Wǔ Shī 舞獅 (Lion Dance)

Lion dance (simplified Chinese: 舞狮; traditional Chinese: 舞獅; pinyin: wǔshī) is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume[citation needed].

Asiatic lions[1] found in nearby India are the ones depicted in the Chinese culture

History

The lion dance originated in India[2][3][4]. The lion is traditionally regarded as a guardian creature. It is featured in Buddhist lore, being the mount of Manjusri. There are different variations of the lion dance in other Asian cultures including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sydney, and Singapore, with each region possessing their own styles. Shishimai is a version of the Lion Dance practiced in Japanese culture (shishimai originally included danced involving other animal symbols, including deer).[1][2]

Chinese lion dances can be broadly categorised into two styles, Northern (北獅) and Southern (南獅). Northern dance was used as entertainment for the imperial court. The northern lion is usually red, orange, and yellow (sometimes with green fur for the female lion), shaggy in appearance, with a golden head. The northern dance is acrobatic and is mainly performed as entertainment. Sometimes, they perform dangerous stunts.

Southern dance is more symbolic. It is usually performed as a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune. The southern lion exhibits a wide variety of colour and has a distinctive head with large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn at center of the head.

The Lion dance is often confused with the Chinese Dragon Dance, which features a team of around ten or more dancers. The Lion Dance usually consists of two people

Guangdong is the homeland of the southern style. The southern horned lions are believed to be Nians.

The Cantonese style can be further divided into Fat Shan (Buddha Mountain), Hok Shan (Crane Mountain), Fat-Hok (minor style that exhibits a hybrid of Fat Shan and Hok Shan), Jow Ga (minor style performed by practitioners of Jow family style kung fu, exampled by the Wong People), and the Green Lion (Qing1 Shi1 – popular with the Fukien/Hokkien and Taiwanese).

Even though the styles of lion dance are divided, there are the lion heads which are divided even more. The traditional Fut Shan lion has bristles instead of fur and weighs more than the current in-fashion ones. The tails are extremely long and are perpendicular to the head till 3/4 of the the way, then it goes parallel to the head. The eyes also swivel left and right. On the back there are gold foiled rims and traditional characters saying Fut Shan. The Liu Bei also has black in the tail while the new ones do not. The Gwan Gung has a red and black tail with white trim. The Huang Joon has a full yellow tail with white trim. The Zhang Fei is less made, so details are unclear. All the traditional style Fut Shan have pop-up teeth, tongue and also the interior of the tail is white; the designs of the tail are also more square and contain a diamond pattern going down the back; it is also common to see and hear bells attached to the tail. Practitioners generally do not have matching paints but use black Kung-Fu pants to look more traditional. For a better example of lion dance using this type of lion is the Wong People. The newer styles of lions for Fut Shan are they replace all the bristles with fur and the tails are shorter. They eyes are fixed in place, and the tongue and teeth do not pop up. The tail is more curvy in design. The tail does not have a diamond pattern, and do not have bells. In addition, generally there are pants to go along to look more flashy but does lack the flexibilty of Kung-Fu pants. Sometimes the newer versions are seen using a sequin material over the traditional lacquerer; even the new lacquerer is more shiny and does not last as long while the heavier ones do last longer with semi-dull lacquerer. Newer lions use a shinier material which are generally a strain on the eyes while the traditional ones use a more durable clothe that has been layered.

Fat San is the style many Kung Fu schools adopt. It requires powerful moves and strength in stance. The lion becomes the representation of the Kung Fu school and only the most advance students are allowed to perform.

