8 Fierce Facts About the Lion Dance 關于舞獅的八個猛料

瑪麗娜·王 譯/狄沐祺

Each winter at the turn of the lunar calendar， the lion dancers put on a lively performance， gamboling1 about to the beat of pounding drums and crashing cymbals2. It’s a dazzling spectacle meant to draw in luck and prosperity， and as such， graces celebrations like the Lunar New Year， birthdays， or weddings where Chinese diasporas3 have landed around the world. Here are eight things you might not know about the ancient tradition.

1. The prevalence of lions in Chinese culture stems from Central Asia and Persia.

Lions never historically inhabited China， so how did the felines4 come to be such a common cultural fixture？ Their origin in Chinese culture begins in the Han dynasty （202 BCE–220 CE）， when the Silk Road was established to connect China with Europe. Along the way， emissaries5 from Persian and Central Asian states would gift lions to the Chinese emperor. The popularity of this imperial beast then percolated6 from the high courts onto the masses. Lions also play an important role in Buddhist mythology， which began spreading throughout China in the late Han Dynasty.

2. The lion dance is over 1000 years old.

After lions were introduced to the popular imagination， the animal may have been incorporated into the existing traditions of animal pantomimes7. Historical records from the Three Kingdoms period （220–280 CE） describe people dressing in lion costumes for Buddhist festivities， and later in the Tang dynasty （618–907 CE）， the lion dance became a well-documented court festivity.

3. There are different styles of lion dance that vary regionally.

Although rooted in China， the lion dance has spread across East Asia， with each region adding their own local variations. An array of styles abounds in Japan and Korea. In Indonesia， the lion dancers wear huge fur coats with hefty8 heads.

Within China， the lion dance can be broadly divided in Northern and Southern styles. The Northern lion is red and yellow with a shaggy9 fringe10， and is usually performed with a male and female and sometimes little cubs. The Southern lion， originating from the Guangdong province， is the most common type seen on the international stage. They usually come with a fur trim and an array of flamboyant colors， and are further subdivided into the futsan and hoksan styles. The former is meant to look more aggressive and the latter more cat-like and playful.

4. The lion dance features prominently in several Jet Li films.

If you want to see the lion dance and martial arts in action， check out Jet Li’s Once Upon a Time in China III （1992） and Once Upon a Time in China IV （1993）， where the Southern Chinese style of lion dance is central to the plot. To check out the Northern style， watch Shaolin Temple II （1984） and Martial Arts of Shaolin （1986）. If you’re more of a Jackie Chan fan， his early film The Young Master （1980） opens with an iconic lion dance battle.

5. Women were barred from doing the lion dance.

Martial arts academies were historically fraternities11， so women were generally excluded from practicing the lion dance. Since the martial art fraternity paradigm has largely dissolved， dance troupes have gradually warmed to women joining their ranks. Now， there are several women-led lion dance troupes around the world.

6. The lion dance makes appearances in the Guinness World Records.

In January 2011， the Hong Kong Dragon and Lion Festival Preparatory12 Committee organized a bonanza13 with 1，111 lions—a total of 2，222 performers—dancing in the streets of Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year. It became the largest paired lion dance in history.

Later that year， another record was set when 3，971 schoolchildren in Taiwan， China， each donned14 a lion costume and performed the world’s largest singly operated lion dance show.

7. Chinese Malaysians invented the extreme sport of high pole lion dancing.

The lion dance has historically been performed on the ground or in small obstacle courses， with lions leaping up onto chairs， balance beams， or upturned vases in a spectacle of balance and athleticism. This show of acrobatics was turned up a notch when Chinese Malaysians began performing routines on high wooden stilts. In the early ’90s， this became a standardized arena of metal poles ranging from 4 to 8 feet in height， and the high pole lion dance as a competitive sport was born.

Performances are scored out of 10. To impress the judges， teams must? ?choreograph a 7-to-10-minute long routine where they leap between poles while performing acrobatic stunts. The most prestigious international competition has been held every other year in Malaysia’s Resorts World Genting since 1994. During the 2018 games， 36 different teams competed from 16 countries.

8. The lion dance is getting a modern makeover15.

Chinese Malaysians aren’t the only performers revamping16 an ancient tradition. Teams in Singapore and Hong Kong， China have incorporated LED lights， EDM17， and hip hop into their routines. Kwok’s Kung Fu and Dragon Lion Dance Team in Hong Kong puts on a show with hip hop dancers clad in Tron-like suits bopping alongside flashy Chinese lions synchronized to EDM.

