As we near the end of another lunar cycle, we present this bonus video as a gift to the first wave of legends who signed up to our newsletter in January. Happy Chinese new year!
This is舞狮wǔshī, Lion Dancing, a popular Chinese ritual that brings luck and fortune to the community during festive times. While lions aren’t native to mainland China, they’ve existed in various stylized forms in Chinese mythology since antiquity.
While there are many local variations, Lion Dancing is broadly divided into two styles: Northern and Southern. Northern Style focuses more heavily on gymnastic martial arts techniques, with lions performing impressive kicks and even appearing to grapple with each other. This style stays true to mythical lions’ archetypal qualities of strength and protection, and is best observed in Beijing theatres, or at the famous Shàolín temple.
Southern Style, globally recognised thanks to the Cantonese Diaspora, imitates lions’ natural movements, such as the shaking, scratching and licking of fur. This style is more playful and even comedic at times, and it’s been theorized it emerged after captive Asiatic lions were brought to China from the Persian empire as rare commodities around 2000 years ago. In the age before broadcast media, these dancers were likely your best hope of seeing the way a lion moved!
We were fascinated by the reaction of the children during this performance. Some backed away, whereas others rushed forwards to touch the lions’ faces. In their whooping and squealing you can hear that heady mix of joy, excitement and fear, stirred-up by the magic of the spectacle.
We hope you liked this small dose of Chinese culture. Which style do you think is being performed here? Northern, Southern, or a hybrid of both? We’d love to hear what you think, as well as more generally what the performance (and the reaction of the children) made you feel.
恭喜发财,gōng xǐ fā cái!
Wishing you a prosperous new year!
Joe and Tamzin