Lion Dance
What is Lion Dance?
Lion Dance is a traditional art form that incorporates physical training commonly associated with martial arts and ascetic expressions. It is a folk show performed by one or two persons wrapped around with lion skin costume. Like the dragon lantern dance, lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Year and other Chinese traditional, cultural and religious festivals. It may also be performed at important occasions such as business opening events, special celebrations or wedding ceremonies, or may be used to entertain special guests by the Chinese communities.
The Chinese lion dance is often mistakenly referred to as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the differences is that a lion is normally operated by one or two dancers, while a dragon needs many people. Also, in a lion dance, the performers' faces are only seen occasionally, since they are inside the lion. In a dragon dance, the performers' faces can be easily seen since the dragon is held on poles.
History of Lion Dance
There has been an old tradition in China of dancers wearing masks to resemble animals or mythical beasts. However, lion is not native to China. According to textual research, lions in China were originally introduced from West Asia through the "Silk Road". In Buddhist culture, lion is the animal ridden by Bodhisattva Manjusri that was introduced to China along with Buddhism, together with the real lion dance performed by the animal. Since sending lions to China was not an easy job accompanied by hardships, very few lions finally arrived at the destination. Therefore, the real lion dance was only limited to the imperial palace and wealthy families, and common people never had the chance to watch it. Therefore, the folk artists created idealized works of lions through imagination according to records or legends, and highlighted the broad forehead, upturned nose and open mouth with traditional divine and auspicious decorations, presenting the mighty force and liveliness of lions. In the lion dance, people perform the role of lions.
The earliest use of the word “shizi” meaning lion first appeared in Han Dynasty. Detailed descriptions of Lion Dance appeared during the Tang Dynasty and it was already recognized by writers and poets then as a foreign dance. However, lion dance may have been recorded in China as early as the third century AD where "lion act" was referred to by Meng Kang in a commentary on Hanshu. In the early periods it had association with Buddhism: it was recorded in a Northern Wei text, Description of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang, that a parade for a statue of Buddha of a temple was led by a lion to drive away evil spirits.
There were different versions of the dance in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang court, the lion dance was called the Great Peace Music or the Lion Dance of the Five Directions where five large lions of different colors and expressing different moods were each led and manipulated on rope by two persons, and accompanied by 140 singers. Another version of the lion dance was described by the Tang poet Bai Juyi in his poem "Western Liang Arts", where the dance was performed by two Hu dancers who wore a lion costume made of a wooden head, a silk tail and furry body, with eyes gilded with gold and teeth plated with silver as well as ears that moved, a form that resembles today's lion dance. During the Song Dynasty the lion dance was commonly performed in festivals and it was known as the Northern Lion during the Southern Song.
The Southern Lion is a later development in the south of China, originating in the Guangdong province. There are a number of myths associated with the origin of this dance: one story relates that the dance originated as a celebration in a village where a mythical monster called Nian was successfully driven away. Another has it that the Qianlong Emperor dreamt of an auspicious animal while on a tour of Southern China, and ordered that the image of the animal be recreated and used during festivals.
Types of Lion Dances
1) Types by style
The gentle style shows the lion’s gentleness and loveliness by grabbing the ball, playing with the ball, licking its fur, shaking its fur, scratching, rubbing its ears, caressing the lion cub, etc.
The wild style focuses on lion’s aggressiveness and high skills such as walking on the ball, scrambling for the ball, rolling the ball, diving the ball, jumping and turning, climbing, walking on the seesaw, walking on pointed stakes and other highly skill-demanding feats. The wild style performance can be soul stirring as it displays the lion’s majesty and wildness.
2) Types by geography
During the more than 2,000 years of development, the lion dance has developed into two major genres - the Northern Lion Dance and the Southern Lion Dance.
The Northern Lion Dance mainly focuses on the performance of a martial lion dance. The dance of a small lion is performed by one person, and the dance of a big lion is played by two people, with one wielding the lion head while standing, and the other wielding the lion body and tail while stooping down. Guided by the lion dancers, the lion writhes, falls forward, jumps and bows, as well as does some other highly difficult movements, such as walking on wooden or bamboo stakes, jumping over a table, and stepping on a rolling ball.
