Spring Festival custom: lion dance

Around the Spring Festival, many customs and habits have been formed for thousands of years. Some customs, such as meeting gods and worshipping heaven, are superstitious. With the improvement of people's scientific and cultural level, they are gradually eliminated, and some customs have been given new contents, such as setting off firecrackers, posting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures, playing dragon lanterns and dancing lions. It is still very popular today.

lion dance

Whenever "firecrackers kill the old year", on the vast land of our country, traditional lion dance activities appear in towns and villages with warm spring breeze and cheerful gongs and drums. For the annual Spring Festival, it adds a rich atmosphere of joy.

Lion dance is a traditional folk sports activity in China, which originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

According to legend, in May of the 23rd year of Yuanjia in Song Wendi (AD 466), the secretariat of Jiaozhou in the Song Dynasty was ordered to attack Lin Yi, and Wang Fanyang of Lin Yi also took part in the war with elephant soldiers. Because this elephant soldier rode on the back of a tall elephant with a spear, it was difficult for enemies with only short weapons to get close to it, and the soldiers in Song Jun began to suffer a big loss. Later, Zong Yi, a pioneer officer and general Zhenwu, came up with an idea. He said that all animals are afraid of lions, and elephants may be no exception. As a result, many fake lions are made of noodles and hemp overnight, painted in colorful colors, and their mouths are particularly wide open. Each "lion" was covered by two soldiers and hidden in the grass. He also dug many deep and big traps around the scheduled battlefield. The enemy drove the elephant army to attack, and Zong Yi released the fake lion with a bow. One by one, the "lions" turned their mouths and headed for the elephants.

The elephant turned around in horror, and Zong Yi took the opportunity to order the soldiers to put all the crossbows together. The frightened elephants immediately ran around desperately, many of them fell into traps, and both people and elephants were captured alive. ..... From then on, lion dance was first popular in the army, and then spread to the people. Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Missions to the Western Regions", including "Masked Man Zi and Masked Lion, carved with wood as the head and tail; Gold-plated eyes with silver teeth, rising sweaters with ears ... ". It can be seen that there was a modern lion dance in the Tang Dynasty.

Why do people like to dance lions during the Spring Festival? It is said that in the early Ming Dynasty, a monster appeared in Foshan, Guangdong. It appears in the suburbs of Foshan every year, destroying crops everywhere and endangering people and animals. People in the countryside are miserable, so they tie bamboo grates into several lion models and paint them in various mottled colors. When the monster appeared, gongs and drums rang, lions danced together and rushed at the monster. The monster was frightened and turned around and ran away. Therefore, every year during the Spring Festival, gongs and drums are played, and people go door-to-door and dance lions to celebrate the New Year, to show the intention of eliminating holes and insects and predicting good luck.

Besides the Spring Festival, lion dancing is often used for entertainment on festive days. In the folk lion dance, two people play a big lion (some areas are called Tai Lion), one plays a little lion (some areas are called Shao Lion), and the other plays a warrior, holding a hydrangea as a guide, and first kicking to induce the lion to dance. With the speed of the drums, the lion suddenly looked up, turned to look down, turned to lie prone, shook his head and wagged his tail in various ways, which was full of fun. In imitation actions, there are actions such as licking hair, wiping feet, scratching head, washing ears, worshipping and rolling. In terms of skills, there are stairs, overpasses, three mountains, caves, downhill, bowling, spitting and picking green.

2. Lion dance knowledge

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China, which was also called "Taiping Music" in ancient times.

Lion dance is divided into north and south, and the southern lion is also called lion awakening. Lions are made of colored strips of cloth. Each lion is usually performed by two people, one jumping at the head and the other jumping at the tail.

Under the sound of gongs and drums, the performers dressed up as lions and made various movements of lions. Lion dancers should show southern martial arts with various moves when performing, which is very masculine.

Lion dance is considered as an auspicious thing to ward off evil spirits. Whenever there is a festival or major event, it will be accompanied by a lion dance, which will last for a long time and be passed down from generation to generation. Lion dance activities are also widely circulated in overseas Chinese communities. Where there are Chinese, there will be lion dances, which have become an important ceremony to enhance national prestige and 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 far-reaching.

