舞狮英文介绍(4页).doc

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1、-第 1 页舞狮英文介绍-第 2 页Lion DanceWhat is Lion Dance?Lion Dance is a traditional art form that incorporates physical training commonlyassociated with martial arts and ascetic expressions.It is a folk show performed byone or two persons wrapped around with lion skin costume.Like the dragon lanterndance,lio

2、n dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Year and otherChinese traditional,cultural and religious festivals.It may also be performed atimportant occasions such as business opening events,special celebrations or weddingceremonies,or may be used to entertain special guests by the Chinese co

3、mmunities.The Chinese lion dance is often mistakenly referred to as dragon dance.An easyway to tell the differences is that a lion is normally operated by one or two dancers,while a dragon needs many people.Also,in a lion dance,the performers faces areonly seen occasionally,since they are inside the

4、 lion.In a dragon dance,theperformers faces can be easily seen since the dragon is held on poles.History of Lion DanceThere has been an old tradition in China of dancers wearing masks to resembleanimals or mythical beasts.However,lion is not native to China.According to textualresearch,lions in Chin

5、a were originally introduced from West Asia through the SilkRoad.In Buddhist culture,lion is the animal ridden by Bodhisattva Manjusri thatwas introduced to China along with Buddhism,together with the real lion danceperformed by the animal.Since sending lions to China was no easy job accompaniedby h

6、ardships,very few lions finally arrived at the destination.Therefore,the real liondance was only limited to the imperial palace and wealthy families,and commonpeople never had the chance to watch it.Therefore,the folk artists created idealizedworks of lions through imagination according to records o

7、r legends,and highlightedthe broad forehead,upturned nose and open mouth with traditional divine andauspicious decorations,presenting the mighty force and liveliness of lions.In the liondance,people perform the role of lions.The earliest use of the word“shizi”meaning lion first appeared in Han Dynas

8、ty.Detailed descriptions of Lion Dance appeared during the Tang Dynasty and it wasalready recognized by writers and poets then as a foreign dance.However,lion dancemay have been recorded in China as early as the third century AD where lion actwas referred to by Meng Kang in a commentary on Hanshu.In

9、 the early periods it hadassociation with Buddhism:it was recorded in a Northern Wei text,Description ofBuddhist Temples in Luoyang,that a parade for a statue of Buddha of a temple wasled by a lion to drive away evil spirits.There were different versions of the dance in the Tang Dynasty.In the Tang

10、court,the lion dance was called the Great Peace Music or the Lion Dance of the FiveDirections where five large lions of different colors and expressing different moodswere each led and manipulated on rope by two persons,and accompanied by 140singers.Another version of the lion dance was described by

11、 the Tang poet Bai Juyi inhis poem Western Liang Arts,where the dance was performed by two Hu dancerswho wore a lion costume made of a wooden head,a silk tail and furry body,with eyes-第 3 页gilded with gold and teeth plated with silver as well as ears that moved,a form thatresembles todays lion dance

12、.During the Song Dynasty the lion dance was commonlyperformed in festivals and it was known as the Northern Lion during the SouthernSong.The Southern Lion is a later development in the south of China,originating inthe Guangdong province.There are a number of myths associated with the origin ofthis d

13、ance:one story relates that the dance originated as a celebration in a villagewhere a mythical monster called Nian was successfully driven away.Another has itthat the Qianlong Emperor dreamt of an auspicious animal while on a tour ofSouthern China,and ordered that the image of the animal be recreate

14、d and usedduring festivals.Types of Lion Dances1)Types by styleThe gentle style shows the lions gentleness and loveliness by grabbing the ball,playing with the ball,rolling about,licking its fur,shaking its fur,scratching,rubbingits ears,caressing the lion cub,etc.The wild style focuses on lions agg

15、ressiveness and high skills such as walkingon the ball,scrambling for the ball,rolling the ball,diving the ball,jumping andturning,climbing,walking on the seesaw,walking on pointed stakes and other highlyskill-demanding feats.The wild style performance can be soul stirring as it displaysthe lions ma

16、jesty and wildness.2)Types by geographyDuring the more than 2,000 years of development,the lion dance has developedinto two major genres-the Northern Lion Dance and the Southern Lion Dance.The Northern Lion Dance mainly focuses on the performance of a martial liondance.The dance of a small lion is p

17、erformed by one person,and the dance of a biglion is played by two people,with one wielding the lion head while standing,and theother wielding the lion body and tail while stooping down.Guided by the lion dancers,the lion writhes,falls forward,jumps and bows,as well as some other highly difficultmov

18、ements,such as walking on wooden or bamboo stakes,jumping over a table,andstepping on a rolling ball.Southern Lion Dance mainly focuses on the performance of the civilian liondance.The performance pays a lot of attention to movements like scratching an itch,shaking the hair and licking the hair.Up t

19、oday,the lion dance has formed its local features and styles.In Hebei,the lions are strong and vigorous,capable of climbing and jumpingfrom one big table to the next up to five.In Guangdong,the lions can climb the high bamboo pole and pick the present onthe top of the pole.In Anhui,the lions can per

20、form with lighted candles on their body.In Sichuan,the lions can walks on high tilts and platform.Modern development of Lion DanceThe dance has evolved considerably since the early days when it was perform asa skill part of Chinese martial arts,and has grown into a more artistic art that takes-第 4 页

21、into accounts the lions expression and the natural movements,as well as thedevelopment of a more elaborate acrobatic styles and skills during performances.Thismay be performed as a cultural performance or during competitions.This evolutionand development has produced the modern form of lion dance.Li

22、on dance has spread across the world due to the worldwide presence of thediaspora Chinese communities and immigrant settlers in many countries in theAmericas,Europe,Asia,Africa,Australia,Pacific Polynesia,and in particular,inSouth East Asia where there is a large overseas Chinese presence.The lion d

23、ance isseen as a representative part of Chinese culture in many overseas Chinesecommunities.However,the local banning of the lion dance once occurred in somecountries.In the 1960s and 1970s,during the era when the Hong Kongs Chinese classicand martial arts movies are very popular,kung fu movies incl

24、uding Jet Lis HuangFeihong has actually indirectly shows and indicates how lion dance was practicedwith the kung fu close co-relation and kung fu during that time.Those days,the liondance was mostly practiced and perform as kung fu skills,with the challenge for thelion built of chairs and tables stack up together for the lions to perform its stunts andaccomplish its challenge.