舞獅源流遠,細看下文知分曉.

據傳說(獅)是天龍九子之一,職司守門及辟邪驅魔,興隆祥瑞之靈物.舞獅來源,傳說紛紜,以下四個故事,坊間較多流傳:
1.相傳中國古代常有瘟疫為禍,其後有一獨角獸出現,瘟疫便消失,於是人稱那頭獨角獸為[年獸].而年獸行動時,發出如雷響聲.由於此年獸對人有很大的幫助,以後民間每逄秋收或節慶,便以竹枝仿製成年獸,並塗上鮮艷色彩,配以大鑼大鼓到各家門前舞動,以作[辟邪]。

2.傳唐明皇一次作夢,夢中見到有子民在慶典之日,在御前舞動一頭狀似獅子的野獸表演助興,該獸顏色悅目,舞動時有八音鑼鼓配樂.唐明皇夢醒後,著令下人依製作表演,故後人稱獅子為[醒獅]。

3.據史書記載,舞獅源自漢朝,漢武帝通西域,每當招待西域使節到訪時,便設歌舞助興,演員戴上面具扮鳥獸. 但外國使節發現扮獸行列中,獨缺獅子,經詢問後,原來當時中國還未有獅子出現.後來西域使節便送了一對獅子給中國,經西亞的絲綢之路運來中國.由馴獅郎帶領獅子表演的西亞馴獅舞也一併流傳中國。

4.相傳古城滄州,原是山青水秀,森林茂密,富庶之地,一天,森林裏轉突然聚集了三五成群的大灰狼騷擾搗亂,它們殺牲畜,有時還肆意傷害人,鬧得城內人心惶惶.一天黃昏,大群灰狼峰湧入城,危急之際,長空忽然出現一道金光,一頭全身披著長長金黃卷毛雄獅神獸,揚頭張著大口,雙眼放射出強烈的寒光,威懾地朝下環視著成群結隊的灰狼,並對天一聲長吼,霎時狂風大作,金光閃耀,一大群雄獅從雲端飛舞而下,衝入狼群,眨眼間便將狼群消滅.原來那領頭神獸是菩薩的坐騎.年青人目睹這壯觀的場景後,得到啟發,便根據雄獅的形象,做了很多獅頭和獅尾,並模仿雄獅起落騰舞的姿態,在城間穿插起舞,去威嚇狼群.人們還根據舞 獅的動作,配合敲打鑼鼓,這樣狼群更被嚇得消聲匿跡了.灰狼逃走後,這種以人裝扮的獅子舞,卻開始在民間流傳起來.逄年過節人們在鑼鼓聲中耍起彩球,舞起獅子,歡慶節日.並期望來年五穀豐收,國泰民安.而這年青人的後代,還把獅子舞搬到舞台上表演,使舞獅成為一種娛樂節目,並逐漸流傳到全國,而古城滄州亦因此得了[獅城]美名。

The Origin of Lion Dancing

There are 4 possible origins of having lion dancing:

1.There were a lot of disasters in the past in China. Once there was an animals with one horn. When it appeared and the disaster suddenly disappeared. People, then, called it as “a year animal”. When it appeared, it made a great noise. As a result, the animal brought people good luck. Thereafter, when people celebrated, they made an animal like this with bamboo. They added some bright colors on it. When the animal danced, people also played drums. This could bring good luck to people.

2.In Tang Dynasty, one of the emperors had a dream one night and saw a celebration in the dream. He saw an animal like a lion dancing in front of him. The animal had a bright color and danced with heavy beats which were played by drums and cymbals. When he woke up, he ordered his servants to have a similar performance. After that, people called it “lion dancing”.

3.According to the historical books, the lion dancing originated from Han Dynasty. One of the emperors adopted the dancing to welcome ambassadors coming from the West. The dancers wore masks to act as animals except lions. The ambassadors found that there was no lions in China. They decided to deliver a pair of lions as a gift to the Chinese emperor. The lion feeders brought lions to China via the Silk Road. Thereafter, the lion dancing started in Han Dynasty.

4.In China, there was an old city where was surrounded by heavy jungles. In these jungles, there were many wolves which endangered animals and human beings. People heard this incident and got scared. One night, many wolves flocked into the city. At the moment, there was a ray of golden light in the sky. An animal wearing long hair opened its mouth wide and made a loud shout. Suddenly, it became windy. A flock of male lions appeared in the sky and rushed towards the wolves. For a while, all the wolves were eliminated. After that, people were inspired that many lion faces and tails were manufactured. They, then, waved these faces and tails to threaten the wolves in the jungles. People also used drums to match the lion dancing. Thereafter, all the wolves disappeared. After this incident, people adopted the lion dancing to celebrate during festivals. They hoped that the lion dancing would bring them having rich harvests and becoming wealthy. People started to have lion dancing on the stage which became a kind of entertainment. The lion dancing became popular in China. So, this old city is known as the city of “lion”.