I. Lion Dance
People use the lion and dragon dance to pray for the blessing of the lion on the day of celebration. The lion is a powerful appearance, strong movements, changing demeanor, there are many different folklore, a time to become a myth, a time to pull on the history of the lion dance added a lot of mystery, but also to make it more in-depth people's hearts. People believe that the lion is an auspicious beast, the lion dance can bring good luck, so every Spring Festival or some other celebrations, will be in a burst of gongs and drums in the sound of firecrackers, the lion dance to help celebrate the prayers for good luck.
Second, the dragon dance
The dragon dance is also known as the Dragon Lantern Dance, the Dragon Lantern Dance, the Dragon Lantern Dance, the Dragon Lantern Dance, the Dragon Lantern Dance. Dragon lantern dance. The dragon is an ancient totem, legend has it that the dragon can move clouds and rain, eliminate disasters and good fortune, symbolizing auspiciousness, so the dragon dance to pray for peace and harvest has become a custom throughout the country. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, many places have the custom of dragon dance. The dragon represents good fortune, honor and courage in the Chinese nation, and is a symbol of power.
People pray for the blessing of the dragon with the dragon dance on festive occasions, so as to seek favorable weather conditions and a good harvest. The main prop of the dragon dance is the "dragon". Dragons with grass, bamboo, cloth and other tie and become, the number of sections of the dragon to the singular for good luck, most often see nine sections of the dragon, eleven sections of the dragon, thirteen sections of the dragon, up to twenty-nine sections.
Fifteen sections of the dragon is more bulky, not suitable for dancing, mainly for ornamental purposes, this dragon is particularly concerned about the decoration, has a high craft value. There is also a "fire dragon", with bamboo gabions woven into a cylinder, forming a cage, paste transparent, beautiful dragon clothes, burning candles or oil lamps, night performances are very spectacular.
Expanded Information
The Northern School of Lion Dance is based on the performance of the "Martial Lion", which is the "Rui Lion" of the Northern Wei Dynasty, as determined by Emperor Wu of the Wei Dynasty. The small lion dance by one person, the big lion dance by two people, a person standing dance lion head, a person bend down to dance lion body and tail. Lion dancers are fully clothed with a bag of lions, wearing and lion body the same color of the green lion pants and gold claw hoof boots, people can not identify the shape of the lion dancers, it is extremely similar to the appearance and the real lion.
The lion dancer is dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a rotating embroidered ball in his hand, and is accompanied by gongs, drums and cymbals, which attract the lions. The lion is guided by the "Lion Lang", who performs tricks such as prancing, falling, jumping, ascending, worshipping, and other difficult maneuvers such as walking on a plum blossom pile, scurrying across a table, and stepping on a rolling ball.
The southern lion dance is also a two-person dance, but the lion dancers wear lantern pants underneath and dance with just a colorful lion quilt on top. And the northern lion is different from the "lion Lang" head wearing a big head Buddha mask, dressed in robes, waist colorful belt, holding a sunflower fan and teasing the lion, which dances a variety of beautiful strokes, action comical and funny. There are many schools of Southern Lion Dance, including the "Cock Lion" of Qingyuan and Yingde, the "Big Head Lion" of Guangzhou and Foshan, the "Duckbill Lion" of Gaohe and Zhongshan, and the "Kirin Lion" of Dongguan.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Dragon and Lion Dance (Chinese Folk Custom)