Origins & Legends of Lion Dancing.
Chinese lion dancing, also known as either Wushi or Mousi (as they’re called in Mandarin and in Cantonese) are a recognisable staple icon during Chinese New Year and during various other special festivities, and they are a favourite of families and young children’s for their adorableness but more so for their spectacular performances involving impressive martial arts and kung-fu.
With it’s history dating back to ancient and imperial times, lions are actually not native to China and there are various legends as to how lion dance came to be, one being how the Qianlong Emperor (who reigned during China’s last imperial dynasty from 1735-1796) had a vivid dream during one of his southern tour of a particular strange beast before ordering it to be recreated and to be used during festivals.
Eventually, the strange beast was recreated after it kept recurring in his dreams hoping to bring peace to his people (another variation tells us that this was done to celebrate the Qianlong Emperor’s victory over a war after the same recurring vivid dreams involving the lion).
Another variation of the origins of the lion dance is how a Tang dynasty Emperor dreamt of how the lion saved his life and when he retold the dream to his ministers, one of his ministers told him that the strange beast was in fact a lion and it’s thanks to a particular Tang Emperor that lions are now seen as symbols of good luck used to scare away evil spirits in what’s now known as lion dancing.
In fact, humans dressing up as animals predates the Great Tang Dynasty and there’s even been exorcists with dancers wearing bear skin masks as well.
And speaking of the Great Tang Dynasty, it was during that particular era that the dance became a formal affair involving several different coloured lions or “lion lads”.
And according to legends, another reason for it’s existence is to be credited to the famed ancient story of “Nian” the monster (Nian translates to Year) would descend onto a village to gobble on livestocks and after discovering that it’s afraid of lions, the villagers would create a lion out of bamboo to scare him away and since then the dance would be performed to scare away evils & to bring prosperity, good fortune and good luck to the community it’s performing in.
And eventually over a long period of time, the lion dance produced two sets of well-known groups, namely the northern lions and the southern lions.
The Southern Lion & The Big Buddha.
The one that’s easily the most recognisable out of the two is known as the southern lion and are commonly used during Chinese New Year (especially outside of China in Kungfu schools and lion dance troupes).
Coming in an array of colours (ranging from red to gold and even purple and green), the southern lions are able to entertain and dazzle spectators with their fluffy adorableness and their enduring image.
As per their name, southern lions hail from the south of China (via the Guangdong province) and as how they came to be, it’s believed (by legends) due to what happened to the Qianlong Emperor (as already aforementioned) but more so that they came about having been adapted from their northern counterparts dating back to the Ming dynasty (China’s penultimate dynasty).
The head of the southern lions are made out of paper-mache over a bamboo frame which is then covered in gauze and it’s then painted and decorated with materials that mimic the fur of a lion.
The most famous out of the two lions, the southern lion is the civilised lion dance involving actions such as scratching their furs, licking their legs (and that’ll be legs of the dancers) as well as shaking their body. They also batter their eyes and fluff their ears as well (which would be done by the dancers underneath the lions).
The southern lion can also be certain lions representing the historical and legendary Chinese generals from the highly romanticised Three Kingdoms period who fought bravely to unify the warring kingdoms of China.
And they are as follows:
Guan Yu-often depicted as a red lion with a long beard and is the wise and skilled lion
Liu Pei-a yellow or gold lion with hairs representing gentle qualities and is a tame lion
Zhang Fei-a black lion with black or white hairs with a temperament and is both strong and wise
And on the head of the southern lion is a mirror used to scare away evil spirits by reflecting their image back on them whilst the horn on their forehead is used to fight against evil (as depicted by the image below).
When it comes to southern lion dancing, there’s the ritual of painting it’s eyes, head and body before it comes to “life” via lion dancing instrumentation (a single drum accompanied by gongs and cymbals).
Lying down, the lions are then dotted on the eye for the lions to see, to dot their nose so that the lions can smell, dot their mouth so the lions can eat, to dot the ears so they can hear the instruments and to dot from the head to the tail of the lion in order to bring it to life, and soon the instrumentation will fire up with the lion exploding into life ready for the dance to begin.
