photographing the photographers
lion food: lettuce and oranges
from: www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/51207
"Lion Colors
Dancing Lions come in all colors. Each color is meant to represent the characteristics and the attitudes of the lion, and each lion has a significance that fits the specific ceremony in which he dances. The lion is believed to have mystical powers. The first lion-dancing costumes were created using "the five colors": black, green, red, white, and yellow. By this means, the dancing lion was said to control the five cardinal directions: north, east, south, west, and center, respectively. Today, the lion costumes come in all colors, but traditionally there were three, each one representing one of the three famous Chinese Generals: Liu Pei, Kwan Kung and Chang Fei.
Yellow or multi-colored lions represent General Liu Pei. This lion has a long white beard and is the oldest and the wisest of the three. The yellow face shows general Liu Pei's intelligence, bravery and kindness. The red lion with its black beard represents the famous Chinese general and leader Kwan Kung and the bravery and the righteousness for which he is known. The red faced lion also represents happiness, good luck and prosperity.
The black lion is the youngest of the three and represents General Chang Fei. The black lion appears much more fierce than the other two. He has a short black beard, which is meant to highlight his youthfulness and combative nature and represents General Chang Fei's bravery and strength. Also known as the fighting lion, he is very aggressive and strong. His movements are quick, sharp, energetic and always aggressive.
The History of the Green Lion
There's another reason lion dancers are generally martial artists. Lion dancing gained its greatest fame during the Ching Dynasty. The Manchu reign at that time was an oppressive, inhumane government. Thousands of Chinese were massacres without any known cause until, it is said, "their blood literally reddened the rivers." Ming loyalists attempting to foment rebellion against the Manchu warlords, expressed their hatred by inventing the green-faced lion. With brows made of twin steel swords, each measuring 1 foot 6 inches in length, the green lion represented the Manchu Government during the Ching Dynasty. Fighting the lion meant combating the Manchus.
Since lion dancing was performed in villages all over the country for the purpose of celebrations, the rebels would use the opportunity to exchange information and to collect money for the revolution. As part of the dance, the lion would eat lettuce — which is where the money would be hidden. The lead dancer would cry, "Choi ching!" ("get the Ching!") to signal that he was a fellow revolutionary and, therefore, it was safe to pass information to him. However, informers soon figured out the battlecry. So, since chiang (meaning "green") sounds very much like ching, the revolutionary passcode was changed to "Choi chiang!" ("get the green"). To this day, this revolutionary cry is used when the lion "eats" the symbolic lettuce and good luck money."
photographing the photographers
lion food: lettuce and oranges
from: www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/51207
"Lion Colors
Dancing Lions come in all colors. Each color is meant to represent the characteristics and the attitudes of the lion, and each lion has a significance that fits the specific ceremony in which he dances. The lion is believed to have mystical powers. The first lion-dancing costumes were created using "the five colors": black, green, red, white, and yellow. By this means, the dancing lion was said to control the five cardinal directions: north, east, south, west, and center, respectively. Today, the lion costumes come in all colors, but traditionally there were three, each one representing one of the three famous Chinese Generals: Liu Pei, Kwan Kung and Chang Fei.
Yellow or multi-colored lions represent General Liu Pei. This lion has a long white beard and is the oldest and the wisest of the three. The yellow face shows general Liu Pei's intelligence, bravery and kindness. The red lion with its black beard represents the famous Chinese general and leader Kwan Kung and the bravery and the righteousness for which he is known. The red faced lion also represents happiness, good luck and prosperity.
The black lion is the youngest of the three and represents General Chang Fei. The black lion appears much more fierce than the other two. He has a short black beard, which is meant to highlight his youthfulness and combative nature and represents General Chang Fei's bravery and strength. Also known as the fighting lion, he is very aggressive and strong. His movements are quick, sharp, energetic and always aggressive.
The History of the Green Lion
There's another reason lion dancers are generally martial artists. Lion dancing gained its greatest fame during the Ching Dynasty. The Manchu reign at that time was an oppressive, inhumane government. Thousands of Chinese were massacres without any known cause until, it is said, "their blood literally reddened the rivers." Ming loyalists attempting to foment rebellion against the Manchu warlords, expressed their hatred by inventing the green-faced lion. With brows made of twin steel swords, each measuring 1 foot 6 inches in length, the green lion represented the Manchu Government during the Ching Dynasty. Fighting the lion meant combating the Manchus.
Since lion dancing was performed in villages all over the country for the purpose of celebrations, the rebels would use the opportunity to exchange information and to collect money for the revolution. As part of the dance, the lion would eat lettuce — which is where the money would be hidden. The lead dancer would cry, "Choi ching!" ("get the Ching!") to signal that he was a fellow revolutionary and, therefore, it was safe to pass information to him. However, informers soon figured out the battlecry. So, since chiang (meaning "green") sounds very much like ching, the revolutionary passcode was changed to "Choi chiang!" ("get the green"). To this day, this revolutionary cry is used when the lion "eats" the symbolic lettuce and good luck money."