Southern Lion Dance mainly focuses on the performance of the civilian lion dance. The performance pays a lot of attention to movements like scratching an itch, shaking the hair and licking the hair.
Up today, the lion dance has formed its local features and styles.
In Hebei, the lions are strong and vigorous, capable of climbing and jumping from one big table to the next up to five.
In Guangdong, the lions can climb the high bamboo pole and pick the present on the top of the pole.
In Anhui , the lions can perform with lighted candles on their body.
In Sichuan, the lions can walks on high tilts and platform.
Modern development of Lion Dance
The Lion Dance has evolved considerably since the early days when it was perform as a skill part of Chinese martial arts, and has grown into a more artistic art that takes into accounts the lion's expression and the natural movements, as well as a more elaborate acrobatic style and skill during performances. This may be performed as a cultural performance or during competitions. This evolution and development has produced the modern form of lion dance.
Lion dance has spread across the world due to the worldwide presence of the Chinese communities and immigrant settlers in many countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Polynesia, and in particular, in South East Asia where there is a large overseas Chinese presence. The lion dance is seen as a representative part of Chinese culture in many overseas Chinese communities. However, the local banning of the lion dance once occurred in some countries.
In the 1960s and 1970s, during the era when the Hong Kong's Chinese classic and martial arts movies are very popular, kung fu movies including Jet Li's “Huang Feihong” actually indirectly showed and indicated how lion dance was practiced with the kung fu close co-relation and kung fu during that time. Those days, the lion dance was mostly practiced and perform as kung fu skills, with the challenge for the 'lion' built of chairs and tables stack up together for the 'lions' to perform its stunts and accomplish its challenge.
特色文化词汇
【ascetic expressions】 苦行主义表达，苦行主义来自于对于肉体欲望的克制，其代表人物有赫拉克利特（参见西方哲学史），他认为灵魂有水和火组成，优秀的灵魂主要是由高贵的火组成的干燥的灵魂。如果水在灵魂中占主导，就会变得快乐，但也意味着灵魂的死亡。因此他主张克制自身的情欲，去获得高贵的灵魂。
【dragon lantern dance】 龙灯舞，是一种古老的汉族民俗舞蹈。反映了古代汉族人民对龙的崇拜。
【Silk Road】 丝绸之路
【Buddhist culture】 佛教文化
【Bodhisattva Manjusri】 文殊菩萨，文殊菩萨是如来佛祖怙恃之一，梵名Mañjuśrī ，音译作文殊师利、曼殊室利、满祖室哩，意译为妙德、妙吉祥、妙乐、法王子。
【imperial palace】 皇宫
【divine】 神，上帝
【auspicious decorations】 吉祥装饰
【Meng Kang】 孟康为三国曹魏时著名学者，精通地理、天文、小学，其主要著述为《汉书音义》。
【Hanshu】 《汉书》，又名《前汉书》，中国古代历史著作。东汉班固所著，是中国第一部纪传体断代史。
【Bai Juyi】 白居易（772年—846年），唐代诗人，字乐天，号香山居士，祖籍山西太原，晚年曾官至太子少傅。
【Western Liang Arts】 《西凉伎》是唐代诗人白居易的诗作。此诗不仅生动地描绘了"西凉伎"的内容、演出形式，而且还细腻地刻画了观"西凉伎"者悲愤的心情。诗人通过七十征夫之口，抨击了统治者和将军的软弱无能，抒发了凉州陷落、边塞重镇连连失守的悲愤之情。
【acrobatic styles】 杂技风格
【stunt】 绝技表演
长难句翻译
英译汉
(1) Therefore, the folk artists created idealized works of lions through imagination according to records or legends, and highlighted the broad forehead, upturned nose and open mouth with traditional divine and auspicious decorations, presenting the mighty force and liveliness of lions.