And upon dancing, if it’s performing at a Buddhist temple, the southern lion will enter into the temple and bow to the deities as well as bow at the ancestral hall as a mark of respect, if it’s passing by a funeral, the drum must be played at a much quieter level, and to dance with the Chinese dragon (if they’re both dancing in the same area at the same time).
But during the Chinese New Year period, one particular routine the southern lion does is known as “Cai-qing” (which translated to “plucking the greens”) in which businesses, homeowners, temple owners & even mall owners would hire out southern lions to perform this particular routine.
Involving a green vegetable tied to a red string from the ceiling, the routine would also normally involve firecrackers at the entrance that’ll go off upon the lions beginning their dance. They’ll then approach the green vegetable like a curious cat (batting their eyes & flopping their ears whilst inspecting the item with curiosity) but before they can go and pluck it, there’ll normally be a red plate of mandarins and a pomelo placed on the ground for the lions to curiously inspect & to open the pomelo as the loud drum quietens.
Upon the lions having successfully opened the pomelo’s & the mandarins in the red plate, it’s then plated to the individual(s) who own the business, or the temple or the homeowners (depending where this performance is taken place) along with a CNY scroll unfurled by the lions as well.
And if they’re at temples, then obviously they will pray to the deities by bowing (and this will also occur within homes if they have an altar of Buddhist deities as well) and it’s also common to touch the lions from the head to the tail (be careful not to touch the horn & the mirror) as it’s believed to bring good luck. And if one has an Ang Bow with money in it, then give it to the lion through their mouth (and sometime if the lion feels playful, they’ll “trap” the hand that’s in their mouth) and for the lion dance troupe, red packets are important as their main source of income and if their performance is long & complicated, then it’s customary to make the financial prize even bigger than it’s normally intended to be in the red packets.
Before the lion proceeds to pluck the green vegetable though, they’ll dance around the area, play with other lions by either chasing their tail, grooming and head biting each other or even rolling around on the floor and dancing together on the spot whilst dancing around the venue and even play with the spectators such as going up a young child and/or a baby and the dancer underneath the lion will then shake the head of the lion at them.
And often the southern lions would then accompanied by a monk called the “Big Buddha” (Dai Tou Fat) who’ll either lead the lions, comically “smack” them with his fan (i.e. as in disciplining them) and/or interact with the spectators such as throwing mandarins at them.
As in how the Big Buddha came to be with the lions is that he was a monk who successfully fended off “Nian” the mythical Chinese village terrorising monster who ran away scared after the monk (also depicted as an old man in other variations of this story) decorated a house with red decorations, firecrackers & dressed up all in red before setting the firecrackers off after having scared the monster.
Now Dai Tou Fat is with the lions (who as already aforementioned at the start of the article, also played a role in the legendary mythical legend of Nian-which was also the myth regarding the origins of Chinese New Year as well) and since then, the Big Buddha is a popular staple of southern lion dances and is well-liked by spectators due to his humorous nature.
Southern lion dances can also be accompanied by a Tsai Shen mascot (the Chinese God of Fortune and Wealth) but after performing in and around the venue, interacting with the spectators, plucking the pomelo, throwing the mandarins & dancing together, it’s time for the lions to perform the highlight of their CNY routine which is to pluck the hanging green vegetable.
As the southern lion curiously and carefully approaches the green vegetable whilst batting their eyes & flapping their ears (all done by the dancer underneath the lion costume), the drumming begins to get quiet and spectators pause to watch the lion figure out how to approach the green vegetable and after reaching it, the instrumentation & the drumming will be very quiet as all eyes are on the lion but the lull will be broken as soon as they’re finish with the lion exploding back into dancing as the deafening drumming returns.
With the plucked vegetables in their mouth, the lions will then throw them to the crowd with the aim to hit spectators (this is seen as good luck) thereby reaching the climax of the performance. And often (if it’s provided), pineapples will be thrown as well to whoever is lucky (or brave enough) to catch the thrown pineapples.
Other dances the southern lions are capable of doing include the drunken lion performance in which they drink alcohol out of a pot and then proceed to perform as a drunk lion, climb up a long pole (held by their teammates at the bottom) to catch a scroll and to perform impressively to the spectators including spinning around (with a long stick to hold the tail end of the lion as this particular act only requires one lion dancer to do it), other routines they do also include the “sleepy lion” routine where the lion will act as a lion whose asleep but would suddenly wake up upon seeing it’s legs (the legs of the dancer) sticking out and would proceed to gnaw on that leg before going back to sleep as well biting and grooming it’s body and it’s other legs.
