CultureThere are various type of culture exist and one of the most popular chinese culture is the Lion Dance.Brief History Of Lion DanceLion dance has a very long history, which began as a result of the cultural interaction between China and West Asia. More than one thousand and nine hundred years ago, Persia began bilateral trade with China through "The Road of Silk", and began cultural interaction at the same time. The ambassador from Persia even sent some animals, such as lions to China. There were no lions in China at that time but later, when China started relationship with countries in West Asia and India, an increasing number of lions were sent to China.The characteristic of a lion is fit and strong, and it is justly called the "King of animals". Generally, lions did not cause any problems or disasters in China, and the people of ancient China did not therefore have any fear or dislike towards them. In fact, they regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and peace. They hoped that by using the bravery of the lion, they might chase away evil spirits. That is why they always built statues of lions outside their house to prevent evil occurrences from taking place. The lion dance is believed to have begun as a performing art a thousand and five hundred years ago, during the North Wei Dynasty. At that time, invaders from the northern part of Asia marched to Wei wearing specially crafted wooden lion dance heads and dressed in golden silk which represented the lion's body. They sent some dancers to Wei for a performance, but the main purpose is to kill the Emperor of Wei while dancing. Unfortunately for them, they failed to do this and were forced to return to their own country. Subsequently, because the Emperor of Wei liked the lion dance and ordered his officials to imitate it, the lion dance became popular, a popularity which has lasted to this day.
The Canton Lion Dance is believed to have the following origins:During the early years of the Ming Dynasty, a unique, single-horn monster appeared in a place called "For Sun". At the end of every year, the monster would go everywhere to destroy people's plants and kill their poultry. The farmers of that village thought of a way to chase away this monster. They shaped bamboo into a lion head an waited for the monster to show itself.When the monster came, drums and some other noisy instruments were sounded very loudly, and the farmers moved the lion's head towards the monster. After this sudden shock, the monster never appeared again. So, ever since this incident, the villagers began hitting drums and other instruments during the new year and dancing with the lion heads to symbolize the end of the disaster and the peace that followed. During the Ching Dynasty, the art of the lion dance became more colorful. Many places throughout the country used the lion dance, apart from teaching martial arts, as the main purpose to form associations and organizations. From the Wei Dynasty to the Ching Dynasty, the lion dance developed and underwent changes, slowly becoming an important part of traditional Chinese culture. Today, wherever there are many Chinese people, we can see lion dances during festive seasons. This is because the Chinese would like to maintain the tradition created by their great forefathers. After over a thousand years of creative thinking and practice, the lion dance is no longer for entertainment; it has become a spiritual form of fulfillment for the Chinese, expressing the optimism, togetherness and bravery of people.
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