How does the Lion Dance?
Updated: Feb 10, 2021
We know what lion dance is, but what exactly does the lion do? Why does the lion look like that, and why does it eat fruits and vegetables? In this section, we will be learning all about how the Hok San lion dances, and what the lion does during the performance.
A Typical Hok San Lion Dance
Lion dances usually last about 15 minutes and can be split into 2 main sections. The opening ceremony and the Choi Chiang ceremony. Hok San lion dance revolves around presenting the eight basic states: happiness, anger, fright, merrymaking, suspicion, sleepiness, drunkenness, and wakefulness (“喜、怒、惊乐、疑、睡、醉、醒”). The eight basic states can be seen throughout the performance.
The performance starts with an opening good luck ceremony of bowing 3 times to show respect to the deities.
It is followed by a series of routines, where the lion is alternating between the states of being sleepy, and awake. The series of routines end with the lion being fully awake and starts walking out of a cave. This routine is called “lion comes out of the cave”(狮子出洞). The lion exits the cave and realises that he is hungry, he then walks in a circle and it leads into the most important segment of lion dancing, the Choi Chiang ceremony (采青) (Hallander, n.d.)
This is the climax of the performance where the lion performs advanced and skillful movements. The lion also eats certain food items or rearrange the props prepared by the troupe which are believed to symbolize different things.
After the Choi Chiang ceremony, the lion cleans its feet after its meal and bows to the audience three more times to thank and show respect to the audience and deities depending on the venue (slfk, 2013).
Choi Chiang
The Choi Chiang ceremony signifies the starting of a brand new year or the start of something new.
This can be traced back to the Anti-Qing sentiment (反清复明) where the Ming loyalists were dedicated to get rid of the Qing rulers, who were ethnic Manchus, and restore the Ming dynasty, as well as traditional Han culture. During this period, the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society, 洪门天地会) and martial arts clubs carried out Choi Chiang ceremonies during Chinese new year.
They would place green vegetables on the ground and let the lion ‘eat’ and spit out the torn pieces of vegetables. This symbolizes destroying the Qing, ‘stepping’ on the Qing, and rising above(in Chinese, Qing also stands for the colour green, and Choi means step, therefore they want to step on green vegetables).
In today’s context, Choi Chiang ceremonies are believed to bring wealth to the family and business and are hence performed during Chinese new year, celebration, or opening of a new business.
References
Hallander, J. (n.d.). History of lion dancing. Doc-Fai Wong Martial Arts Centers. https://plumblossom.net/LionHistory.html
slfk. (2013, December 21). Jiang shu cai qing[Introduction on Choi Chiang]. Blogger. http://slfk123hotmailcom.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-post_21.html
He, X. (2018, January 28). Singapore Lion Dance Performance [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-19P7MWdm4o
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