Lion Dance (Guangdong lion dance)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lion Dance (Guangdong lion dance)

Applicant: Foshan City, Guangdong Province

Item No.: 108

Project No.: Ⅲ - 5

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Guangdong Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Foshan City, Guangdong Province

Protection unit: Nanhai District Museum, Foshan City

Introduction to lion dance (Guangdong lion dance)

Applicant: Foshan City, Guangdong Province

Lion dance, also known as "Lion Dance", "lion lantern", "Lion Dance" and "Lion Dance", is performed in festivals and festive activities. The lion is a auspicious animal in the eyes of the Chinese people of all nationalities, symbolizing good luck. Therefore, in the lion dance activities, it reposes the good will of the people to eliminate disasters and seek good luck. Lion dance has a long history. The "Elephant Man" recorded in Hanshu · Liyue Zhi is the predecessor of lion dance. There are many vivid descriptions of lion dance in Tang and Song poetry. The existing lion dance can be divided into two categories: South lion and north lion. South lion has more difficult martial arts skills and has a vigorous and fierce look. North lion is charming and cute, and most of them take playing as the performance content. According to the different materials and methods of making fake lion, there are many kinds of lion dance in different places.

Xingshi belongs to the South lion in Chinese lion dance. In history, lion dance originated from the Tang Dynasty palace. After the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, with the migration of immigrants from the Central Plains to the south, lion dance culture was introduced into Lingnan area. In Ming Dynasty, Xingshi appeared in Guangdong, originated in Nanhai county. It is now popular among overseas Chinese in Guangdong, Guangxi and Southeast Asian countries, and mainly distributed in Foshan, Suixi, Guangzhou and other counties and cities in Guangdong.

Lion dance is a cultural activity integrating martial arts, dance and music. During the performance, when the gongs and drums are beating, the lion dancers first play a Southern Fist, which is called "kaizhuang". Then the two play a lion dancing, and the other is wearing a smiling face "big head Buddha", holding a big sunflower fan to lead the lion to the stage. Lion dancers mainly use Nanquan horse step, and lion movements include "open eyes", "wash beard", "lick body", "shake hair" and so on. The main routines are "Caiqing", "Gaotai drinking water", "lion spitting ball", "stepping on plum pile" and so on. Among them, "Caiqing" is the essence of lion awakening. It has the process of starting, inheriting, transferring and combining, which is dramatic and storytelling. "Caiqing" has experienced changes, derived a variety of routines, widely spread. In terms of performance, Suixi lion has gradually developed from traditional ground lion to bench lion, from bench lion to high platform lion, high pole lion, and from high pole lion to pile lion. The difficulty of pile lion is also increasing, such as the increase of tightrope, skydiving and other performances. The highest pile is close to 3 meters, with a maximum span of 3.7 meters, which fully embodies the characteristics of "new, high, difficult and dangerous", and is known as "one of the best in China". The characteristics of the props of the sand pit lion in Guangzhou city are: the lion's head is high and narrow, the eyes are big and can rotate, the mouth is wide with pen, the back is wide, the nose is flat, the cheeks are full, and the teeth can be exposed. The performances are divided into three categories: Fen Wen lion, dance lion and Shao lion. The lion's eight states of joy, anger, sadness, joy, movement, stillness, surprise and doubt are demonstrated through the high difficulty movements such as soaring, moving, flashing, jumping, whirling and leaping on the ground or pile array to show the lion's ferocity and vigor.

Since ancient times, the lion dance in Guangdong has been regarded as a auspicious and auspicious thing to drive away evil spirits and avoid harm. Every festival or major event, there must be lion dance, which will last forever.

Since the 1980s, almost every country has its own Lion Dance Troupe. In the four seasons of the year, gongs and drums are constantly heard in the opening ceremony. During the new year, the lion dance troupe goes on the streets to pick up and tour. The popularity of lion art in towns and villages is unprecedented. Guangdong Xingshi has become a well-known folk dance brand unique to Guangdong. Lion dance activities are also widely spread in overseas Chinese communities, and become a cultural bridge for overseas compatriots to recognize their ancestors. Its cultural value and significance are very far-reaching.