Who invented the lion dance, and when did it start?

Lion dance, originated in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, has a history of more than 1,000 years.

1.Legend has it that in ancient China, there was often a plague as a disaster, and then a unicorn appeared, and the plague disappeared, so people called the unicorn [Nian Beast].And when the year beast moves, it makes a thunderous sound.

Because this year beast is of great help to people, in the future, every autumn harvest or festival, the folk will imitate the year beast with bamboo branches, and paint it with bright colors, with a big gong and drum to dance in front of each house, in order to [ward off evil spirits].

2.It is said that the Emperor of Tang Ming had a dream, and in the dream, he saw that there were people dancing in front of the emperor on the day of the celebration, dancing a beast that resembles a lion to perform to help the fun, the color of the beast is pleasing to the eye, and there is an eight-tone gong and drum soundtrack when dancing. After the Tang Ming Emperor woke up from his dream, he ordered his subordinates to perform according to the production, so the descendants called the lion [Awakening Lion].

3.According to historical records, the lion dance originated from the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty passed through the Western Regions, whenever the envoys from the Western Regions were entertained, they set up singing and dancing to cheer up, and the actors wore masks to dress up as birds and beasts. However, the foreign envoys found that there was a lack of lions in the ranks of the beasts, and after inquiry, it turned out that there were no lions in China at that time.

Later, the envoys of the Western Regions sent a pair of lions to China, which were transported to China through the Silk Road in West Asia. The West Asian lion taming dance, performed by the lion tamer led by the lion tamer, has also spread in China.

4.Legend has it that the ancient city of Cangzhou, was originally a beautiful mountain and water, dense forest, rich land, one day, the forest suddenly gathered three or five groups of big bad wolves to harass and make trouble, they kill livestock, sometimes also wantonly hurt people, make people in the city panic. One day at dusk, a large group of gray wolf peaks poured into the city, when it was critical, a golden light suddenly appeared in the sky, a lion beast with long golden curly hair all over his body, raised his head and opened his mouth, his eyes radiated a strong cold light, and looked down at the group of gray wolves in deterrence, and roared to the sky, suddenly the wind was fierce, the golden light was shining, a large group of male lions flew down from the clouds, rushed into the wolves, and wiped out the wolves in the blink of an eye.

It turned out that the leading beast was the Bodhisattva's mount. Inspired by this spectacular scene, the young man made many lion heads and tails based on the image of a male lion, and imitated the posture of the male lion dancing in and out of the city, interspersing them with dances to intimidate the wolves. The people also beat the gongs and drums according to the movements of the dance, so that the wolves were frightened and disappeared.

After the gray wolf fled, this lion dance dressed as a human began to spread among the people. During the New Year's holidays, people play colorful balls and dance lions in the sound of gongs and drums to celebrate the festival. And look forward to a bumper harvest of grains in the coming year, and the country and the people are safe.

The descendants of this young man also brought the lion dance to the stage, making the lion dance a kind of entertainment, and gradually spread to the whole country, and the ancient city of Cangzhou also got the reputation of [Lion City].

1) Qianlong said:

One day, Emperor Qianlong dreamed of a five-colored holy beast, and he asked someone to make the holy beast he dreamed of, and asked two dancers to enter and dance. This is what Qianlong said.

Origin of Lion Dance:

As one of the folk arts in our country, lion dance has a history of thousands of years. Many families invite people to lion dances on important days and festivals. This custom originated during the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and has a history of more than 1,000 years.

According to legend, it was first introduced from the Western Regions, and the lion was the mount of Manjushri, and with the introduction of Buddhism to China, the lion dance was also imported to China. The lion is a tribute brought back by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty after sending Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, along with peacocks and others. However, the technique of the lion dance is derived from the "masquerade" of Xiliang, and some people believe that the lion dance was produced in the army of Liu and Song in the fifth century, and later spread to the people.

Types of Lion Dance:

There are many types of lion dances, and when summed up, there are "southern styles" and "northern schools", and they have different styles and characteristics.

The northern lion dance is mainly performed by the "martial lion", the small lion dances by one person, and the big lion dances by a pair, one person stands to dance the lion's head, and one person bends down to dance the lion body and lion tail. The lion dancer is covered in a lion quilt, wearing green lion pants and gold claw hoof boots of the same color as the lion's body, and people cannot recognize the lion dancer's body, and its appearance is very similar to that of a real lion.

Although the Southern Lion is also a pas de deux, unlike the Northern Lion, the Southern Lion Dancer wears bloomers and dances with only a colorful lion quilt draped over them.

The lion dance symbolizes majesty and auspiciousness, and in traditional Chinese customs, it is believed that the lion dance has the effect of exorcising demons, and it is hoped that the lion dance will be used to suppress and show its might. Lion dance is a very traditional folk performing art, in which performers dress up as lions under the backdrop of gongs and drums, and then perform a variety of lion movements.

Lion dance activities are also widely spread in overseas Chinese communities, where there are Chinese, there must be lion dance, which has become an important ceremony to raise the prestige of the nation, establish the soul of China, and a cultural bridge for overseas compatriots to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, its cultural value and influence are very far-reaching.

The history of lion dance

The ancient origin says that the lion dance originated from the "exorcism". In ancient times, the ancients invented the "Wu".

In the history books, the "Elephant Man" is mentioned in the "Hanshu Lile Zhi", according to the explanation of the Three Kingdoms, it is an artist who plays "fish, shrimp, and lion". By the Tang Dynasty, lion dance was a type of large-scale court dance performance.

At that time, the "Taiping Le" was also known as the "Five Directions Lion Dance", which came from Tianzhu and Lion Country and other countries. Bai Juyi's poem describes the lion dance: "The masquerade is a masked lion, carved wood is the head and tail, the gold-plated eyes and silver are the teeth, and the Fenxun sweater is full of ears", which shows that the lion dance at that time is very similar to what we see.

1. The ancient origin says: The lion dance originated from the "exorcism". In ancient times, the ancients invented the "Wu". "Exorcism" gradually evolved into the modern lion dance.

2. In addition to the performance in the village, the lion dance is more into the people's homes, and while driving away the epidemic ghosts, it also increases the task of sending blessings and praying for blessings. In the history books, the "Elephant Man" is mentioned in the "Hanshu Lile Zhi", according to the explanation of the Three Kingdoms, it is an artist who plays "fish, shrimp, and lion". By the Tang Dynasty, lion dance was a type of large-scale court dance performance.

At that time, the "Taiping Le" was also known as the "Five Directions Lion Dance", which came from Tianzhu and Lion Country and other countries.