The Heshan style lion, popular in many places, has grown to fame because of its richness of expression, unique footwork, magnificent-looking appearance and vigorous drumming style. And the credit should go to the founder, the “Canton Lion King” 冯庚长( Feng Geng Zhang). According to records, 冯庚长was born in “沙坪越塘大朗村” village in Heshan county. His father was a secular disciple of the Shaolin Temple, and instructed him in martial arts and lion dance at an early age. Later, he further studied martial arts and Southern lion dance in Foshan with fellow villager 冯了性 (a famous physician and the creator of ), before returning to his hometown and setting up his own training hall, teaching and researching the art of lion dance with great devotion. Given his considerable martial ability, a result of hard and dedicated training, he was able to develop a unique and outstanding version of lion dance. 冯庚长was not only able to carry on the art, he was also particularly involved in creating new techniques through mimicking. Together with his junior 胡沛, he kept cats and studied their behaviour carefully; they were eventually able to incorporate from the “cat and mouse game” the various movements such as “Catching mouse, playing, catching birds, high escape, lying low and rolling”. They also made changes to the body of the Foshan lion, making it more well-built and powerful in structure, but with agile footwork and eye-catching colours, and played to the rhythm of the “Seven Star Drums”. In short, in terms of expression, dance steps, build of the lion and the drumming style, he created a whole new style of lion dancing which was considered high in entertainment value and visual appeal. There are many important points which also prove 冯庚长 to have been the chief figure responsible for the creation of the Heshan style of lion dance. In the early 20s of the past century, Heshan lion dance was performed at Sun Yat-Sen’s assuming of office in Guangzhou, creating quite a sensational stir both within and outside of the province. Around 1945, Heshan lion performers were often invited to perform in many places within China and Southeast Asia during many celebratory festivals. The Heshan style was strongly favoured and sensational in Singapore, having been featured in many nationwide events, even gaining the title of “Lion King of Kings”, with wide press coverage by both Chinese and English media. The noble bearing of the Heshan lion is still promoted as a tourist attraction in Singapore today, with a large banner featuring this style being placed on the tourist attraction of Sentosa. According to 冯昆杰, today’s Heshan lions are the same as those created by 冯庚长 by improvising on the Foshan lion; it is of a powerful and impressive build, with a “王” character on its forehead and a confident expression, and combined with the unique invention of 冯庚长, the “Seven Star Drum”, the Heshan lion displays a formidable show of power. Today, all it takes is the sound of the “Seven Star Drum” being played and experts will say, “The Heshan lion is here”. When the Hoksan lion dance was brought to Singapore, a lot of works have been done to make the lion more ” cat-like”. Master Ho Kai Seng of Singapore Hoksan Association shortened the tail of Hoksan lion so that it looks more like a cat. And master Liang Zhao Fu, who is wilely known as South-east Asia drum king, created Hoksan 18 beats and devised a way to play the drum with not just rhythms but also gusto. The Hoksan drum nowadays is composed by master Lu Xin Yao of Singapore Hoksan Association. [5][6]

There is three important and the first colors of the lions. The lion with the white colored fur is considered to be the oldest of the lions. The lion with the goldish yellowish fur is the considered to be the middle child. Not the youngest or the oldest. And the black colored lion is considered to be the youngest lion so when people use this colour lion it should move fast and quick like a young child.

When the dancing lion enters a village or township, it is supposed to pay its respects first at the local temple(s), then to the ancestors at the ancestral hall, and finally through the streets to bring happiness to all the people. There are three types of lions: the golden lion, representing liveliness; the red lion, representing courage; and the green lion, representing friendship.

Three other famous lion types can also be identified: Liu Bei, Guan Gong (Cantonese: Kwan Kung) and Zhang Fei. They represent historic characters in China that were recorded in the classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These three were blood oath brothers that swore to restore the Han dynasty.

The Liu Bei (Cantonese: Lau Pei) lion is the eldest of the three brothers and has a yellow (actually imperial yellow as he became the first emperor of the Shu-Han Kingdom) based face with white beard and fur (to denote his wisdom). It sports a multi colored tail which encompasses the colors of the five elements, as it was believed that being the Emperor, he had the blessings of the heavens and thus control of the five elements. There are three coins on the collar. This lion is used by schools with an established Sifu (teacher) or organization and is known Rui shih (Shui Shi) or The Auspicious Lion.

The Guan Gong (Cantonese: Kwan Kung) lion has a red based face, black fur, with a long black beard (as he was also known as the “Duke with the Beautiful Beard”). The tail is red with black trim. He is known as the second brother and sports two coins on the collar. This Lion is known as Hsing Shih (Shing Shi) or the Awakened Lion. This lion is generally used by most.

