Mug Shot — «Foshan - Lion Dance»
From Foshan, China
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Mug Details #1220
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Foshan It is shown on some older maps as 'Fatshan', which is a phonetic spelling of the city's Cantonese name. Today many areas of Foshan city are occupied mostly by Chinese migrants coming from different provinces of China and speak only Mandarin, while its native dialect is a Foshan variant of Cantonese. The town of Foshan is many centuries old, and was famous for its porcelain industry. Foshan has recently seen a transformation brought by China's booming economy. Foshan is also famous for its martial arts. It contains numerous Wing Chun schools where many come to train and spar.
The lion dance (Shi Zi) is not originally from China although it is know as a part of Chinese tradition. As lions are not native to China, which explains why the "lion" in the dance acquired characteristics of the Chinese dragon and phoenix. Lion dancing is believed to have started during the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD). The lion dance was performed in a group of five lions of different colors. Each lion was followed by twelve men dressed in colorful costumes, with a red band round the forehead and a red colored brush in hand. These people were called 'Lion-men' and they danced in tempo to the musical pieces called 'Tai-pin' melody, composed as early as (951-960 A.D.) during the Zhou dynasty. It was recorded that the lion dance was accompanied by 140 people singing the melody and 64 dancers. Lion dance at the time was a grand occasion and it was different from the lion dance now.
photo by lucky
edited by mobydick74
Karma: 4 Added by Lucky 2 Comments
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