Lion dance is a traditional folk art performed in squares and along the streets. It is widely spread in Siyang. Every Lantern Festival or major celebration, people will perform lion dance to liven up the atmosphere. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. According to legend, the art of lion dance was first introduced from the Western Regions. It was originally derived from the "masked drama" of Xiliang. Later, with the introduction of Buddhism into China, the art of lion dance also had a place in China. In addition, some people believe that lion dance originated in the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong today. However, in the Tang Dynasty, it had become an important activity popular in the court, the army, and the people. Tang Gaoanjie's "Yuefu Zaxun" said: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet tall, each with five colors, and each lion has twelve people wearing red headbands, painted clothes, holding red whisks, called lion boys, dancing to Taiping music." The poet Bai Juyi also vividly described this in his poem "Xiliang Envoy": "Xiliang Envoy, Xiliang Envoy, fake-faced Hu people and fake lions, carved wood for the head and silk for the tail, gold-plated eyes and silver-plated teeth. Fierce fur coats swinging ears, like coming thousands of miles from the quicksand." The poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time. Today's lion dance is mainly divided into southern lion and northern lion. Generally speaking, southern lion is mainly popular in South China, Southeast Asia and overseas, while northern lion is more popular in the north of the Yangtze River. Southern lion, also known as awakening lion, has a more powerful shape and focuses on horse stance when dancing. Southern lion mainly relies on the movements of the dancers to show the powerful lion form, and generally only two people dance one lion. The lion head is based on the facial makeup of operas, and is divided into three types: "Liu Bei", "Guan Yu" and "Zhang Fei". They are colorful and exquisitely made; the eyelids and mouth can move, and there is a horn on the head, which is said to be prepared to deal with the fights that occur during lion dance. Therefore, strictly speaking, the lion head of the southern lion does not look like a lion head. There are many dancing shapes of the southern lion, including starting, normal, rising, doubtful, scratching, welcoming guests, bowing, jumping in surprise, examining, sleeping soundly, leaving the cave, showing off, crossing the mountain, going up the stairs, etc. The dancers use different horse steps and the movements of the lion head to express various shapes abstractly. Therefore, the southern lion emphasizes the meaning and spirit. The lion dance popular in Siyang is the northern lion. The shape of this lion is very similar to that of a real lion, with a relatively simple lion head and golden hair all over the body. The pants and shoes of the lion dancers (usually two people dance one head) are covered with hair, and they look lifelike before dancing. The lion with a red knot on its head is a male lion, and the one with a green knot is a female lion. The northern lions are flexible in their movements, and unlike the southern lions, which emphasize ferocity, the dancing is mainly based on pounce, fall, flip, roll, jump, and scratch. During the performance, male and female lions usually appear in pairs: the master dressed as a warrior leads the way, accompanied by the music rhythm of gongs, drums, and cymbals, and through stunts such as rolling and grabbing embroidered balls, the lion's movements are simulated vividly. Sometimes, a pair of northern lions will also be paired with a pair of small lions, the small lions tease the big lions, and the big lions play with their children for fun, showing the joy of family. Lion dance is an intense sport. The legs of the lion dancers must be flexible, and they must be good at falling, flipping, and jumping, so that they can realistically show the lion's strength and bravery. The martial arts attainments of the lion dancers can be seen from the various sets of lion dance movements. However, according to the lion dance performance movements, the northern lion can be divided into two types, the "civil lion" and the "martial lion". The civil lion mainly shows docile movements such as scratching, rubbing, rolling, and shaking hair; the martial lion shows the lion's ferocious habits with movements such as stepping on a ball, jumping, running, and stacking. Which form of performance is mainly determined by the lion dancer's martial arts skills. With the changes of the times and the improvement of people's level, now the people of Siyang not only dance lions on holidays and major celebrations, but even some elderly people have to dance lions to celebrate their birthdays. For thousands of years, lions were generally danced by men, but now some women have also started to play lion dances. It can be seen that lion dance activities are very popular among the people. Information source: Siyang County People's Government Office Information source: Siyang County People's Government Office