the different materials and binding methods of lion fake, there are many kinds of lion dances around the country.
history
With the passage of time, the development of lion dance in Beijing has become more diverse. In the hundreds of plays in the Song Dynasty, children played the ball dance of lions, and lions and leopards danced together. The lion dance in Qing Dynasty is even more distinctive. In addition, the lion dance in the "Walking Meeting" in Beijing shows a pair of big lions, each with a little lion, and two lions are teasing the lions. The image of the big lion is powerful and interesting. In China, the lion dance on the Lantern Festival is a favorite activity of the broad masses of the people. Every year around the 15th day of the first lunar month, many towns and villages in China will perform lion dances. Lion dance popular in China now can be divided into Wen lion and Wu lion. Shi Wen is delicate and humorous, which mainly shows the lively and playful posture of the lion, such as swinging, playing with the ball, licking hair, scratching, rolling, washing ears and dozing off. , which is full of fun; "Wushi" emphasizes the use of skills and martial arts, such as flying, flashing, jumping, jumping, climbing and walking plum blossom piles, which shows the mighty character of the lion.
In the long-term spread, through the continuous creation of folk artists, lion dances in different regions have different styles and characteristics. For example, the lion dance in Gaobeidian, Beijing, is famous for its heavy lion head, weighing more than 90 kilograms. The lion dance in xushui county, Hebei Province is agile, and it can leap onto five square tables and perform on them. Anhui's hand lion is small and exquisite; Shandong's "big lion" leaps in the smoke, which is both thrilling and brave; The characteristics of Gaotai lion and Sichuan venue lion are the deduction of the method of breaking the array: "In ethnic minority areas, there is also the custom of dancing lions, and the Tibetan snow lions in Qinghai Province are very distinctive. Guangdong lion enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad with its unique modeling, magnificent drum music and southern martial arts, which has far-reaching influence.