What does lion dance mean?

The moral of lion dance is that lion dance symbolizes courage and auspiciousness. In the traditional customs of China, people think that lion dancing has the function of exorcising evil spirits, and hope to suppress it with lion dancing to show its own strength. Lion dance is a very traditional folk performing art. Performers dress up as lions against the backdrop of gongs and drums, and then make various lion movements. Lion dance has placed people's good wishes for the new year's life.

The ancients thought it was a symbol of courage and strength, and thought it could exorcise evil spirits and protect people and animals. Therefore, people have gradually formed the custom of dancing lions during major events such as the Spring Festival, hoping that life will be auspicious and everything will be safe.

Historical source

Lion dance began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In China, there are various forms of lion dance, which can be roughly divided into two types: northern lion dance and southern lion dance. The shape of the northern lion dance is very similar to that of a real lion. The performer dressed up as a lion and made various movements of the lion under the sound of gongs and drums. During the performance, the lion dancers should show southern martial arts with various movements, which is very masculine.

Lion dance is divided into literature and martial arts according to the main points of performance. Shi Wen focuses on the lifestyle of lions. The main performance is turning, rolling, falling and other actions. Lion dance, also known as "playing the lion" and "lion lantern", is usually performed by two people with cloth lion skins. It has long been popular in Spring Festival performances all over the country.