分析：句子的主干为“ the folk artists created works and highlighted the broad forehead, upturned nose and open mouth.” “through imagination according to records or legends”和“with traditional divine and auspicious decorations”为方式状语， “presenting the mighty force and liveliness of lions.”为动名词作结果状语。
参考译文：因此,民间艺术家根据记录或传说通过想象力创造了狮子的理想化作品,并通过传统的神圣和吉祥的装饰突出了宽阔的额头,朝天鼻和倾盆大口,展现了强大的力量和狮子的活力。
(2) Another version of the lion dance was described by the Tang poet Bai Juyi in his poem "Western Liang Arts", where the dance was performed by two Hu dancers who wore a lion costume made of a wooden head, a silk tail and furry body, with eyes gilded with gold and teeth plated with silver as well as ears that moved, a form that resembles today's lion dance.
分析：句子主干为 “Another version was described by Bai Juyi”，where引导定语从句，先行词为"Western Liang Arts"，who引导定语从句，修饰two Hu dancers made of a wooden head, a silk tail and furry body为定语修饰a lion costume，a form that resembles today's lion dance为Another version的同位语。
参考译文：另一个版本的舞狮被唐代诗人白居易在他的诗歌《西凉伎》中所提及,在这首诗中舞狮是由两个穿着由一个木制的头,一个丝绸尾巴,毛茸茸的身体构成的狮子服装的胡人演绎的,狮子的眼睛用金镀成，眼睛用银镀成，而且它的耳朵也会移动,这是一种类似于今天的舞狮。
参考译文：自从舞狮被列为中国传统艺术的一部分表演后,舞狮已经获得了长远的发展，并且已经演变地更具艺术性,还考虑到了狮子的表情和和自然的动作,以及更巧妙的杂技风格和技巧。
(3) In the 1960s and 1970s, during the era when the Hong Kong's Chinese classic and martial arts movies are very popular, kung fu movies including Jet Li's “Huang Feihong” actually indirectly showed and indicated how lion dance was practiced with the kung fu close co-relation and kung fu during that time.
分析：句子主干为 “kung fu movies showed and indicated…”。“In the 1960s and 1970s为时间状语，“when the Hong Kong's Chinese classic and martial arts movies are very popular”为定语修饰“era”, “how lion dance was practiced with the kung fu close co-relation and kung fu”为“how”引导的宾语从句。
参考译文：在20世纪60年代和70年代香港中国传统艺术电影流行的时代，包括李连杰的功夫电影《黄飞鸿》在内的功夫电影事实上都间接地展示了舞狮是如何与功夫紧密联系的以及舞狮在那个时期的状况。
汉译英
(1) 在舞狮者的操纵下,狮子扭动着,向前跌倒,跳跃和弓,伴随着其他一些高难度的动作,例如走在木棍或竹棍上 ,或跳过一张桌子,或踩在一个滚动的球上。
分析：“在舞狮者的操纵下”为方式状语，应译为被动。此句中的几个连续动词“扭动着,向前跌倒,跳跃和弓”应译为“writhes, falls forward, jumps and bows”。
参考翻译：Guided by the lion dancers, the lion writhes, falls forward, jumps and bows, as well as does some other highly difficult movements, such as walking on wooden or bamboo stakes, jumping over a table, and stepping on a rolling ball.
(2) 自从舞狮被列为中国传统艺术的一部分表演后,舞狮已经获得了长远的发展，并且已经演变地更具艺术性,还考虑到了狮子的表情和和自然的动作,以及更巧妙的杂技风格和技巧。
分析：这句话的并列句较多，应用“and, as well as”等连词连接，“自从舞狮被列为中国传统艺术的一部分表演后,舞狮已经获得了长远的发展”可译为“The Lion Dance has evolved considerably since it was performed as a part of Chinese martial arts”，“巧妙的”译为 “elaborate”。
翻译：The Lion Dance has evolved considerably since it was performed as a part of Chinese martial arts, and has grown into a more artistic art that takes into accounts the lion's expression and the natural movements, as well as a more elaborate acrobatic style and skill during performances.
