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Ask Mr. Know-It-All: What’s the story behind lion dancing?

Dear Mr. Know-It-All,
What’s the story behind lion dancing? – Leo Nine

Humans have been dancing in animal masks since time immemorial, and lion dancing itself dates back at least to the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907). Lions aren’t exactly native to China, making them the ideal mythical beast. For some, the creature symbolizes the Nian monster, a beast that emerges once a year at Chinese New Year to attack humans, and must be scared off with loud noises and the color red.

Over Chinese New Year, Lion Dance troupes visit houses and shops to perform choi tsing (採青), “plucking the greens.” In this dance, a lai see packet is bundled with lucky green vegetables—normally lettuce, as “lettuce” in Cantonese sounds like “growing fortune”—and hung high above the lion, usually in a shop doorway. During the dance, the lion notices and then stalks the bundle, approaching and rearing up to pluck and devour the lettuce. The dance brings the shop good fortune in the year ahead: the lai see is retained by the dancers as a more immediate windfall. That’s the origin of the crunchy green detritus you’ll see on the ground outside shops this time of year.

Traditionally, lion dancers come from kung fu schools. After all, the skills behind lion dancing and martial arts go hand-in-hand. To be a good lion dancer, one must be fast and fluid, but also strong and precise. It’s all about footwork and cooperation, two men working in perfect sync. In the words of Bruce Lee, they must “be like water.”

These days, lion dance troupes and kung fu schools are not as closely linked as they once were. But once upon a time, rival martial arts schools saw lion dancing as a way to win honor for their master. During the choi tsing ceremony, rival factions would compete for the greens using stylized fighting moves. But as occasionally happens if you train a bunch of young guys in martial arts, these mock lion dance fights became a good excuse for a bit of a punch-up, and dancers would even slash at each others’ legs with knives during their performances.

As a result, for a while in the 50s and 60s lion dancing was in serious disfavor with the authorities—it was even briefly banned in Hong Kong. To this day, you still need to apply for a license to be able to perform. Take it from me: When it comes to musical punch-ups, the Sharks and the Jets have a lot to learn.

Mr. Know-It-All answers your questions and quells your urban concerns. Send queries, troubles or problems to [email protected].

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