Lion dance

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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

History

The lion dance originated in China close to a thousand years ago. 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, and Singapore, with each region possessing their own styles.

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.

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 also symbolises the myth of the Chinese new year.

There is also the infamous Green Lion, which can be trace back to the Ching Dynasty. Due to the nature of green lion and its special background, it had always been link with the local underground society, which specifically deals with the Ching Army. Green Lion 青狮 that rhymes with 清师 (the Ching Army). The Green Lion is always perform with a theme normally with a warrior fighting the Green Lion (斩青狮), which literally means 斩清师 (kill the Ching Army).

Lion Dance in Singapore

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See main article Lion Dance in Singapore

Style

See also Singapore Pugilistic Community | Lion Dance in Singapore

The lion dance was introduced to Southeast Asia countries by the Chinese migrants, which was practised in Singapore for more then a century. The introduction of lion dance into Singapore was much earlier then dragon dance, which is mainly on the southern style known as southern lion (南狮). Northern style lion dance (北狮) was introduce into Singapore in the 1930s.

Southern Lion

The Southern school, which is more popularly performed in Singapore, originated in Guangdong. It involves a less hairy Lion which is taunted by a big-headed clown. They traditionally perform outdoors, the cai qing or literally "plucking the green", referring to the acrobatic act of picking up a sprig of lettuce from as high as three storeys, achieved only by using a pole or forming a human pyramid. The Southern lion has a 'skin' of white/yellow and brown/ black patterns. Whilst the Northern Lion is reputedly fierce, with a serious temperament, the Southern Lion is tame and playful.

The traditional lions are named after three brothers found in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms -- Face of Guan Gong, the red-faced and black-maned variety; Face of Liu Bei, the yellow-faced and white-maned variety; and Face of Zhang Fei, the black faced and black-maned creature with short eyebrows. The last is the least popular.

Northern Lion

The Northern school, practised in Beijing, is more acrobatic with the lion balancing on balls and on see-saws whilst being enticed by a pugilist dressed as a 'warrior'. The pugilist teasing the lion uses a fan or a ball and the interplay between him and the lion is the focus of the dance. The Northern Lion evolved from a Mongolian animal puppet placed on a post and paraded during festivals. The Northern Lion is furry with an orange and yellow, woolen coat.

Green Lion

Green Lion 青狮 is a lion dance art form from Fujian province 福建 believed to have its origins in the anti Manchu movements 反清复明 during the early Qing dynasty 清朝 (1644-1912). It is similar to the typical lion dance except that it is mainly green in color and with distinct round flat mask.

Singapore Lion

In 2004, Singapore National Wushu Federation commissioned the design of the Singapore Lion with local multi-culture features. The Singapore Lion was modeled with reference to the two stone lions that were placed on the side of Nicoll Highway during the early years. The concept of Singapore Lion was suggested by Mr Goh Chok Tong (then Prime Minister of Singapore) when he officiated the opening ceremony of the new SNWF premise in 2003.

See Also

• Singapore National Wushu Federation
• SgWutan

External Links

• Singapore National Wushu Federation
• SgWutan
• Green Lion