本文属于文章重组类，参考书目如下：
《中国当代社会与文化英文教程（第一版）》，李芝 著，北京大学出版社2012年1月出版。
《中国民俗（中英文版）》，赵永清 著，海潮出版社20111年7月出版。
《民间舞龙舞狮》，马芳 著，湖南美术出版社2014年10月出版。
汉译英段落：
舞狮是中国的一种传统舞蹈形式，在重大节日和隆重活动中经常可以看到。舞狮起源于三国时期，至今已有1000多年的历史。舞狮一般由两人表演，一人舞狮头，另一人舞狮身和狮尾。表演者在锣鼓音乐的伴奏下，表演狮子的各种动作。舞狮随着华人移居海外而闻名世界，尤其是在东南亚国家，但每一个国家和地区都有自己的舞狮风格。
----英语四级翻译模拟题第74期:舞狮http://www.kekenet.com/cet4/201504/347452.shtml
【词汇突破】
1. 舞狮 lion dance
2. 三国时期the Three Kingdoms Period
3. 狮头the lion's head
4. 狮身the body of the lion
5. 狮尾the tail of the lion
6. 锣鼓gongs and drums
【句子分析】
1. 舞狮(lion dance)是中国的一种传统舞蹈形式，在重大节日和隆重活动中经常可以看到。
第一句话的词汇舞狮已经给出，而且“传统舞蹈形式”的翻译a form of traditional dance也是很简单的，所以这一句话的前半句话就很容易被翻译出来。我认为后半句的翻译用which引导的非限制性定语从句来表达，这样可以使句子结构更紧凑顺畅。接下来“经常看到”可以译为we can often see…，但用被动形式can be often seen…更符合英语常用被动语态的表达习惯。
最后句子翻译为：
Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in China, which can be often seen in important festivals and great events.
2. 舞狮起源于三国时期，至今已有1000多年的历史。
第二句中的“起源于三国时期，至今已有1000多年的历史”是一个并列结构，如果译成and连接的并列句则译文结构松散，表达平淡，故将后半句处理成介词短语with a history of over 1,000 years。而三国时期的翻译也是一个难点，这就要求大家在课外时间多多积累像the Three Kingdoms Period等的特色文化词汇的英文表达。
最后句子译为：
With a history of over 1,000 years, lion dance can date back to the Three Kingdoms Period.
3. 舞狮一般由两人表演，一人舞狮头，另一人舞獅身和狮尾。
第三句中的“舞狮一般由两人表演”可逐字对译为lion dance is usually performed by two persons.但汉语呈现以动词为中心的特征，而英语呈现以名词为中心的特征，故把“表演”由动词转换成名词更佳，表达为there are usually two performers in lion dance。后半句“一人舞狮头，另一人舞狮身和狮尾”，是对前面的“两人”的补充说明，可以分译成一个独立句子，也可以处理成“逻辑主语+ v.-ing”的独立主格结构。
最后可将此句译为：
There are usually two performers in lion dance, one handling the lion's head, and the other playing the body and the tail.
4. 表演者在锣鼓音乐的伴奏下，表演狮子的各种动作。
第四句中的“锣鼓音乐”在翻译时应准确表达其意义“由敲打锣鼓发出的音乐”，故采用“名词+过去分词短语”作后置定语的形式，处理成music played by gongs and drums。
最后可将此句译为：
They perform all kinds of lion's movements to the music played by gongs and drums.
5. 舞狮随着华人移居海外而闻名世界，尤其是在东南亚国家，但每一个国家和地区都有自己的舞狮风格。
最后一句由三个小分句组成，前两句意思联系紧密，为同一个意群，第3个分句含转折意味，故整个句子可处理成由but连接的并列句；或者是分号连接的并列句，中间加上表转折的however。
我们可以将此句翻译为：
As the Chinese migrate abroad, lion dance is famous all over the world, especially in Southeast Asian countries; however, each country and region has its own dancing style.
错误分析：
1 “Lion Dance is a troditional form of dancing, which can be seen in important festivals and activities.”