3. Common sense about lion dance

Lion dance generally requires five or six people, or even a dozen people to perform together. Formal performances are usually performed by two lion teasers who can somersault. There are usually two lions, but in order to enliven the atmosphere, three to five lions are also used to perform, or a few little lions (played by one person) are added to perform. The big lion is usually performed by two young people. When practicing, the two actors are in tandem, the front is called the lion's head and the back is called the lion's tail. The man in the back is slightly taller than the man in front, so as to spread the lion skin. During the performance, the lion head player holds the "lion head" on his head with both hands, leans forward slightly, and looks for directions and targets from the lion's mouth and eyes. After the players at the back put on the lion's skin, they grabbed the belt at the waist of the players in front with both hands, pressed their shoulders down, bent their chests at a 90-degree angle, and squatted down with their legs. At this time, a teacher lion's galaxy came out. When walking, take the front foot first and then lift the foot. Forefoot landing, hind foot landing, left and right feet in turn.

When jumping, jumping, tumbling, playing ball, licking hair, scratching and panting, it is required that the lion's head and tail movements should be coordinated at the end of the game, and every move should keep the lion's habits and give the audience a realistic image. After mastering the basic contact methods of lion dance, we must learn some difficult movements, such as the lion jumping plum blossom piles and stepping on the ball.

4. Methods and skills of lion dance

Lion dance generally requires five or six people, or even a dozen people to perform together.

When practicing, the two actors are in tandem, the front is called the lion's head and the back is called the lion's tail. The man in the back is slightly taller than the man in front, so as to spread the lion skin.

During the performance, the lion head player holds the "lion head" on his head with both hands and leans forward slightly to identify the direction from the lion's mouth and eyes and find the target. After the players at the back put on the lion's skin, they grabbed the belt at the waist of the players in front with both hands, pressed their shoulders down, bent their chests at a 90-degree angle, and squatted down with their legs.

When walking, take the front foot first and then lift the foot. Forefoot landing, hind foot landing, left and right feet in turn. When jumping, jumping, tumbling, playing ball, licking hair and panting, the lion's head and tail are required to coordinate their movements at the end, and every movement should keep the habit of the lion.

Extended data:

Brief introduction of lion dance

Xu Shui, Hebei 1

The lion dance in Beili, xushui county, Hebei Province has a long history and is known as the hometown of lion dance in the north. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, festivals and major events were performed at Zhangjia Temple Fair.

2. Wuhan Huangpi

Stiff lion is a folk activity popular in Huangpi and Xiaogan, Hubei Province, and also a lion dance activity, especially in huangpi district.

3. Fujian Fang Lin

Fang Lin's green lion is a northern lion warrior lion, commonly known as the lion. The lion's movements are agile, and a weapon can be hidden in the lion's head as a quality card, which can be attacked and defended. Two people, lion head and lion tail, cooperate tacitly and change a lot, imitating the various postures of lions.

Baidu encyclopedia-lion dance

Baidu encyclopedia-lion dance

5. A set of formulas for lion dancing and drumming.

There are five stages of basic drumming: (1) drumming: starting to worship or salute, drumming for about three times.

How to play: (Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock.

(4) Lion-throwing drum: prepare for action to eat green, or test action. Play: (Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong), (Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong).

(5) Seven-Star Drum: Bite the Seven-Star Drum to test whether it can be eaten. How to play: (knock, knock), (knock, knock), (knock, knock, knock, knock, cut).

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6. What are the skills of lion dancing?

The basic movements of the lion's head: jumping, rolling, kicking, licking hair, looking, looking, taking small steps, and independence of the golden rooster.

Lions look for food: the lion's head should be as low as possible, his chin should keep moving up and down, and his eyes should blink regularly. Keep your front feet trotting in the same place.

Independence of the lion's head and golden rooster: it's a bit difficult, but the main force is the lion's tail, the lion's bar should be a horse-stepping, the lion's head should be a golden rooster, and one foot should be stable, otherwise it will easily lead to unnecessary mistakes, usually standing on the horse-stepping with the right foot.

Lookout: The lion's eyes are regular, blinking to the right and then to the left. This action is repeated 3~5 times.

Small step: Some people call it a trot, but it is much slower than a trot, generally on the ground, showing the anxiety and impatience of a lion.

Extended data:

Lion dance taboo:

During the Spring Festival, the lion dance team adds a lot of atmosphere to the festival, but at the same time, there are also many taboos. In the past, if you accidentally made a taboo, you would be kicked out of the house, or you would get into trouble.

First, it is forbidden to see the gods and not pay homage to them in lion dance.

In the tradition of Hakka polytheism, every village and residence has a patron saint, who is the spiritual pillar of every village and residence. The lion dance team must pay homage after passing through the altar, otherwise it will be regarded as impolite and look down on the villagers, and the villagers in the village will not pay for the lion dance team.

