*Foshan Lion Head

*Foshan Lion Head

Nominating Unit: City of Foshan

Foshan lion head silk figure is a type of traditional folk craft and art of City of Foshan, Guangdong Province. It allegedly originated from the Ming Dynasty with the emergence of lion dance. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the Li family in Shilupu began to make a living by making lion’s head, and it has become an heirloom since then. Lion’s head made by the Li family is the most representative in Foshan lion head making due to its excellent craftsmanship,which has pushed the prosperity of Foshan lion head making. Since the founding of the People’ Republic of China, the annual output of Foshan lion head has reached 8000, and have been sold to more than 20 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, Europe and America. Now The making industry is mainly distributed in Chancheng, Shunde, Nanhai, Sanshui and Gaoming of City of Foshan.

Foshan lion head is made with bamboo strips, canes, paper, silk, cloth, fur, etc., featuring delicate craftsmanship, light weight and durability. One big trait of Foshan Lion Head is that it borrows from the facial painting in operas, and portrays ancient heroes such as Liu Bei with impersonated and exaggerative styles. It specially favors abstract facial mask styles with red and black color, indicating the five generals under Lei Bei, namely, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, which accents the prowess of the lion’s head, and echoes the local’s hero worship. The details of the lion’s head are also very high demanding. There are lion’s eyebrows which are called “dual fish fighting a pearl”, lion’s cheeks which are called “dual dragon fighting a pearl”, as well as many interesting horn styles such as turtle horns, elephant trunk noses, tiger horns, dragon horns, eagle horns, etc. Its decoration echoes the personalities of the historical figures it renders. For example, the lion head depicting Zhang Fei has a black face and a mustache, with black fur balls. The main colors include red, yellow, green, and toned with black, all of which are favored by the locals.

Foshan lion head silk figuring combines many artistic elements such as opera, painting, decoration into one, and its styling techniques are very unique and features strong locality, humanitarian connotation. It is deeply loved by overseas Chinese and also collected by overseas Chinese community in Indonesia and Singapore.(https://www.daowen.com)

To cope with large number of lion dance competitions and reduce the cost and weight of lion’s head, the material, painting and assembling of lion’s head have been simplified in recent years, and the traditional features are significantly lost. The number of craftsmen who are familiar with traditional techniques are only two now. Foshan lion head silk figuring is endangered with a lack of transmitters, and urgent rescuing and protecting measures are called for.

Foshan lion head silk figuring was enlisted into the list of the second batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.