by Tommy Luu
Ever since I was a little boy, I had the interest and dreams of doing the lion dance. This was a typical popular Chinese/ Vietnamese New Year’s dance that is performed each year for good luck and to ward off evil spirits that brought in the bad luck. I kept begging and begging my parents to get me one of these cool costumes, but they brushed it to the side. When I was six years old, my grandma was being sponsored to come to the U.S. from Vietnam, and when she came, she brought a large gift, wrapped in black. I thought to myself, “What could this be?” She handed this large object to me and told me, “Do not open it until you get home.” As I was sitting in the car, I was so anxious and impatient to tear up the plastic. I had crazy thoughts and worries of getting in a car crash and dying without even opening the gift.
When we got home, I ran straight into the house, not even worried about helping unpack the car. I ripped open the black plastic membrane like a starving animal ripping flesh and it was like a glow to my face. I immediately took it out and utilized it. I threw my younger brother, who was four, into the costume partnering up with me. I told everyone that we were practicing for the next New Years because it had recently passed two weeks ago. I remember when my brother and I had gotten in trouble for hanging a red envelope at the top of the stairs. The red envelope was dangling at a whopping six feet above our heads. At the time we hadn’t hit our growth spurt yet, so we were still standing at a height of about three feet tall. I put him on top of my shoulders with the lion costume to “eat” it. As we attempted to gobble up the envelope, we heard heavy footsteps coming. We quickly rushed to grab the envelope, but we were still a few inches away. Then we heard a loud holler with our names. I could just imagine how we looked when we got caught red handed; my brother standing on my shoulders, him inside of the lion head, and him reaching his entire arm out of the mouth attempting to grab it. I then got scared, lost my balance, and dropped my four year old little brother. Since then, we have never seen the costume again. But eventually, my brother and I found out it has been stored far in the back of the garage where the light doesn’t shine. By that time, we had already outgrown it.
Years later until 2013, I was roaming the halls of a Buddhist temple in Roseville, Minnesota with my brother and cousin. Two guys came up to us and asked if we wanted to be a part of their lion dance team. With no hesitation, we answered them with a yes. At that moment, it was like we swore an imaginary oath. Year by year we got better and better, it was like a dream come true, for me at least. I am happy with everyone in the group and enjoyed it every time, but when a member of the group calls lion dance the dragon dance, it brings the fury out of me. Most of the time, it is mistakenly called the dragon dance because of how the lion dance costume looks. The lion costume has a big head decorated by colored furs, detailed painting, and a reflective mirror (which, by the way, isn’t really great to check your teeth in). The frame of the head is made out of bamboo, wood, or metal covered by paper-mache. Since both the lion and dragon heads look the same, there is another way to tell the difference. The lion dance requires two people to work on the inside of the costume, bringing it to life with a total of four legs. The body of the lion is a lot shorter compared to the dragon’s body. The dragon dance requires many more people, making its body a lot longer. The dragon dance performers are on the outside of the costume holding poles to control the dragon’s body movement.
The lion dance performance might seem very easy to pursue for the audience, but speaking from four years of experience, it is still one of the most complex. It is energy consuming and can be dangerous. Each performance can be different. For example, one performance required me to stand on my partner’s shoulder eleven feet off the ground. On top of that was a thirty-forty pound lion head I had to hold, while reaching out for a red envelope I had to “eat” for good luck. As I reached out for the red envelope, I began to lose my balance. I quickly snatched the lucky envelope hoping it would be on my side. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. It was like a reenactment of when I dropped my little brother, but this time it was me. For a moment I thought I had broken my tailbone, but the adrenaline inside my body kept me going. I sprung back up and continued to finish off the show. Lion dance comes easy to me when it is the physical exercise, but when it comes down to the history, I am clueless and empty minded.
The history starts with the Silk Road. There was never any actual lions roaming the soils of China (“Chinese New Year Lion Dance.”). Around the time frame of the Tang dynasty (618-907 BC), India introduced living lions to China through the Silk Road Trade (“Lion Dance” W.). The Silk Road was a trading network route that went from Eastern Asia, all the way to Europe where they traded luxury goods such as wine, gold, silver, ivory, animals, and silk (“SILK ROAD “). Silk was the main trade to other regions. This was because the silk was only produced in China by tree-eating worms that spun cocoons. I knew this because of my Chinese parents. As more lions got introduced, the emperor found the lions intriguing and thought that the lions brought much prosperity and luxury (“Lion Dance” W.). Almost immediately, the emperor demanded a paper-mache lion to be made (Gehrmann). After it was made, the buddhist monks suggested that the paper-mache lion should harmonize or dance with the clashing of symbols, echoing gongs, and the booming bellows of drums to ward off the evil supernatural and to bring luck (Gehrmann). The lion dance was then mimicked by the appearance and physical actions of a real lion, which is what I keep in mind when I dance. I always say to myself, “To be the lion, I need to think like a lion.” The performance was only performed for the great emperor for his entertainment and beliefs (Ying and Chiat). The dance began to spread as time went on and it started to develop in the three kingdoms before it was significantly noticed through the rise of Buddhism (“Lion Dance” W.).