Second, the lion dance is prohibited from performing from the new house.

In traditional folk customs, people who dance lions in front of their ancestral houses cannot be invited to dance lions in their new houses. It is said that this provision is related to Hakka ancestor worship.

3. Lion dancing is forbidden to enter the fence from the right.

In traditional folk customs, it is considered that there is a small piece on the right and a large piece on the left, and all the surrounding houses are on the left. Therefore, the lion dance team must enter the surrounding houses from the left, and the lion comes from the left (large), which means that the dragon and lion leap forward, and both people and money are empty.

So the lion dance team is forbidden to enter the paddock from the right. Moreover, before entering the enclosed house, you must take the T-step and knock Ding Gong to enter the enclosed house to pay homage, so as to wish the house a prosperous New Year.

4. Lion dancers are forbidden to sit opposite the fence.

In traditional folk customs, lion dancers are forbidden to sit in front of closed houses. According to legend, women in enclosed houses usually watch the lion dance under the eaves. The lion dancer sits under the eaves with his back to the eaves, and the woman stands behind to watch the lion dance. If they sit face to face, they will be regarded as neglected and left out.

Five, it is forbidden to disturb the drums.

Traditional drums are divided into fast gongs, slow gongs, lion gongs and dragon gongs. If you fight indiscriminately, it will be regarded as disrespectful to our family and expelled.

Six, the gods forbid blowing out lanterns and lanterns in front of the gods.

In front of the magic lamp, each lamp represents a new person. The brighter the lights, the more prosperous the newcomers are. If you accidentally blow out the light, it's a gift or deportation.

Seven, comity

If the lion dance team meets a lion in the enclosure, or a lion dance team that comes earlier than itself, it should bow to the lion's head three times to show courtesy and respect.

Sogou encyclopedia-lion dance

7. Ask for videos to explain the lion dance teaching, or experts to guide the basic skills and methods of lion dance.

Introduction to the teaching video of wonderful lion dance performance in China: Lion dance is a traditional acrobatic performance technique in China with a long history and culture. Influenced by the Han culture, the Zhuang, Miao and Manchu nationalities in China have similar dances. The existing lion dances are divided into two categories: Southern Lion and Northern Lion. In areas where overseas Chinese live in concentrated communities, they also celebrate the annual Spring Festival or major festivals around the world.

Lion dance. Lion dance is an excellent traditional folk art in China. Whenever festivals or grand celebrations are held, people always entertain themselves with lion dancing.

Lion dance was called "Taiping Music" in the old society. In northern Henan, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Anyang and other places have been circulating the local saying of "playing with lions". By the Tang dynasty (6 18~907), it had been widely developed.

At that time, lion art has become a necessary program for China's New Year holiday and incense walking. It has a history of 1500 years.

Lion dancers dress up as lions under the sound of gongs and drums and make various movements of lions. China folk tradition holds that lion dancing can exorcise evil spirits.

Therefore, whenever people miss their relatives more, such as the New Zhang Celebration and the Spring Festival Tournament, people like beating gongs and drums and dancing lions. Lion dance is also famous with Chinese emigrating overseas, and it is quite popular in Malaysia, Singapore and other places.

Overseas Chinese living in Europe and America have also formed many lion dance clubs. Every year during the Spring Festival or major festivals, they will dance lions around the world to celebrate. Lion dance also represents joy, happiness and blessing in people's hearts, and it is a symbol of a better life! Lion dance can be divided into two categories: Wen lion and Wu lion.

Literary lions are generally playful. He is good at performing all kinds of funny and gratifying actions, such as tickling, licking hair, scratching ears and cheeks, rolling, jumping, playing ball and so on.

Martial lion is playing tricks. The most common things are stepping on the ball, picking vegetables and crossing the seesaw. It is even difficult to do martial arts performances, such as walking plum blossom piles.

Lingnan lion dance, also known as the Southern Lion, is famous for its various difficult movements. In fact, it was first introduced from the western regions. The lion is the mount of Manjushri. With the introduction of Buddhism into China, lion dancing was also introduced into China. The lion is a tribute brought back with the peacock after Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions.

However, the skill of lion dance originated from Xiliang's "masked play". Some people think that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong today.

