Does lion dance originate in Guangdong?

In the Ming Dynasty, lion dance appeared in Guangdong, which originated in Nanhai County. Now it is spread among overseas Chinese in Guangdong, Guangxi and Southeast Asian countries. Mainly distributed in Foshan, Suixi, Guangzhou and other counties and cities in Guangdong.

Lion Dance belongs to the Southern Lion among the lion dances in China. It is an authentic Guangdong folk dance and a treasure in Guangdong Dance Garden. Historically, it was born out of the court lion dance in the Tang Dynasty. After the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, with the migration from the Central Plains to the south, lion dance culture was introduced into Lingnan area.

artistic style

There are many kinds of lion dances. To sum up, there are "Southern School" and "Northern School" with different styles and characteristics. Popular folk saying: "Northern Lion" originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty. Lion dance is popular in "Hu Ren" and is made of wood carving as a sacrificial ceremony. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the King Wu of Wei called it "Ruishi of Northern Wei Dynasty", which was not only an entertainment place in the palace, but also helpful for Hu people to miss home. It was called "Northern Lion" in the Southern Song Dynasty.

"Southern Lion" is popular in Guangdong, south of China. It is said that there are monsters that eat the harvest of rural farmers everywhere, but they do not harm people and animals. It often makes the sound of "year after year", so people call it "Nian beast". Nian beast has big eyes, tentacles and good personality. Rural farmers regard it as a god beast and dare not kill it. Later, the villagers used firecrackers to scare away the "Nian Beast" and people were calm again.

The villagers congratulated their relatives and friends and designated this day as "New Year", symbolizing a new beginning. From then on, every New Year, people imitate the "Nian beast" with bamboo, set off firecrackers and send red seals. Secondly, there are strict differences in modeling between the South Lion Head and the North Lion Head, and the North Lion Head is mainly realistic. The Southern School is based on the spirit likeness, and its artistic image is to create an exaggerated and romantic lion.

Guangdong lion is the most representative of southern lion dance. After lions spread to different places, according to local customs (especially in Malaysia and Singapore), their grip, dance and appearance are different.

However, the appearance of the lion's head shows its character through color. For example, the image of Zhang Fei with a red lion's Guan Gong face, a black-and-white face, a green nose and an iron horn, and a toothbrush beard shows its bold and rough momentum.