Foshan's Unique Lion Dance Culture

Lion dance is an important folk activity in China, which can be a performance or a competitive event. Lion dance can be divided into north and south, and the southern lion in Guangdong is the most famous. In Foshan, lion dance culture is very strong, people like to dance lions during festivals, and the performers vividly interpret the movements of lions, which is really great. Lion dance has become an inseparable part of Foshan culture. Let's find out.

Lion dance was originally a traditional folk style in China, with the characteristics of spontaneity, entertainment and randomness. After more than two thousand years of evolution and development, its forms and types are diverse, and its styles and schools are colorful. It has developed from a general performance activity to a cultural and sports activity with multiple functions such as entertainment, celebration, competition and fitness, and has embarked on a standardized, scientific, competitive and international development track. The image of the lion is solemn and powerful, and it has been regarded as an auspicious beast by the people since ancient times. In China, the Northern Lion pays attention to its appearance: heavy eyebrows and eyes, vigorous and powerful, and huge head, which is known as "ten catties of lion and nine catties of head". Lion dancing in the south is very different from that in the north. The South Lion focuses on its spirit likeness: its image is harmonious, its forehead is pointed, it likes to pose, and its expression is strange and lively.

China South Lion is in Guangdong, and Guangdong South Lion originated in Foshan. Foshan is the birthplace of South Lion, and the dragon and lion sports in Foshan are in the forefront at home and abroad, and all previous competitions have been in the forefront. Foshan Nanshi, like Foshan Wing Chun Boxing, is known as the "Lion King". The traditional "three-star" and "seven-star" lions in Foshan are rare folk culture and art forms with exquisite skills and excellent spirit, shape and posture. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), Foshan Lion presented a gift to the CPC Central Committee, the people of the whole country and the whole world on behalf of Tiananmen Square in Shangjing, Guangdong.

South Lion is also called Lingnan Lion, Awakening Lion, Swiss Lion and International Lion. The reason is that the "Southern Lion" came from Guangdong in the south of China, and was called "Baiyue" or "Lingnan" in ancient times. As for the origin of Wake Up the Lion, it is because China was weak in the late Qing Dynasty and foreigners bullied our country. At that time, foreigners described China as a "sleeping lion". So at that time, many fellow lion dancers were Wulin people, and most of them were patriots. In order to awaken the patriotic feelings of the Chinese people, they renamed the "Southern Lion" as "Wake the Lion", indicating that the sleeping lion has woken up.

Lion dancing-unicorns and cubs need a lot of strength, so many martial arts predecessors use lion dancing as an auxiliary method to practice martial arts, and integrate many martial arts movements and waist-horse footwork into lion dancing. "Practice lies in entertainment", so that martial arts practitioners can unconsciously practice endurance and skills such as waist, horse, bounce and jump.

Anyone who has seen the movies "Huang Feihong" and "The Lion King for hegemony" will be surprised by the lion dancing skills shown in the movies. In fact, lion dance is very common in Foshan, because lion dance and martial arts are integrated. With the popularity of Southern Lion activities, there are traces of Southern Lion in Chinese settlements all over the world. As the birthplace of Foshan, Foshan has also ushered in an unprecedented heyday.