However, by the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had become a popular activity in the court, the army and the people. Tang Duanan Festival "Yuefu Miscellaneous Search" said: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet high, each with five colors. Each lion has 12 people, wearing red stripes, wearing clothes and painting clothes, and holding red pens. They are called lion lang and dance Taiping music. "

The poet Bai Juyi's poem "Xiliang Geisha" vividly describes this: "Xiliang Geisha, Xiliang Geisha, masked conference semifinals, fake lions. Wood carvings at the head and tail, gold-plated eyes and silver teeth.

Finson sweater with ears, such as Wan Li coming from quicksand. "This poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time.

When the lion dance spread to Emperor Gaozu Zhang, the Yue State in the Western Regions presented a golden lion to the Han Dynasty, and the messenger threatened to continue to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty if someone could tame the lion, otherwise diplomatic relations would be severed. After the messenger of the moon left, Emperor Zhang Han chose three people to train the lion, but none of them succeeded.

Later, the golden lion violently attacked and was killed by the imperial secretary. In order to avoid the punishment of Emperor Zhang, the imperial secretary tore off the lion's skin. The imperial secretary's two brothers dressed up as golden lions, and one teased him to start a dance. This not only fooled Ambassador Yue, but also believed Zhang Di. After this incident, it spread to the Han Palace, and the people thought that lion dancing was a symbol of national glory and good luck. So he imitated the lion and performed a lion dance.

Since then, lion dancing has been very popular. As a performing art, lion dance is believed to have formed in the Northern Wei Dynasty 1500 years ago, when the Xiongnu in the north invaded and rebelled.

They specially carved many wooden stones, sewed them into a lion's body with golden silk hemp, and sent good dancers to pay tribute to Wei, with the intention of stabbing Wei Emperor to death during the lion dance. Fortunately, the loyal minister saw through it and made him retreat. Later, because Wei Di loved lion dancing, he ordered imitation, and pragmatism spread to later generations.

Yang Xuanzhi's "Galand in Luoyang" records that when the Buddha statue of Changqiu Temple in Luoyang traveled, there was a saying that "the lion should lead the way to ward off evil spirits". There is a story of Tang's visit to the Moon Temple in the monument, and lion dancing made him wake up and became a lion dancer. This story tells that when Tang visited the Moon Temple, a colorful unicorn appeared in front of the steps, with a wide mouth and a big nose, which was harmless to Tang, and rolled the ball in front of the steps with a majestic posture.

Emperor Tang Ming woke up and wanted to see this phenomenon again. He wants ministers to imitate auspicious animals in his dreams, and at the same time, the music department should be equipped with gorgeous gongs and drums to entertain guests. Since then, lion dance has flowed into the people.

Taiping music in the Book of Rites in the Tang Dynasty is also called the Five-Party Lion Dance. Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in a poem: "Masked conference semifinals are fake lions, and woodcarving is the beginning and the end.

Gold-plated eyes and silver paste teeth, sweaters are full of ears "(Xiliang Geisha). It can be seen that there was a lion dance in the Tang Dynasty.

The record of lion dance was first seen in Yue Ji of Han Dynasty, in which "Elephant Man" was mentioned. According to wei ren Meng Kang during the Three Kingdoms period, Elephant Man is an artist who can play with fish, shrimp and lions. It can be seen that the lion dance has already existed in the Three Kingdoms at the latest.

By the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had developed into a large-scale song and dance performed by hundreds of people collectively, and it was also performed in the court as a musical dance, which was called "Taiping Music" and "Five-party Lion Dance". At that time, lion dance also spread to Japan.

An ancient Japanese music and dance scene is painted in a Japanese book "Belief in Western Ancient Music", which is similar to that in the Tang Dynasty, but much smaller. After the Tang Dynasty, lion dancing was widely spread among the people.

"Dream of Tokyo" in the Song Dynasty records that some Buddhist temples hold lion clubs on holidays, and monks sit on lions to do things and give lectures to attract tourists. Zhang Dai, an Amin, introduced the streets and lanes of Zhejiang Lantern Festival, where gongs and drums were heard and lion dances were seen everywhere.

In ancient times, a strange beast appeared in Zhong Yi Township, Foshan Town, Nanhai County, Guangdong Province. It is eight feet long, with a big head and a small body, eyes like two bronze bells, a green face and fangs, and a one-horned head. Heather, a strange beast, appeared on New Year's Eve and came and went like the wind, destroying folk crops, including rice and vegetables.

Villagers and villagers are very annoyed, because he appears every New Year, so people call him "Nian Beast". The villagers discussed how to destroy the "Nian beast". Some wise men made suggestions and tied it into the shape of a strange beast with bamboo sticks and paper.