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February 3, 2007
the origin of chinese lion dance
lion dance, fire crackers and ang pau - those were my three most anticipated chinese new year highlights as a kid. everytime i hear that giddy beat of drums at a distance, i'd run excitedly to my dad and ask him drive to the source so that i can see the liondance performance. my favourite was the furry orange and red lions - they were so rare in my hometown, and only appeared when invitations for their presence were extended. i remember being very scared of the clown-like monk - his perpetual grin and animated antics freaked me out. i'd run to the kitchen, or the backyard just to get away from him, and usually have nightmares after.
when we asked the elders where lion dances come from, they'd tell us about this monster that terrorised the village back in china, thousands of years ago. the farmers got together one day, and decided to scare the monster away by donning on a fierce looking costume, and clashing wildly on pots and pans. it worked. and from then on, we re-enact that victory scene every new year to scare away evil spirits.
there's an alternate ending to this story. another version says that a buddhist monk helped protect the village from the monster by taming it. hence - he was incorporated into the dance as the clown-like monk.
this is but one story of the origin. there are two others. one revolves around an Emperor who had a strange dream one night. he dreamt that he was in trouble when a strange animal appeared and carried him to safety. when he woke up, the Emperor summoned his ministers and told them of his dream. he described the strange looking animal. the ministers explained that the creature resembled that of a lion. the Emperor, wanting to look at the animal again, commanded his people to create such a creature. since there are no lions in china, the people put together their own version of it by mixing in features from various animals, which is why if you look closely at the lion - it has a horn on its forehead, like a unicorn.
the lion used in the chinese lion dance is not to be mistaken with lions found on earth. there are four important creatures in chinese mythology - the dragon, the phoenix, the unicorn and the lion. the lion is an important totem that wards off evil spirits - which is why lions very often adorn chinese gates and entrances.
another story begins with a mischevious mythical lion who came down to earth. he created a lot of problems because he loved playing practical jokes. the Emperor, enraged by the lion's behaviour, sliced its head off and threw it far away. the Goddess of Mercy felt sorry for the lion. she gathered his body and head, and stitched him back with a long red ribbon, thus reviving the lion back to life. she also placed a mirror on his forehead to ward off evil spirits. till today, if you look at the forehead of the lion - you can see it adorned with both the ribbon and the mirror.
Tomorrow - the different types of chinese lions in the dance
posted by nyx at February 3, 2007 2:33 PM
Comments
Ooh, so there are so many stories behind it. I had played tail for lion before. It was really painful after 15 min but had great experiences with fellow dancers.
Posted by: MJ at February 3, 2007 3:04 PM
I did a speech on this during last year CNY for my Toastmasters club! Interesting eh..
Posted by: Robert Heng at February 3, 2007 7:29 PM
And the monster/ lions is called Nian, and when we say Guo Nian, means they manage to beat the monster.. something like that lah
Posted by: Robert Heng at February 3, 2007 7:30 PM
Proud to be a Chinese !!!!
Posted by: endroo G at February 4, 2007 1:24 PM
robarto - where are videos of your speeches :D
Posted by: nyx at February 5, 2007 8:56 PM
i had experience being a lion dancer also. i'm doing the head part which very dangerous. until now, i'm still practicing it. very tiresome though. all parts of my body aches after we perform the lion dance. but its woth it after you hear the appluase of the audience..
Posted by: ryan tan at February 7, 2007 5:42 PM
wut does the blue lion represent from the last pic? and its got that swastika sign hitler stole from the chinese on its mirror. (dunno wut its called)
Posted by: nii at February 20, 2007 1:16 PM
if you take a good look at hitler's sign and the traditional swastika symbol (which is indian in origin) you'd find that the nazi "swastika" is skewed
this lion actually has the proper swastika symbol denoting good luck
Posted by: nyx at February 20, 2007 6:58 PM
The 4 mystical creatures come from the ssu ling-they are the Dragon, Phoenix, Unicorn and the Tortoise (with the snap dragon head-look it up in fung shui).
The guardians of the 4 directions are the dragon (east/wood/green), phoenix (south/fire/red), Tiger (west/metal/white) and the Tortoise (north/water/black).
The swastika is a symbol of buddhism.
Posted by: William Lee at March 3, 2007 5:33 AM
Also, the story of the lion having his head chopped off-the mischief making occured while he was in heaven. That's the way I was told the story.
There are many stories, because they are based on the beliefs of those teaching the are, buddhism, taoism, hung mun.
The most factual (not fictional) story I've heard is that the ribbon is the color of red and red is considered lucky because is the color of blood (a sign of life-a good thing), the horn is used for fighting, so it is a reminder of the Chinese blood spilled in the fight against the Manchu qing dynasty. Remember, the southern cantonese lion has only been around since the 1800's-even though the lion dance is said to date back to the Han dynasty.
Posted by: William Lee at March 3, 2007 5:42 AM
yes - swastika is a symbol of buddhism. it is also a symbol of hinduism and jainism. the word swastika is sanskrit in origin.
this motif can be found not only in the above mentioned religions, but also in european pre-christian artifacts, native american flags, and africa.
Posted by: nyx at March 3, 2007 7:14 AM
Article useful as off soon for the first Chines Lion dance which we have organised in Ballyemna Town Centre!
Posted by: Eileen Chan-Hu at March 3, 2007 10:08 AM
photo good
plase send
thank
Posted by: yone ka lay at October 27, 2007 7:08 PM
The red ribbon was tied on the lions horn by Kwan Yin to control it after she brought the lion back to life. Just like when Kwan Yin put the ring around the money kings head when she freed him from his mountian prison. To do good/make merit.
Posted by: Dan at November 13, 2007 3:46 PM
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