每年冬天農歷年初，舞獅人就會上演一場生動的表演，隨著鑼鼓的節(jié)奏騰、閃、撲、躍。這項活動既壯觀又炫目，寓意著吉祥與興旺。因此，全球各地的華人會在春節(jié)、生日、婚禮等喜慶活動中用舞獅表演助興。有關這項古老的傳統(tǒng)，以下八個方面的知識你可能并不了解。

1.中國文化中對獅子的推崇起源于中亞與波斯

從歷史上看，中國沒有獅子。那么，這種貓科動物為什么成為中國文化中如此常見的符號呢？中國的獅子文化起源于漢朝（公元前202—公元220），那時朝廷為連接中國與歐洲開辟了絲綢之路。當時，絲路沿線的波斯和中亞國家派遣使者，將獅子作為禮物進獻給中國皇帝。中國人對這一象征著皇權威嚴的野獸十分喜愛，這種喜愛從宮廷蔓延到了民間。漢朝晚期佛教逐漸傳入中國，獅子在佛教典故中也扮演著重要角色。

2.舞獅活動已有1000多年的歷史

獅子這一形象走進大眾的腦海后，就可能被納入了當時流行的動物啞劇傳統(tǒng)。三國時期（220—280）的史料記載了人們身著獅子樣式的服裝參加佛教慶典活動。后來在唐朝時期（618—907），舞獅成為一項有大量文獻記載的宮廷慶典活動。

3.舞獅的風格有地域之分

舞獅植根于中國，但傳遍了東亞，并且每個地區(qū)都將本土特色融入其中。日本與韓國的舞獅風格豐富多樣。在印度尼西亞，表演者往往穿著毛茸茸的肥大道具服裝，戴著碩大的獅子頭套。

在中國，舞獅大致可分為南獅、北獅兩種舞法。北獅的造型通常為紅黃兩色，帶有濃密的鬃毛，并且往往是公獅與母獅共同表演，有時會帶著小獅子。南獅則起源于廣東省，是世界舞臺上最常見的舞獅種類。南獅的造型往往有皮毛鑲邊，色彩豐富艷麗，可以細分為佛山獅和鶴山獅。前者更好斗，后者則更像貓，更愛嬉戲。

4.舞獅在李連杰主演的幾部影片中占有重要地位

如果你想在武打片中看到舞獅與武術表演，那就去看看李連杰主演的《黃飛鴻之三：獅王爭霸》（1992）或《黃飛鴻之四：王者之風》（1993）。在這兩部影片中，南獅對推動情節(jié)發(fā)展至關重要。帶有北獅情節(jié)的影片則有《少林小子》（1984）與《南北少林》（1986）。如果你更喜歡成龍，他早期主演的影片《師弟出馬》（1980），開片就是一場頗具代表性的舞獅打斗。

5.女人在過去是不能參加舞獅的

在歷史上，武術界是男性的天下，因此女性一般被舞獅表演排除在外。自武術界的唯男性思想大大地淡化后，舞獅團體才逐漸歡迎女性加入他們的行列。現在，世界各地也有一些女性帶領的舞獅團體。

6.舞獅也創(chuàng)造了一些吉尼斯世界紀錄

2011年1月，香港龍獅節(jié)籌備委員會組織了一場由1111頭獅子（也就是2222名表演者）組成的醒獅隊，在香港街頭表演，慶祝春節(jié)。這場舞獅活動成為史上最大型的雙人舞獅獅陣表演。

當年晚些時候，中國臺灣3971名學生每人穿上一套舞獅行頭，進行了世界上最大型的單人舞獅獅陣表演，創(chuàng)造了又一項吉尼斯世界紀錄。

7.馬來西亞華人創(chuàng)造了高樁舞獅這項極限運動

舞獅歷來都是在平地上，或者設有障礙的小型場地中進行的。獅子一般是跳上椅子、平衡木或者倒立的花瓶，展示自己出色的平衡和運動能力。而當馬來西亞華人開始在木頭高蹺上進行常規(guī)的舞獅表演時，這項雜技對技巧的要求又上升了一個等級。在20世紀90年代早期，這項活動的表演模式演變?yōu)樵?到8英尺高的金屬樁上進行，于是高樁舞獅變成了一項競技運動。

裁判以1至10分來評判選手的表現。為了贏得裁判的肯定，舞獅團隊需要設計7到10分鐘的舞蹈套路，在高樁之間跳躍的同時表演高難度雜技。自1994年起，馬來西亞的云頂名勝世界，每兩年都會舉辦一場這一領域中聲望最高的國際性賽事。在2018年的比賽中，來自16個國家的36個不同團隊參加了比賽。

8.舞獅正在煥發(fā)新的面貌

馬來西亞華人并不是唯一在這項古老傳統(tǒng)上進行創(chuàng)新的群體。新加坡、中國香港的舞獅團隊在舞獅常規(guī)套路中加入了LED燈光、EDM電子舞曲以及嘻哈文化的元素。香港的郭氏功夫金龍醒獅團曾舉辦了一場別開生面的表演，嘻哈舞者身著類似于《電子世界爭霸戰(zhàn)》中的服飾，伴隨著電子舞曲，與炫目的中國獅子共同起舞。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者;單位：首都經濟貿易大學外國語學院）