I believe that many of people had heard or saw before about LION DANCE. But, do you all really know about the history of Lion Dance and why having Lion Dance? Let me introduce it to you now........
According to experts lion dance originated over 1500 years ago, the lion itself is not native to China. The first one was brought to China as a tribute during the reign of the Emperor Shun (126-145) of the Han dynasty. But China had no zoos, and very few people had actually seen a lion. So how did they go about imitating the lion in their dances? "By looking at the animals around them" Chinese lion dance can be divided into two broad categories: The Northern style imatates the dog and the Southern the cat. The Northern or Beijing version is short, stocky and furry, much like an oversized Pekinese. It is mainly used by Chinese Circuses & acrobats entertaining audiences with their humor and mannerisms.
There are two styles of Southern lion dance, one style is from Fujian and the other is from Guangdong (Canton). which is also the most popular. The Cantonese lion can be divided into two styles one is Foshan, which is very popular in Hong Kong and most Chinese communities around the World. The other is the Heshan, which is popular in Malaysia, Singapore and with competition teams.
Foshan
Heshan
According to experts lion dance originated over 1500 years ago, the lion itself is not native to China. The first one was brought to China as a tribute during the reign of the Emperor Shun (126-145) of the Han dynasty. But China had no zoos, and very few people had actually seen a lion. So how did they go about imitating the lion in their dances? "By looking at the animals around them" Chinese lion dance can be divided into two broad categories: The Northern style imatates the dog and the Southern the cat. The Northern or Beijing version is short, stocky and furry, much like an oversized Pekinese. It is mainly used by Chinese Circuses & acrobats entertaining audiences with their humor and mannerisms.
There are two styles of Southern lion dance, one style is from Fujian and the other is from Guangdong (Canton). which is also the most popular. The Cantonese lion can be divided into two styles one is Foshan, which is very popular in Hong Kong and most Chinese communities around the World. The other is the Heshan, which is popular in Malaysia, Singapore and with competition teams.
Foshan Heshan Lion heads are constructed of papier-mache applied over a frame of wicker and rattan, some of the modern heads use aluminum and plastic in their construction. The heads are then painted different colours used to signfy different characters, but like women who wear make up so the heads have become more colourful.
(Information from Yi Dao Dragon And LionDance Team)
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