The Zhang Fei (Cantonese: Chang Fei) lion has a black based face with short black beard, cauliflowered ears, and black fur. The tail is black with white trim. Traditionally this lion also had bells attached to the body, which served as a warning like a rattler on a rattle snake. Being the youngest of the three brothers, there is a single coin on the collar. This Lion is known as the Fighting Lion because Zhang Fei had a quick temper and loved to fight. This lion is used by clubs that were just starting out or by those wishing to make a challenge.

Later an additional three Lions were added to the group. The Green faced lion represented Zhao Yun or Zhao (Cantonese: Chiu) Zi Long. He has a green tail with white beard and fur and an iron horn. He is often called the fourth brother, this lion is called the Heroic Lion because it is said he rode through Cao Cao’s million man army and rescued Liu Bei’s infant and fought his way back out. The Yellow (yellow/orange) face and body with white beard represented Huang Zhong (Cantonese: Wong Tsung) , we was given this color when Liu Bei rose to become Emperor. This lion is called the Righteous Lion. The white color lion is known as Ma Chao (Cantonese: Ma Chiu), he was assigned this color because he always wore a white arm band to battle against the Emperor of Wei, Cao Cao, to signify that he was in mourning for his father and brother who had been murdered by Cao Cao. Thus this lion was known as the funeral lion. This lion is never used except for a funeral for the Sifu or some important head of the group, and in such cases it is usually burned right after. Even if it is properly stored, it is not something one would want to keep, as it is symbolically inauspicious to have around. It is sometimes though, confused with the silver lion which sometimes has a white like coloring. These three along with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were known as the “Five Tiger Generals of Shun,” each representing one of the colors of the five elements.

During the Chinese New Year, lion dancers from martial art school will visit the store front of businesses to “choi chang” (採青 lit. picking the greens). The business would tie a red envelope filled with money to a head of lettuce and hang it high above the front door. The lion will approach the lettuce like a curious cat, consume the lettuce and spit out the leaves but not the money. The lion dance is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money as reward. The tradition becomes a mutual transaction.

Other types of “greens” (青) may also be used to challenge the troupe, for instance using pineapples, pomelos, bananas, oranges, sugar cane shoots, earthen pots to create pseudo barriers and challenges.

The dance also performed at other important occasions including Chinese festivals, business opening ceremonies and traditional weddings.

In the old days, the lettuce was hung 15 to 20 feet above ground and only a well-trained martial artists could reach the money while dancing with a heavy lion head. These events became a public challenge. A large sum of money was rewarded, and the audience expected a good show. Sometimes, if lions from multiple martial arts schools approached the lettuce at the same time, the lions are supposed to fight to decide a winner. The lions had to fight with stylistic lion moves instead of chaotic street fighting styles. The audience would judge the quality of the martial art schools according to how the lions fought. Since the schools’ reputation were at stake, the fights were usually fierce but civilized. The winner lion would then use creative methods and martial art skills to reach the high-hanging reward. Some lions may dance on bamboo stilts and some may step on human pyramids formed by fellow students of the school. The performers and the schools would gain praise and respect on top of the large monetary reward when they did well. Nowadays, performances to attain the red envelope are not as rigorous but lion dance troupes still have the onus of making a good show or face the consequence of an unhappy client.
During the 1950s-60’s, people who joined lion dance troupes were “gangster-like” and there was a lot of fighting amongst lion dance troupes and kung fu schools. Parents were afraid to let their children join lion dance troupes because of the “gangster” association with the members. During festivals and performances, when lion dance troupes met, there would be fights between groups. Some lifts and acrobatic tricks are designed for the lion to “fight” and knock over other rival lions. Performers even hid daggers in their shoes and clothes, which could be used to injure other lion dancers’ legs, or even attached a metal horn on their lion’s forehead, which could be used to slash other lion heads. The violence got so extreme that at one point, the Hong Kong government had to put a stop to lion dance completely. Now, as with many other countries, lion dance troupes must attain a permit from the government in order to perform lion dance. Although there is still a certain degree of competitiveness, troupes are a lot less violent and aggressive. Today, lion dance is a more sport-oriented activity. Lion dance is more for recreation than a way of living.
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* Some of the information here is from Wikipedia®

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