What would be an appreciative, but critical perspective on the Chinese lion dance?
It is undeniable that the lion dance contains superstitious elements. For example, the dance is often performed to bring good luck to business owners and to ward off evil spirits. These superstitious beliefs are inconsistent with Christian belief in the sovereign providence of God. Hence, some Christians have expressed uneasiness when they witness lion dances within church premises. It must be acknowledged that these churches sponsor lion dance in their premises as an initiative of good will to build bridges to the Chinese community. Sponsoring lion dances during the Chinese Spring festival or Chinese New Year provides a most fitting occasion for churches to demonstrate the fact that Chinese Christians need not abandon their cultural heritage when they embrace the Christian faith.
On the other hand, one wonders whether these churches may have unwittingly committed religious syncretism, the process where the Christian community uncritically adopts superstitious beliefs which are contrary to the fundamental tenets of Christianity. Caution is in order when one notices that the clown who is dressed in monk’s robe and who dances playfully as he taunts the lion is called Big Headed Buddha (大頭佛 Dàtóu fú). It is questionable whether Christians should participate in lion dances which are performed to welcome the Chinese God of Wealth (财神 Caishen). The danger of syncretism and idolatry seems to be lurking around the corner.
Christians should always be mindful of the Second Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Exodus 20: 3-5). The Apostle Paul likewise declared, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” – yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Cor. 8: 5-6).
It is evident that ancient superstitions remain influential within Chinese community despite the march of secularism. As such, some Christians who have experienced salvation as deliverance from the bondage of fear generated by superstitions (Col. 1:13) feel tempted to discard much of their Chinese cultural heritage, to the extent of losing their Chinese identity. This should not be the case. As the Book of Revelation testifies, believers who are saved in Christ retain their ethnic and cultural identity (Rev. 7:9): “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Likewise, the vision given in Isaiah 60: 1-22 describes the gathering, transformation and enjoyment of the material and cultural wealth of the nations in the New Jerusalem.1 Richard Mouw writes, “And now these entities are gathered into the re newed Jerusalem. But as they appear in this transformed commercial center, they are no longer signs of pagan cultural strength or displays of alien power. Nor are they objects to be envied from a distance. Here in the transformed City these vessels and goods serve a very different purpose…Each of the items mentioned is now to be put to the service of God and his people.” See, Richard Mouw, When the Kings Come Marching In: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem (Eerdmans, 1983), pp. 6-9. This vision should encourage Chinese Christians to bring their (sanctified) Chinese cultural heritage to the eschatological celebration in the New Jerusalem!
The visions given in Isaiah 60: 1-22 and the Book of Revelation remind Chinese Christians not to abandon but to retain and redeem their cultural heritage. Christians should work towards possessio or taking possession of culture and making them new in Christ.2(J.H. Bavinck, Introduction to the Science of Mission (Presb. & Reformed, 1964) pp. 178-179. The challenge is how Christians may creatively adapt the lion dance so that the cultural and spiritual themes associated with the lion dance are infused with Christian meaning.
Possessio of the lion dance would require churches to gather and train a team to become competent in performing the lion dance. The dance could be creatively choreographed to narrate the story of creation, its fall and redemption by the Creator who is represented by the lion. Obviously, the superstitious elements of bringing luck and warding off evil, and the welcoming of the God of Wealth will have to be discarded. The adaptions of the lion dance may include the following sequence:
1) In the spirit of the Spring Festival which celebrates the emergence of new life from the barrenness of winter in spring, the dance begins with the creation of the world. The lion (c.f. Aslan of Narnia in C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew?) enters the stage with a flourish as it dances with accompanying vigorous music (drums and gongs) with signature kung fu movements and rhythm which emphasize the creative power and character of the lion.
2) The lion leaves the stage. A mischievous and evil clown appears. His dance portrays how he desecrates creation and oppresses various creatures.
3) The oppressed creature & creation groan and cry out for liberation – a scene with melancholic dance music and movements.
4) The victory of the lion – the lion reappears, fights and overcomes the evil clown. The Lamb is revealed as the victorious Lion, the King of kings who returns to create the new heaven and new earth. (Rev. 19: 11-16)
5) Grand finale – a joyous, celebratory song and dance about the new creation and ending with readings from the Book of Revelation – or a scene with songs extolling glory and praise to the lion of Judah who is the Lamb who was slain to bring redeem to the world.
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5: 9-10).
Can the superstitious elements of the original lion dance be replaced by forms and themes which are consistent with the biblical teaching of creation and redemption by the Lamb-Lion of Judah? The task is not easy, but it is worth a try. May God raise a group Christians with discernment and passion to redeem the lion dance for his glory.
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Creative idea. Worth a try. First attempt should be almost flawless. Otherwise, the complexity and controversy may lead to misconception. Worse …. idolatry.
First thing first. We need to identify elements of the dance not consonant with our faith so as to avoid including them. E.g the new lion is commissioned by dotting its eyes.
The Chinese Lion itself is not a good symbol. Recreate the lion’s face. Secondly. It’s not very dignified to represent Jesus.prancing about like Lion dancers do. Jesus Almighty God, Alpha and Omega – I think it is demeaning to represent Him as prancing lion!
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Performance of lion dance is both cultural and spiritual the spiritual aspects is often overlooked and is not in line with Christian belief.
The Lion of Judah never dance but roar with kingly authority ushering in the end of times.
Looks like a recurring concern is that engagement with the lion dance may result in unwitting adoption of pagan superstitions into the church. The concern is valid. It cannot stressed enough that the modifications to the lion dance must be thorough to ensure that all the superstitions & pagan elements are weeded out. Only then do we creatively choreographed the dance movements so that they point to the creativity, awesome power (which overcomes evil) & grace (some lion dances can be graceful) of the lion.
I suspect many of my readers who are not familiar with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien may miss the the real big picture in which the lion dance is just one of the set pieces.
I got my inspiration when reading C.S. Lewis’ book, the Magician’s Nephew and J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, The Silmarillion in the 1970s. For Lewis, the lion, Aslan created the universe and the earth with music – a symphony of divine harmony and power which brings sublimely beautiful worlds from the Void.
Tolkien’s Silmarillion chapter on “Ainulindale” depicts how Eru or Iluvatar (the Creator) sang to bring out creation and earth (Arda), and invited the other ainurs (divine spirits, holy ones) to join him in the song/symphony of creation.
With this grand tale in mind, I ask in my post – How to modify creatively the lion dance from the point of view of Christian aesthetics? I am hopeless when it comes to arts and aesthetics. I hope a team of our talented Christian musicians (with passion and audacity, but informed by strongly grounded biblical sensibilities) will take up the challenge to compose the songs & choreograph the dance of the Lion in creation etc.
I have in mind a much bigger picture than just a lion dance – it is to gain a glimpse into the awesome power of God displayed in creation and his wisdom in choreographing the story and song of redemption.
Making the right creative adaptations to the lion dance would be an enormous challenge. Realistically, our artists need not attempt to achieve everything dreamt of, but some small steps in the right direction would be a good start.