They also perform a routine in which (after waking up) would proceed to “exit a cave” (much like a lion would do in the wild), but after a cave’s entrance has been built by their teammates, the lion will attempt to walk out of the cave via the entrance but will only stick it’s head out to sniff the air in case of any sense of danger before walking back in & once it’s deemed safe, the lion will walk out and signal that everything is safe and sound.
But the southern lion’s most impressive routine is their acrobatic routine performed on a line of poles which is to showcase the incredible kung-fu skills of the lion dancers & of the troupe itself. Normally performed in outdoor areas or even in the largest area of a shopping centre and malls (normally the centre court/main courtyard), the lions will jump onto the poles to wow the spectators and whilst on the poles, the dancer underneath the lion’s head jumps up and is held by their partner as they run across the poles before jumping down to reach down the poles (normally to collect a CNY scroll that’s attached to the it). The performance is quite impressive but can also be hazardous for lion dancers as there’s been incidences of them falling off from the poles (and in the most tragic cases, performers has died as a result-although that’s thankfully very rare).
The highlight of the acrobatic routine is to nab the CNY scroll and to unfurl it to the crowd watching their performance but they’re not always on the poles and will hop off it but for many lion dancers, they love showing off and will even perform a backflip onto the ground before grooming and scratching their body parts afterwards and then interacting with the spectators, shaking their heads in front of them and letting them be petted and/or to be given red packets as well.
But it isn’t just acrobatic or a “cai-qing” routine that you’ll find them performing, they will even perform during weddings and funerals as well (although after the funerals, the lion will be buried).
But no matter whether it’s a traditional lion dance, an acrobatic performance or even it’s drunken and sleepy dances, watching southern lions perform is a real treat and if there’s more then two lions-then that’s an added bonus.
Northern Lion
Looking and resembling a Pekingese dog as well as being more aggressive looking, the northern lion is one of the two popular groups of lion dancing and are arguably hairy and shaggy with yellow and red furs than their more famous southern lion counterparts and their dancers wear yellow fur pants to match the costume as well.
The northern lion are more of the acrobatic nature as well and normally come in pairs with the green bow tie being the female northern lion while the red bow tie being her male other and they display many acrobatic talents such as walking on a ball (and this is very common for northern lions) and various other stunts during their performances.
It’s also common to see an adorable family of northern lions including a mother, a father and their kids (the young lions) and the movements of the northern lions are also much more lifelike than their southern counterparts as well.
And much like the southern lion, the northern lion may also be accompanied by a certain individual but instead of it being a monk like character with a fan, they carry around instead a spherical ball object for them to try and chase after.
And prior to becoming a form of entertainment that we all now enjoy watching, the northern lion used to be put on to entertain the imperial courts of China.
In Conclusion
But despite there being the northern lions, it’s largely thanks to the immigration of Chinese migrants all across the world and who have spread the art of southern lion dancing to various countries especially in America and in Australia, that we’ve come to fully recognise the southern lion over it’s northern counterpart.
And it’s why we’ve come to watch, celebrate and admire southern lion dancing, those fluffy and adorable eye-batting lions during the annual Lunar New Year festivities and it’s due to Chinese immigration to other countries, bringing their renowned Chinese culture & never leaving it behind.
But it’s also important to not forget about the northern lion which is another important group of Chinese lion dancing that still remains popular in China.
So if you’re lucky enough to catch a lion dancing this coming Chinese New Year (February 15th-26th 2021), then remember that they’ve come a long way, with a rich tapestry of legends and myths describing their origins, they’re now an intangible part of Chinese culture hoping to brighten your Lunar New Year, to drum out the evil’s and to bring in good luck, good fortunes and prosperity. So prepare your Ang Pow’s (red packets) and get ready to touch the lions and admire their spectacular performance and the martial arts/kung-fu mastery of the lion dancers this coming Spring Festival.
And now I shall leave you with this acrobatic double lion dance performance at Suria KLCC back in 2017.
Fooey's Culture Blog 