Lion head production

Foshan lion head has a long history with perfect technology, as one of the most unique traditional handicrafts of Guangdong province. Lion head is a traditional folk art crafts and an equipment of folk festivities and martial art and sports. It prospered in the Emperor Qianlong period of Qing dynasty. Foshan Lion head is the representative of lion head arts in South China and it has an exclusive position in Chinas exports.

Foshan Lion head can be divided into three kinds, Wen(means literatus) lion, Wu(means martial art) lion and Shao(means teenager) lion. According to the mask and color differences, it can be divided into Liu, Guan, Zhang(they are the hero of China masterpiece Romance of Three Kingdoms)  and Cai（means colour)） lion as well. As the representative of the Southern Lion, Foshan Lion head has anthropomorphic shape, typical folk color, abundant decorations and light, durable technology…etc, which are full of distinctively local and art characteristics. All these make Foshan lion romantic, powerful, funny, vivid and unique. Foshan Lion Head has been listed as the second batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage since the year of 2008.

 “These are Liu Bei Lion, Guan Gong Lion and Zhang Fei Lion, they are carved according to the opera figures, which is rarely seen among the lion heads in other places.” The representative and inheritor who has devoted his lifetime of more than 50 years to making the festoon lion heads, Li Wei said. His love towards the lion heads was beyond his words. Li Wei is the fifth generation successor on behalf of the “Foshan Li’s Lion Head”.

Lion dancing to eliminate evil and gain fortune

In ancient times, Foshan people regarded lion dancing as a means of eliminating evil and bad luck. As a result, a lion head is also named as “Rui Lion”(lucky lion). There was a legend, an unicorn monster with big eyes and mouth was found in Foshan area in the Ming Dynasty. The monster ruined the crops and did harm to livestock, resulting in a turmoil and panic among local people. So the residents in Foshan decided to make fierce and violent lion heads as the image of “king of the beasts” with bamboo splits and colorful paper, then people made the lion body with colored cloth, which finally would form a “lion”. It would surely scare away the evils when a strong man wore this “lion” and beat the drum. After this practice, it has become a custom to use this lion to drive the evil away and spread over the folk.

During the Emperor Qianlong period of Qing dynasty, Li Family started its business of making lion heads. Rica Lion, which can date back to more than 200 years ago, was famous for its sophisticated craft and it had become the symbol of Foshan festoon lion heads. Currently Foshan Lion Head finds a good sale in over 20 countries and regions including Southeast Asia, Europe and America. In 2008, Foshan festoon lion head was listed in the second batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

 “Li Xiangtai” lion head as the first option

71-year-old Li Wei is a heritor of Foshan festoon lion head. When he was receiving the interview from Xinhua net, he introduced that who originally made the lion head for a living was Li Zhenhui during Emperor Dao-guang period in Qing Dynasty. He once opened an old and famous shop called “Li Xiangxin” on Jigang street (纪岗街). Before the liberation, Li Wei’s father Li Hua has opened an old lion head making shop named “Li Xiangtai”. The lion head made out of this shop possessed sophisticated craft and became the first choice of many martial art gymnasiums.

When walking into Li Wei’s home, it seems as if entering a world of lion heads. There are various kinds of lion heads in different colors and shapes lying in every corner of the house. Many pictures that Li Wei took part in various activities of making lion heads were presented on the left wall, while the right wall showed some guiding pictures of learning to make lion heads.  

Li Wanzhen, Li Wei’s younger sister, also a heritor of lion heads.

Li Wanzhen has been able to help her families to make the lion head when she was 7 or 8 years old and her home was filled with stuff of lion heads. She learnt to make the lion head from her mother at the age of 10 and she replaced her mother to continue with the lion head making work in Foshan musical instrument factory when she graduated from junior high school at 16.

In the 1990s, a Wong Fei-hung film “Once Upon a Time in ChinaIII that was shot by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark dominated to customize a batch of Li’s lion head. The lion head wore on Wong Fei-hung to show his unique skills was made by Li Family.

"Making a lion head requires four major procedures and 1,300 steps," Li said.

Due to the complicated process, many young people do not want to learn the craft, but Lis daughter, Zhou Jiaxin, a former primary school teacher, is studying the skills, keeping the craft alive for another generation.