Analysis:

The origin of dragon dance

Legend has it that there is a Qiling Mountain in Jinhua County, Zhejiang Province, and there is a big stream named Lingxi at the foot of the mountain. People water rice fields with water from Lingxi every day. One day, when the county magistrate and his party were patrolling the countryside, they suddenly saw several big men carrying a big cage. When they looked forward, they realized that there was a big snake in the cage, and the snake was still crying. Seeing this, the county magistrate was moved with compassion and said to several big men, "Warriors, can you sell me this big snake?" "Several big fellow see infanta to buy the serpent, hurriedly replied. The sheriff took the snake home to raise it. At first, the princess ordered people to feed raw meat to the serpent. As a result, the serpent didn't eat it. Later, he learned that the serpent only ate rice, which surprised the people in the county government, just like human beings.

As the days passed, Lingxi gradually dried up because it was very hot in summer and it didn't rain. People pray to the gods every day, hoping that God can send down showers and relieve the suffering of drought. The county owner was very worried when he saw this situation. He prayed to God every day: I wish God would rain early and relieve the drought of the people in our county! ...... One night, the princess had a dream about the local landlord. The landlord said to him, "Because your kindness touched the Jade Emperor, it will rain naturally if you put the serpent into Lingxi at noon tomorrow. After the princess woke up, she immediately sent someone to burn incense and pray in Lingxi, and put the serpent into Lingxi. A few days later, it began to rain, which relieved people's drought. Later, in order to thank the serpent, people not only burned incense to worship, but also threw big bags of rice into the stream, hoping for another bumper harvest next year. ..... Just as people worship the serpent with rice, the weather becomes very strange. Either the sun shines on people for several days, or it keeps raining, which makes the people worried.

One day, when the princess was worrying about the strange weather in her study these days, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the serpent coming back and said to him, "I used to be the dragon of Qiling Mountain, the god in charge of rice." Because he accidentally violated heaven, he was exiled to the world by the jade emperor; Later, because of your kindness, I was moved by the jade emperor, so that the earth god let me go. ..... But everyone threw rice into the stream to worship, which ruined the food. The jade emperor was furious when he learned about it, and he punished Huaxian County for two years of drought. When the princess heard this, she was shocked and quickly asked, "Is there any remedy?" The serpent said, "As long as you only use clean water in your future sacrifices, don't use chicken, duck and fish, lest the Jade Emperor get angry. After hearing this, the princess thanked the serpent and ordered the people in the county to make sacrifices according to the serpent's words. However, there are still some people in the county who do not obey the instructions of the serpent and still offer meat such as chicken, duck and fish. The jade emperor was even more angry when he learned that, and said, "Lingxi Dragon, didn't you say that people in Jinhua County already knew that they had repented?" People in Jinhua County continue to spoil food! Somebody please. Cut the dragon! "... just after the dragon was killed, it rained red every day in Jinhua County, almost like blood; The subordinate reported this strange phenomenon to the princess and said, "There is another strange thing, that is, a split dragon fell from the sky on the bank of Lingxi. After hearing this, the princess ran to the stream. When he saw it, he exclaimed loudly, "Isn't this my big snake? All I know is that it is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery in the world and right and wrong in the sky, dragon, dragon! We did this to you! 」 ......

Later, people regretted it very much, so they danced dragons on the fifteenth day of the first month, hoping that the dragon's body could join them. This custom has been passed down to this day.

lion dance

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Whenever the Lantern Festival or the * * * celebration, people will come to the lion dance for entertainment. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of 1000 years. According to legend, it was first introduced from the western regions, and the lion was the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva. As Buddhism was introduced into China, lion dance was also introduced into China. The lion is a tribute brought back with the peacock after Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions. However, the skill of lion dance originated from Xiliang's "masked play". Some people think that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong today. However, in the Tang Dynasty, lion dance has become a popular activity in the court, the army and the people. Tang Duanan Festival "Yuefu Miscellaneous Search" said: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet high, each with five colors. Each lion has 12 people, wearing red stripes, wearing clothes and painting clothes, and holding red pens. They are called lion lang and dance Taiping music. " The poet Bai Juyi described it vividly in his poem "West Cool Geisha": "West Cool Geisha, West Cool Geisha, Masked Hu Ren, False Lion. Wood carvings at the head and tail, gold-plated eyes and silver teeth. Fenxun sweaters have ears, such as coming to Wan Li from quicksand. " This poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time.

In the development of 1000 years, lion dance has formed two performance styles, north and south. The lion dance of the Northern School mainly performed the "Wushi", that is, the "Ruishi" appointed by Wei Wudi in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Little lions dance alone, while big lions dance in pairs. One stood and danced the lion's head, and the other bent down to dance the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer is covered with a lion quilt, wearing green lion pants and golden claw boots of the same color as the lion's body. People can't recognize the lion dancer's body, and its shape is very similar to that of a real lion. The lion guide dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a spinning hydrangea with Beijing gongs, drums and cymbals to tease the lion. Under the guidance of "Lion Lang", lions perform somersaults, jumps, climbs, bows down and other techniques, as well as some difficult movements such as walking plum blossom piles, jumping on tables and stepping on bowling balls. Shi Wen is the main performance of the Southern Lion Dance. When performing, it pays attention to expressions, such as scratching, shaking hair, licking hair and so on. Vivid and lovely, but also have difficult skills such as spitting the ball. South Lion is centered in Guangdong, and is popular in Hong Kong, Macao and the hometown of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Although the Southern Lion is also a duet, the lion dancers are all dressed in knickerbockers, and only a colorful lion is danced. Different from the lions in the north, "Lion Lang" wears a big head Buddha mask, a cassock, a ribbon around his waist and a sunflower fan in his hand to tease the lions, thus dancing all kinds of beautiful movements, which is ridiculous. There are many schools of southern lions, such as the lion with the head of a dog in Qingyuan and Yingde, the lion with a big head in Guangzhou and Foshan, the duck-billed lion in Gaohe and Zhongshan, and the unicorn lion in Dongguan. In addition to their different shapes, heather also has different personalities. The white beard lion dance method is not wide, and there are not many varieties of colors, but it is calm and powerful, and it is called "Liu Beishi" by the people. Known as the "Guan Gong Lion", the black-bearded red-faced lion dances bravely and fearlessly. Gray bearded lion, rough and belligerent, commonly known as "Zhang". The lion is the statue of all animals, and its image is majestic and martial, giving people a sense of majesty and bravery. The ancients regarded it as a symbol of courage and strength, and thought it could ward off evil spirits and keep people and animals safe. Therefore, people gradually formed the custom of dancing lions during the Lantern Festival and other major events, hoping for good luck and peace of life.