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| Keeping ancient moves grooving |
| 日期:2003-12-25 14:55 编辑: system 来源： |
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Like a twisted version of a Muhammed Ali boast, there's one part of South China that can "float like a butterfly" and swing like lion Way down in the depths of Zhejiang Province, the 1,700－year－old town of Yongkang is renowned for both its Lion Dance and its Butterfly Dance.
"When the festival comes, the nine lions jump" is an old Yongkang saying, which says it all about how the dance is adored by local people.
The Yongkang lion dance is quite unlike any run－of－the－mill lion dancing, where the lions are acted by people, "the Nine Lions Picture" is more like a puppet show.
By pulling thin ropes connected with the artificial animals, a dozen lion masters can manipulate the nine lions every which way, making them run, leap and play.
But it isn't this dance alone that has made Yongkang famous. Originally named "Shichengshan" or "Rock Town Mountain", Yongkang was renamed by Sun Quan, one of the three rulers in the Three Kingdoms Period, some 1,700 years ago. After suffering a strange illness the King's mother was cured by local doctors and, as a reward, the king honored the town with the "Yongkang", which means "forever healthy".
The lion dance that made Yongkang famous first came into being in the late 1600's, during Emperor Kangxi's reign. In the beginning, the performance was very rough and featured just one lion. As time went by, the number of lions was increased to three, then five and finally nine in 1978. In 1989, the local cultural administration updated the lion performance to make them more cute and vivid.
In 1999, a documentary on Yongkang lion dance was broadcast in the United States, which first spread the charm of the ancient Chinese art form overseas. In 2000, the lion dance travelled to France and it was wowed by many French as "a consummate oriental skill."
Besides lions, butterflies also captivated the people of Yongkang, they dedicated a beautiful butterfly dance out of this delicate creature. Performed by 18 young girls dressed as butterflies and another few as flower goddesses, the dance encapsulates Yongkang people's hopes and dreams of love, spring, nature and life.
Yongkang, a small yet productive town, has given us both the lion dance and the butterfly dance. Folk art will continue to bloom and spice up the lives of people as they are now both protected under the "Ethnic and Folk Arts Protection Project."
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