The Lion Dance - Ancient Art Form of China

The Lion Dance of China originated over one thousand years ago. It depicts the Asiatic lions of nearby India, some of which may have been presented to early Chinese Emperors as gifts. Lions in Chinese culture are guardian creatures, with statues of lions guarding royal palaces, homes of government officials and royal tombs.

There are many variants of the Lion Dance throughout Asia, including main land China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and other countries. The Lion Dance in China can be roughly categorized into Northern and Southern. Lions consist of paper mache heads with the body being of fabric. The body as well as the head is also decorated with fur, feathers, and decorative paint. The Chinese Lion Dance is most usually done by two people per lion, unlike the Chinese Dragon Dance that can have ten or more people per Dragon.

The Northern Dance originated as entertainment for the imperial court. The Northern Lion is very shaggy and can be orange, red, yellow, or a combination of these colors. The Northern Dance is very acrobatic and is done mainly for entertainment. The Northern Dance many times depicts pairs of lions, sometimes a family of two large and two small lions.

The Southern Dance is more often performed as a ceremony to prevent evil and for good luck. The Southern Lion displays a wide variety of colors. It also usually has a mirror on the center of the forehead, very large eyes and a horn at the center of the head.

The Lion Dance can be performed at any time of the year, but is usually associated with the Chinese New Year. The Dance itself is very formalized, with a different ritual and routine for each country and area. But in most cases, the dance begins with the lion entering the town or village and visiting the local temples and ancestral halls to pay respects. Then it continues down the streets of the town to spread joy and good fortune to the people. During Chinese New Year, the lion dancers visit the storefronts of businesses for the 'picking of the greens'. The owner of the business will attach a red envelope filled with money to a head of cabbage or lettuce, and then tie it above the door of their shop. The lion will approach the greens, and 'eat' the greens but spit out the money. This part of the Lion Dance brings good fortune to the business owner and the lion dancers keep the money in the envelope.

The Lion Dance has developed a close relationship to the martial arts, specifically Kung Fu. Many Lion Dance troupes consist of members of Kung Fu clubs that practice the dance very hard to gain athleticism and proficiency.

This short essay only scratches the surface of the beauty, customs and variety of The Lion Dance, a centuries old part of Asian culture.

Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com

Puranas - Stories and Teachings From Ancient Times

Purana means stories or histories of ancient times. There are several subject matters in the puranas and they are classified into five sections. Their five sections are history, cosmology, secondary creation, genealogy of kings, and of Manvantaras or Manus. The Puranas are part of the Itihasas.

The Puranas were written to popularize the religion of the Vedas. They contain the essence of the Vedas. The aim of the Puranas is to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas and to generate in them devotion to God, through concrete examples, myths, stories, legends, lives of saints, kings and great men, allegories, and chronicles of great historical events. The sages made use of these things to illustrate the eternal principles of religion. The Puranas were meant, not for the scholars, but for the ordinary people who could not understand high philosophy and who could not study the Vedas.

Each purana gives prominence to a particular deity and therefore places all others on a subservient position. There are stories in the puranas to further explain the application of religion in life and to emphasize the importance of injunctions.

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana describes at length the appearance and activities of the ten main incarnations of Krishna. Other incarnations are also mentioned where necessary. The avatars appear to re-establish religious principles, to destroy those promoting irreligious life, and to enjoy pastimes with Their devotees. The ten Avatars are: Matsya (The Fish), Kurma (The Tortoise), Varaha (The Boar), Narasimha (The Man-Lion), Vamana (The Dwarf), Parasurama (Rama with the axe, the destroyer of the Kshatriya race), Ramachandra (the hero of the Ramayana who destroyed Ravana), Sri Balarama (brother of Sri Krishna), Buddha (the prince-ascetic, founder of Buddhism), and Kalki (the hero riding on a white horse, who is to come at the end of the Kali-Yuga).

Matsya saved Vaivasvata Manu and the Vedas when the waters of destruction overflowed the universe. Kurma used His shell as a pivot when the demigods and demons agreed to churn the ocean of milk to get the nectar of immortality. Varaha saved the world from the ocean below the universe by holding it on His tusk, when the world was thrown there by the demon Hiranyaksha. Narasimha appeared to save His devotee Prahlad from the oppression of his father, the demon Hiranyakashipu. Vamana appeared to trick King Bali by asking him some charity. Bali conquered the universe and Vamana restored it to the possession of the demigods.

Parasurama appeared to rid the world of the irreligious kshatriya kings. Parasurama destroyed the kshatriya race twenty-one times. Rama destroyed Ravana, who kidnapped His chaste wife Sita. Sri Balarama appeared to help Sri Krishna and removed the burden of the world by killing Kamsa and many other demons and kings. He also helped to re-establish religious principles and assisted Krishna to deliver the message of the Bhagavad Gita. Buddha taught compassion, vegetarianism and meditation to attain the Supreme Truth. Kalki will appear at the end of this age to destroy the sinful populace and to start again the golden age called Satya yuga.

The Jains have their separate Puranas. The most popular among them is the Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena. A major part of the Jain Puranas can be found in Kannada literature. The Buddhist Purana, called Swayambhu Purana, is a major source of the history of the Kathmandu valley.

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