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A lion heart needed to keep lion dance tradition alive
By Qian Bo and Pan Zheng |
February 28, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AFTER a break of 17 years, Sun Bingxiang, a 77-year-old folk art artist from Maqiao Town, started again to make original Maqiao lions for the lion dances at festivals.
At this Lantern Festival, the Maqiao Lion Dance Exhibition Hall was set up to better preserve the century-old folk art. Maqiao lion dance was listed as one of the intangible cultural heritages of Minhang District last year. And the five lions that Sun is working on will be displayed at the hall.
"Sunken faces and bulging foreheads with big mouths. Shaky heads and wriggling tails and paws holding the flower balls ..." That's the way Maqiao lions have been described for generations. The faces and foreheads are most obviously different from other lions for lion dance.
In recent years, because of the mass production, handmade lions with these unique designs have almost disappeared.
In Sun's house, the five lions are easily recognizable.
Sun says making lions is not easy. He had to hire people to drive around to select the appropriate bamboo to build with, but they just returned empty handed. Finally, he found a store selling bamboo furniture and chose the bamboo that the shop used to make furniture as the raw material. And this is only the beginning. It will take another month to finish the lions.
Although this time we will be lucky and see original handmade lions, the future of this folk art is not bright. There is doubt that the art and techniques will be passed down through the generations.
Maqiao lions were quite popular in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Sun began to make lions and perform lion dances with his cousin when he was 13. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Maqiao lions fell out of popularity.
After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, Sun had few opportunities to perform the lion dance. But he made quite a few lions until he retired in 1991. Since then, there have been very few people able to make Maqiao lions. This time Sun asked his daughters for assistance even though they had never actually been involved in it.
Besides Sun, the only other living man who can make Maqiao lions is Qiao Zhenglin who is nearly 90. If no one younger takes it up, handmade Maqiao lions will not be seen again.
As well as the Lion Dance Exhibition Hall, there are five other preservation areas for intangible cultural heritages in Minhang District, such as the Shanghai Dialect Document Database in the Minhang Library. These areas are an important part of Minhang's history.
At this Lantern Festival, the Maqiao Lion Dance Exhibition Hall was set up to better preserve the century-old folk art. Maqiao lion dance was listed as one of the intangible cultural heritages of Minhang District last year. And the five lions that Sun is working on will be displayed at the hall.
"Sunken faces and bulging foreheads with big mouths. Shaky heads and wriggling tails and paws holding the flower balls ..." That's the way Maqiao lions have been described for generations. The faces and foreheads are most obviously different from other lions for lion dance.
In recent years, because of the mass production, handmade lions with these unique designs have almost disappeared.
In Sun's house, the five lions are easily recognizable.
Sun says making lions is not easy. He had to hire people to drive around to select the appropriate bamboo to build with, but they just returned empty handed. Finally, he found a store selling bamboo furniture and chose the bamboo that the shop used to make furniture as the raw material. And this is only the beginning. It will take another month to finish the lions.
Although this time we will be lucky and see original handmade lions, the future of this folk art is not bright. There is doubt that the art and techniques will be passed down through the generations.
Maqiao lions were quite popular in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Sun began to make lions and perform lion dances with his cousin when he was 13. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Maqiao lions fell out of popularity.
After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, Sun had few opportunities to perform the lion dance. But he made quite a few lions until he retired in 1991. Since then, there have been very few people able to make Maqiao lions. This time Sun asked his daughters for assistance even though they had never actually been involved in it.
Besides Sun, the only other living man who can make Maqiao lions is Qiao Zhenglin who is nearly 90. If no one younger takes it up, handmade Maqiao lions will not be seen again.
As well as the Lion Dance Exhibition Hall, there are five other preservation areas for intangible cultural heritages in Minhang District, such as the Shanghai Dialect Document Database in the Minhang Library. These areas are an important part of Minhang's history.
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