Lion Dance, Dragon Dance? Which is which? – 舞狮，舞龙 傻傻分不清楚？

Source - Dragon Dance

Recently I've written a post regarding history and tradition of Lion Dance. One of the comment caught my attention. Apparently many people, especially from western countries, thought that Lion Dance is actually Dragon Dance. It's totally different thing altogether. @travelling-two advise me to write a post on the difference between Lion Dance and Dragon Dance. There you go.

Before I zoom in to compare Lion Dance and Dragon Dance, I would like to start with a little history of Dragon Dance.

最近我写了一个有关舞狮的历史与传统。看到其中一个评论说到很多西方人误会了舞狮就是舞龙。对他们来说，龙就像我们的舞狮。东方人都知道两者是很大分别的。有位Steemian建议我写个贴解释舞狮跟舞龙的分别。好吧！

在还没有开始写他们的分别前，我先想介绍舞龙的传统

The myth and history

Same as Lion Dance, Dragon Dance has its own myth as well. Once Upon a time, there is this dragon that had a very serious backache. The dragon decided to turn itself into a human and get the consultation from a doctor. From the heartbeat, the doctor realized that he is not a human. The dragon then reveals itself, but the doctor still proceeds to cure the dragon's back pain with a minor operation. In return, the dragon granted smooth whether and fruitful harvest throughout the year.

History of Dragon Dance can be traced back to Han Dynasty (180-230AD), where Chinese people danced the Dragon Dance so that rain would fall in the right amounts for a good harvest. Years down the road, Dragon Dance was performed during the major festivals, such as Chinese New Year.

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舞龙的传说和历史

跟舞狮一样，舞龙也有它独特的传说。很久以前，有条龙叔叔病倒了。没办法之下它把自己变成一个人，去找大夫治病。大夫一把脉就知道他不是人。既然被看穿了，就变回龙身。那位大夫继续帮它治好他的病。为了答谢大夫的好意，龙叔叔答应每年雨量充足，农业好丰收。

在汉朝的时代就有记载舞龙的历史。那时中国人舞龙的目的是为了保佑雨量充足，求好丰收。之后慢慢的，舞龙也成为了重要节日里的其中一项娱乐节目， 比如春节。

Type and Style

Similar to Lion Dance, Dragon Dance is categorized into two types. Southern Dragon and Northern Dragon. Southern Dragon is usually bigger in size and heavier compared to Northern Dragon. Because of its weight, Southern Dragon Dance is focused on momentum and strength rather than trick movements. From the look of the dragon's head, you will be able to differentiate between the two. Southern Dragon's head is usually more hairy in decoration. Due to lacks trick movements, it failed to entertain the crowd. That is why Southern Dragon is not so popular nowadays.

On the other hand, Northern Dragon is relatively small and lightweight. It was designed for flexible dance movements. The design of the Northern Dragon's head is relatively simple compared to Southern Dragon, without hairy eyebrow and mouth. Because of the movement flexibility, it was able to entertain the audience, thus Northern Dragon is widely accepted.

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类型和样式

舞龙有份两种类型，分别为南龙还有北龙。南龙的整体形状比起北龙还要大，也比较重。因为南龙的重量，舞起来会比较辛苦。所以舞南龙会比较注重在动力和力量，不会有很多的特技。南龙与北龙最明显的分别就在龙头。
南龙都的装饰比较多花巧，眉毛还有嘴边都会是毛毛的。因为舞南龙没什么特技，所以慢慢的被时代淘汰了。

北龙呢，它的体型比较轻小， 比较容易操作，特技动作也会比较多。北龙头的设计简单的多，通常都是用彩色画上去的， 不会有毛毛的眉毛。因为特技动作比较多，所以娱乐性较高。我们现在看见的舞龙一般都是北龙。

Now, the difference between Lion Dance and Dragon Dance

First, we have to know how a Chinese (Eastern) dragon looks like compared to the Western dragon. By knowing this, it will be very easy to differentiate between Lion Dance and Dragon Dance.

A Western Dragon represents darkness and evil. It usually looks like a lizard with sharp teeth and a pair of large wings. Whereas an Eastern Dragon looks like a snake with a long body covered with snake scales.

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Now we know how a Chinese dragon looks like. To company Lion Dance and Dragon Dance, one very obvious difference is that Lion Dance has two performer hide inside the lion costume, one control the head and the front legs of the lion and another control the tail and the hind leg. Whereas Dragon Dance involves ten to twelve performer, hold the dragon up on sticks from the head to the tail of the dragon. Lion Dance is well-known for their pole jumping stunts, and Dragon Dance focuses on the complexity of the movement.

舞狮与舞龙的分别

首先我们来看看东方龙跟西方龙的分别，之后就更加容易了解狮与龙的分别了。

西方龙表示黑暗，邪恶。一般的西方龙看起来有带像蜥蜴的感觉。它会有尖尖的牙齿，一双大翅膀。东方龙呢，身体像一条长长的蛇，还有蛇鲮。

现在知道东方龙是什么样子，就很容易分辨舞狮与舞龙了。最大分别就是人数了。舞狮是两个人藏在狮里，一个人控制头部和前面的两只腿，另外一个人负责控制尾巴和后腿。舞龙呢，至少十到十二人，拿着一根根从龙头到龙尾的棍子表演。舞狮的特技表演是跳庄，而舞龙表演是舞出一些复杂的姿势。

Short clip of Dragon Dance (with some slow motion action) 舞龙短片

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Short clip of Lion Dance舞狮短片

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Now we know the difference between Lion Dance and Dragon Dance. Don't mix it up next time ya.

现在知道舞狮与舞龙的分别了，下次就别搞错啦。

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