个人分析：很明显这句翻译存在很多错误，首先是词的拼写错误，该同学将“传统”译成了“troditional”，而正确的拼写应该是“traditional”。其次，该学生的译文中对“一种传统舞蹈形式”的翻译不准确，传统修饰的词应该是舞蹈，而该学生翻译出来的侧重点则在“形式”一词，应该翻译为“a form of traditional dance”。另外在该生的译文中没有将“中国”和“隆重”等词翻译出来。隆重可以翻译成great或者grand，隆重活动就可以翻译为grand/great events/activities。最后舞狮的英文翻译不必将dance一词大写。
改正后的译文:Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in China, which can be seen in important festivals and grand activities .
2 “The lion dance originated in the Three Kindoms period. and has a history of over 1000 years.”
个人分析：这句话中存在明显的拼写错误，首先例如对“三国时期”一词的翻译，该学生将Kingdoms错误地拼写为Kindoms，而且period应该大写，正如我们之前介绍的“三国时期”应该翻译为the Three Kingdoms Period。另外，这句话中出现了标点的错误使用问题，and一词前应该用逗号“,”。第三，对词组originate in和originate from的意思混淆，originate in意为归因于…、产生于…；originate from意为来自…、源于…，所以句子中应该使用originated from。最后句子的时态不对，应该将have改为had。
改正后的译文: The lion dance originated from the Three Kingdoms Period, and had a history of over 1000 years.
3 “In general, the lion dance is performed by two persons, which one dances the head, the other dances the body and tail.”
个人分析：首先该同学的翻译上，大体看来并没有过多的语法问题，个人觉得tail一词前应该加一个定冠词the。另外我觉得该同学两次将“舞”字翻译为dance一词，欠缺思考性，外国人的用语讲究，我们可以用play和handle替代dance更好。
改正后的译文: In general, the lion dance is performed by two persons, which one handling the head, the other playing the body and the tail.
4 “Accompaning with the music of gong and drum, performers play all kinds of lion’s actions.”
个人分析：首先这句话的错误就是将词accompanying错写为accompaning，个人认为这都是马虎导致的。其次，就是锣鼓的翻译是gongs and drums，而该学生翻译时没有注意到锣鼓并不能只有单独的一个锣或者鼓，所以只要细心这个词的翻译是可以准确表达的。最后一点该学生没有注意到对句子时态的把握，应该将play改为played。
改正后的译文: Accompanying with the music of gongs and drums, performers played all kinds of lion’s actions.
5 “Lion dance became world famous for overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast-Asia countries, but every country and region have their own dance style.”
个人分析：首先该学生的第一个分句的翻译是错误的，没表达出原句的意思，应该翻译成“As the Chinese migrate abroad，lion dance became world-renowned”。其次，有很多同学将world famous写成world-famous，这里说明一下这两种写法都是正确的。第三，Southeast-Asia 翻译的不正确，应该改为Southeast Asian。第四，最后一个分句的翻译上have their应该改为has its，dance应该改为dancing。
改正后的译文: As the Chinese migrate abroad，lion dance became world-renowned, especially in Southeast-Asia countries, but every country and region has its own dancing style.
【我的译文】
Lion dance is a traditional dancing form in China, which can be often seen in important festivals and grand activities. Lion dance originated from the Three Kingdoms Period, with a 1000-year history. Lion dance was always performed by two people. One played the lion’s head and the other played the lion’s body and tail. They perform all kinds of lion’s actions with the music played by gongs and drums. As the Chinese go overseas, lion dance is world-famous, especially in Southeast Asian countries. However, each country and region has its own dancing style.
【参考译文】
Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in China, which can be often seen in important festivals and great events. With a history of over 1,000 years, lion dance can date back to the Three Kingdoms Period. There are usually two performers in lion dance, one handling the lion's head, and the other playing the body and the tail. They perform all kinds of lion's movements to the music played by gongs and drums. As the Chinese migrate abroad, lion dance is famous all over the world, especially in Southeast Asian countries; however, each country and region has its own dancing style.
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