Lion Dance

Ⅲ-5Traditional DanceShenqiu, HenanBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The Hui ethnic civil lion dance (wenshizi wu) of Huai dian in Shenqiu is a form of folk dance peculiar to the ethnic minority living in the Central Plains. It originated in the “five-direction lion dance” (wufang shizi wu) and the “foreigners wearing a lion” (huren jiashizi) of the Western Regions in the Han and Tang dynasties. In the first year of the Duanping era of the Southern Song (1234), when the Mongol general Chahan was pacifying the Jin, the Hui civil lion dance was brought into the Central Plains by Hai Bi'er, a Persian from Nishapur, and circulated for a long time in Huai dian Hui Ethnic Town, Shenqiu County. Huai dian Town, Shenqiu County, Henan Province, lies at the confluence of the Shaying River and the Xicai River, and waterways crisscross its territory. The Hui people who have lived here for generations are descendants of Persians, Kipchaks and Kangli people who were forcibly conscripted into the Central Plains from Central Asia in the Yuan dynasty.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Lion dance, also called “shizi wu” (lion dance), “shi deng” (lion lantern), “wu shi” or “wu shizi”, is an important component of the traditional Chinese hundred-performances and acrobatics repertoire. Lion dance has a long history. It is widely popular in the Han areas of China and appears frequently in festival celebrations such as the Spring Festival, using lively and cheerful performance to express the Chinese people's good wishes for auspiciousness and the warding off of disaster. It is generally divided into two major types, the southern lion and the northern lion. The southern lion is agile and fierce and often performs high-difficulty techniques; the northern lion is playful and naive and usually performs teasing and frolicking movements. The Huai dian civil lion changed the mighty form of the king of beasts, creating out of a compassionate heart the image of a gentle lion, intending by this to enlighten those in power to reduce ferocity and practise benevolent government. After exchanging and communicating with the local Han ethnic beast dances of Shenqiu, the Huai dian civil lion gradually formed three parts of performance content: the single-horned tiger dance, the qilin dance and the lion dance. In performance, first the sounds of the qilin calling, the lion roaring and the tiger bellowing are played out to the rhythm of drums, gongs and cymbals; then the single-horned tiger appears and makes a circuit while looking around; the qilin performs the story of “the qilin delivering a son”; finally the civil lion appears and displays a series of movements such as patrolling the mountain, scratching an itch, drinking water, licking its fur, viewing the scenery and giving birth to a young lion. Today, when the cultural connotations of traditional folk festivals are constantly being weakened, the Huai dian civil lion is gradually losing its performance platforms and its artistic level has fallen sharply. Many artists can no longer appear on stage because of their advanced age, so this fine national folk art faces a serious survival crisis and urgently needs protection.

The one-horned tiger dance

The first of the three parts of the Huaidian civil lion: after qilin cries, lion roars and tiger howls, the one-horned tiger enters to survey the ground.

The qilin bringing sons

The second part, in which the qilin enacts the bringing of sons, the most auspicious passage of the Hui civil lion.

The civil lion's daily life

The final section, showing the lion patrolling, scratching, drinking, licking its coat, viewing the scene and bearing cubs, an image of gentleness meant to move rulers toward benevolence.

The five-directions lion and the barbarian lion

The Huaidian Hui civil lion descends from the five-directions lion dance and the barbarian counterfeit lion of Han-Tang Central Asia.

Brought by Haibier

In 1234, during the Mongol conquest of the Jin, the dance entered the Central Plains with the Persian Haibier and has long been kept in Huaidian, whose Hui residents descend from Central Asian deportees.

Representative items

Works of the inheritor Li Dazhi, whose lion leaps and rests with perfect likeness, revealing the richness of Hui culture; he trained a hundred students.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The forms of lion dance differ from place to place across China, and their regional characteristics are very distinct.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Huai dian civil lion uses anthropomorphic technique to enact vivid scenes of a tiger prowling, the qilin delivering a son and a lioness giving birth. Its style is markedly different and full of charm, and through the leisure and docility of the civil lion it expresses the popular psychology of hoping for political clarity and social harmony. It is deeply moving and holds value for understanding and research in social history and other respects. Li Dazhi (official archival record of the associated inheritor): In 1992 he became the society head of the Dongguan Gongyi Civil Lion Society. In 2006 he became the first president of the Shenqiu County Hui Civil Lion Culture Association. The lion dance he performs leaps and bounds, moving suddenly and stopping suddenly, exquisite and lifelike; the whole dance displays the richness of Hui culture. Representative works include Three Lions Making Merry in Spring, The Divine Beasts and the Unicorn, Auspicious Qilin, The Lion Gazing at the Moon and The Love of Mother and Young Lion. He actively organized members to take part in various joint performances and competitions. He successively trained a hundred students, enabling this art to be transmitted in a complete and systematic way. Male, Hui ethnicity, born in November 1931, died in October 2010, native of Shenqiu County, Henan Province. Representative inheritor of the third batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project Lion Dance (Huai dian Civil Lion). Li Daohai (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Hui ethnicity, born in October 1951, native of Shenqiu County, Henan Province. In 2001 he became the dance coach of the Dongguan Gongyi Civil Lion Society; from 2009 to the present he has been president of the Shenqiu County Hui Civil Lion Culture Association. He masters the techniques of lion dance, qilin dance and single-horned tiger dance. When dancing he takes the drumbeat to mark the rhythm and lead the music, performing with exquisite vitality amid the “qilin calling”, “lion roaring” and “tiger bellowing”. He has won awards many times in various competitions at all levels. Representative inheritor of the fourth batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project Lion Dance (Huai dian Civil Lion). In the transmission of lion dance, together with the other coaches he taught the art, breaking the past model of teaching by a single person and passing the three dance arts on to the students at the same time.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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