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a novel based on historical events and myths that has happened in the Han dynasty (220-280 AD). It was a story of three brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Gong, and Zhang Fei. They all swore an oath in the Peach Garden to restore the Han dynasty after Liu Bei saw the suffering of people during “…the turmoil and uprising of the Yellow Turban Rebellion” (Nguyen). The Yellow Turban Rebellion was a battle between farmers and former military soldiers against the Han dynasty. It was also translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty.” (“Yellow Turban Rebellion. Wikipedia”). This battle happened because the rich landowners took advantage of the farmers and soldiers making them poorer with increasing tax adding on top of that. To explain, “Rich and powerful landowners took advantage of the large number of unemployed farmers and former military soldiers by exploiting them. Because of this, the landowners were able to gain a lot of fortune while the poor settlers from the north continued to become poorer and poorer” (“Yellow Turban Rebellion & Uprising History”). Because of this event, the three brothers saw the pain and suffering so they swore an oath to restore China. According to historical records, the three brothers were not really blood “brothers” or even sworn “brothers” (I promise you me, my brother, and cousin are blood related) (Nguyen). “As famous as this event was, it never really happened in real life. And there were no mention in the historical records that they were sworn brothers” (Nguyen). The story mainly consists of an emperor named Liu Bei and “The Five Tiger Generals”, Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Huang, Zhong, and Ma Chao going to war with Cao Cao’s army (Nguyen). Each of the six warriors has a unique lion made to represent them and their characteristics.
Liu Bei, the eldest of the three, symbolized “honor, moral conduct, and justice” (Nguyen). He had a yellow lion head with a white beard and white fur. The tail was multicolored to symbolize the five elements. His lion was the auspicious lion.
Guan Gong was the second eldest of the three, and one of the five tiger generals. He symbolized “honor and loyalty” (Nguyen). His lion was red with a black beard, black fur, and a tail that was red with black trim. His lion was known as the awakened lion.
Zhang Fei, the youngest brother of the three, and another member of the five tiger generals. He symbolized “valor, strength, and bravery” (Nguyen). Zhang Fei’s lion was a black based head, with a black beard and fur. The tail was black with white trim. The lion also had a cauliflowered shape, which is curved. His lion was known as the fighting lion.
Zhao Yun is the third tiger general. He was known for being “brave, loyal, honest, and kind” (Nguyen). He was also called the fourth brother because during the battle of Changban against Cao Cao, Zhao Yun rode into the line of enemy to find Liu Bei’s son and wife. When Zhao Yun got there, Liu Bei’s wife was injured, so she committed suicide in a well “…lifting herself as a burden from him” (Nguyen). Then Zhao Yun covered the well to protect her body from being disgraced by the enemy (Nguyen). After that, he rode back through the enemy line with Liu bei’s son strapped to his chest killing anyone who got in the way. His lion was a green head with black fur, white beard, and an iron horn. The tail was green with black trimming.
Huang Zhong is the fourth tiger general. He had a lion with a yellow head and a white beard. The tail was yellow with white trim and his lion symbolized the “righteous” lion (“Lion Dance” W.).
Ma Chao is the last of the five tiger generals. During the fight against Cao Cao’s army, he wore a white armband to symbolize his mourn for his father and brother’s death who was killed by Cao Cao. His lion was all white and symbolized as the funeral lion. The lion was used “…for the funeral of a Master or an important head of a group” (“Lion Dance” L.). It is usually burned after it is used because it is unlucky to keep around. The story of the three kingdoms might seem real and true for the most part, but there are definitely parts that never happened-like the oath swearing of the “blood” brothers. That just means parts of the three kingdoms are one of many folktales.
In Southeastern Asia, there are many historical folktales about the lion and how the lion dance started. One of the most popular Chinese lion folktale is about a mischief lion. Once there was a lion in heaven who had characteristics of a cat. Cats are playful, curious, and cause much mischief often times. One day, the Jade Emperor was unhappy with the lion and he became infuriated because of his disobedience. So, the emperor cut the lion’s head off and threw it out of heaven to rot on earth. The goddess of mercy, Kwan Yin, felt bad for the lion. She went down to earth and looked for the lion’s head and body. When she found them, she tied the head and body back together with an enchanted red ribbon. After the lion sprung back to life, Kwan Yin told the lion that it will keep him safe: “The ribbon, she said, would frighten away evil spirits and keep the lion safe from harm” (“Lion Dance” L.). This lion is famous and it is common to find statues of him in front of houses, businesses, and Buddhist temples.
Another story is about a Nian. A Nian is a Chinese creature that terrorized people in the villages at the beginning of every Chinese New Year. He comes out from hiding and feasts. New Year is during the winter time so food is hard to find. Nian is translated to “year” or “new year” in Chinese. The Nian then goes to the village and eats their crops, sometimes people, and especially young children. Nian is supposedly scared of loud noises, the color red, fire, and a lion. One day when a Nian showed up to cause a ruckus, there was a lion that appeared in the village. This time the Nian was scared away by the ferocious animal. The villagers saw this as an advantage and made a costume that looked like the lion. Not too long later, the Nian showed up again, but this time the lion was not there. The villagers quickly put on the lion costume, scaring the Nian away. This was another story of how the lion dance “started”. There is another similar story, but they use an army of elephants. There are many different translations and styles from different regions of Asia. The folktales originated from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore (“Lion Dance” L.).
