Yu, kai

Dance 131
10/12/2019

Chinese Lion Dance: Religious Ties and History

Andrew, Boryga. “Celebrating the Chinses Lion Dance”. The New York Times, 2015.

Andrew Boryga is one journalist, he wrote a lot of articles for The New York Times.
This article is for readers who want to understand Chinese culture. Especially the lion dance
culture. In this article, he tells to readers a little background of the Chinese Lion Dance. Also, he
interviewed Jason Lam who is one American Chinese photographer. Jason Lam is interested by
the Chinses Lion dance, he spent nine months documenting a brotherhood of young martial arts
enthusiasts and performers expressing their heritage. This article helps us to understand the
Chinese Lion Dance, especially the religious ties and history. The author told to us how the
Chinese Lion Dance was created. “Terrorized by a mythical monster, a horde of villagers
descended from the mountains and huddled under an enormous monster of their own in an
attempt to repel the beast. Year after year, to the accompaniment of firecracker bursts and drums,
the ritual is repeated as protection against evil spirits.” (Boryga)

Joey, Yap. Chapter 1: Introduction: The Art of Lion Dance. Malaysia: J. Y Research Group
2016.Print.

Joey Yap is the founder of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics, He is also the
Chief Consultant of Joey Yap Consulting Group, an international consulting firm specializing in
Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology services. This book allows readers to learn rich cultural history
and symbolism behind the Chinese Lion Dance. In the first chapter, Joey Yap told to us about the
history of the Lion dance, especially the connection of the Lion dance and the religious. The
author told to us that the Lion Dance evolution with religion. “ As Buddhism gained in
popularity, the ancient dances will have taken on elements of Buddhist philosophy ad
incorporated Buddhist tales and morality into their structures...” (Yap) This source compares the
first article with a more detailed introduction to the lion dance culture. Moreover, the book also
contains an introduction to the connection between lion dance culture and religion.
BrianAnime.” Freestyle Lion Dancing” YouTube, 19 Aug.2013,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h7k-8njwvs

This video is the first USA National Freestyle Lion Dance event which took place in San
Francisco in 2003. The creator goal is to let more people know about lion dance and appreciation
for lion dancing as a genuine performance art. In this video, we can see a lot of different types of
the Chinses Lion dance with different costumes. Compare to another two sources, this source can
let us to see what the real Chinese Lion dance looks like. We can hear the music; it used a lot of
drums and gongs. It is performed by two people each lion. The costume has different colors,
white, black, red.

Vicky Law and Joseph Hsu, “Dancing Lions Usher in Lunar New Year”. Voices of NY, 2019.

This article introduces culture of the Chinese Lion dance in New York. The article can let more
people who live in the US to understand the Chinese Lion dance. The author told to readers that
the Lion dance is usually performed during the Lunar New year in Chinatown. The article
introduced the development of the Chinese Lion dance in New York.” In recent years, the parade
has developed into a major event during the Lunar New Year period. New York’s Chinatown is
the only one in the nation that has this tradition.” (Hsu) The article also told to the readers to
difference of the northern style of lion dance and southern-style lion dance. One of the main
differences is the costume. The southern style costume ‘head is flat and long with the mouth like
a duck bill while the northern has the traditional costume. Also, the southern lion dance
emphasizes kung fu skills. Compare to another three sources, this article is emphasized on the
Chinese Lion dance’s culture in the US.