Just like how there are many different stories, there are many different styles of lion dance. There are two main group styles, the northern style and the southern style (Ying and Chiat). The northern lion dance style is originally from Beijing. Their costume consists of shaggy, thick, long mane and a hard, wooden, gold painted head (“Lion Dance” W.). This “Golden Lion” looks freakishly ugly and scary. The lion is enough to frighten a poor young soul out of its body. I can’t even count how many times I’ve done that with just the Southern lion without even trying. This just means that the lion is doing its job and can scare the evil away easily with no problem. The costume resembles the “Pekinese dog” (Gehrmann) and is almost exactly like it, but one hundred times bigger and three times as colorful (“Lion Dance” L.). Northern style is performed by acrobats because of the extreme balance they need in order to do amazing tricks like balancing on a large ball, wooden benches in the air, and balancing on each other. Back then, this performance was only entertainment for the Imperial Court. Now in modern days, the northern style is rare to see and only found in the Red Theater, martial arts theatre, Shaolin temple, and during competitions-unlike the southern style (“Chinese New Year Lion Dance.”).
The southern lion dance style is from Guangdong. This is the type of lion my group and I use. It has a long thin body usually matching the lion’s head. The head is made out of bamboo and covered with paper-mache. Then it is decorated with detailed painting, real furs, or synthetic furs (Ying and Chiat). This type of lion has a catlike characteristic or lion behavior performed by kung fu or martial artists. They do a lot of sharp movements and tricks that involve balancing on each other, performing on benches that are three feet off the ground, or performing on multiple poles called jongs that are four to ten feet in the air. The southern style is most common to find on the streets and normally used for celebrations, ceremonies, competitions, grand openings, and exercise. There are three different types of southern lions from different areas called the Hok San lion, Fut San lion, and the Fut Hok lion (“Lion Dance” W.). The Hok San lion has a straight mouth, curved horn, furry body, short tail, and curious playful look. The literal translation of Hok San means “Crane Mountain”, where my last name actually comes from (“Lion Dance” W.). This lion is usually used for doing tricks in competitions because of the aerodynamics and how lightweight it is. Whereas the Fut San has a curved mouth, a pointed horn, is more bristled than furry, has a longer tail, and a aggressive look. The literal translation for Hok San is “Buddha Mountain” (“Lion Dance” W.). This lion is used for show because of its aggressive looks and is a lot heavier used by martial artists. The last of the three is Fut Hok lion, which is a hybrid of the Hok San and Fut San. It has a curved mouth, curved horn, bristled beard, furry lips and eyes, and it still has an aggressive look. This lion was created for the Fut San people because they liked the style and look of Hok San-but not the way it is used or danced. Now in modern day, there are all sorts of custom lion styles a person can create as long as they have the money. This is what I like to call the twenty first century lion dance.
The modern lion dance is laid back and has more freestyles instead of the traditional synchronized dance with the drum beats. Lion heads are changing drastically and becoming more detailed, with synthetic material instead of real fur, which is good for the animal. The costumes are also being built with better quality and lighter weight material, making it extremely light. The con of modernized costumes is that the price ranges from $600-$4000 for customized heads, not including the pants. Before companies, it was self-built or bought for cheap. Modern lion dance isn’t performed specifically for festivities, ceremonies, or competitions anymore. But, performed when it is requested, making it even less traditional. Nowadays, the community wants more dangerous stunts and tricks to be performed and is being in high demand. However, the thing is, the population of lion dance dancers has died down.
Lion dancing isn’t just any meaningless dance to me. It is a way of learning the culture of where I’m from, showing something new and cool to the community, keeping the traditions alive and active, expressing my emotions, and bonding with my family and friends. After researching about the history of lion dance, I learned to appreciate my culture a lot more, and to educate myself about my culture’s history. One thing I am still seeking the answer to is, finding a way to preserve lion dance as the world starts to modernize, pushing our roots away. Culture is fading away because people are trying to adapt to the American culture, forgetting what their culture use to be. Hopefully one day, America can encourage people to keep their culture alive, while adapting to the American culture at the same time.
Works Cited
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Gehrmann, Valeska. ” Lion Dance.” Lion Dance – Chinese Customs. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
“Lion Dance.” Lion Dance – New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
“Lion dance.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Oct. 2017. Web. 1 Nov. 2017.
Loo Fung Ying, Loo Fung Chiat. “Dramatizing 1Malaysia in Contemporary Chinese Lion Dance.” Asian Theatre Journal33.1 (2016): 130-50. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
Networks, Universal. The Lion Dance History. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
Nguyen, Chris. Personal interview. 9 Oct. 2017.
“SILK ROAD Dialogue, Diversity & Development.” UNESCO. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
“Yellow Turban Rebellion.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Dec. 2017. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
“Yellow Turban Rebellion & Uprising History (184-205 AD).” Totally History –. N.p., 06 Dec. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2017.