Post-95s inheritor revolutionizes Chinese lion dance

Under the night sky, luminous lions leap and dance to the rhythm, performing spectacular moves and drawing enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Photo shows Li Zujie's luminous lions during a lion dance performance for the 2020 Spring Festival Gala at the sub-venue in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

These luminous lions are the creation of Li Zujie, a post-95 intangible cultural heritage inheritor. Through his efforts, the luminous lions have evolved through three design iterations, not only becoming a viral sensation in China but also finding their way to more than 20 countries and regions worldwide, including Malaysia and Singapore.

Li was born into a family engaged in lion dance for generations in Suixi county, Zhanjiang city, south China's Guangdong Province, known as the "hometown of Chinese lion dance."

With a long history, the Suixi-style lion dance, as a branch of the Guangdong lion dance, was included in the first batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list as early as 2006.

A lion dancer performs with a luminous lion during an activity. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Li's father is a national-level representative inheritor of the Guangdong lion dance, while his mother is a representative inheritor of the provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Suixi lion head crafting techniques.

Under his parents' guidance, Li developed a keen interest in lion dance from an early age.

Li vividly recalled every milestone in his lion dance journey—from the early days of practicing basic skills, to performing as a drummer in his third grade of primary school and finally taking up the lion head for a performance in sixth grade. Each improvement filled him with pride and kindled his hope of adding new highlights to the Suixi lion dance.

"During winter and summer breaks, I would help my parents with crafting tasks, like installing the lions' eyes and headdresses," Li said. His parents' hands-on instruction in bamboo framing and parameter adjustments quickly honed his crafting skills.

"Perhaps it was learning lion dance and crafting techniques from such a young age that made me develop a habit of studying the characteristics of different teams' lion heads and equipment," Li said. In 2007, at just 12 years old, he was struck by foreign teams using illuminated decorations on their drums during a competition. This sparked his ambition to innovate with lion heads.

A nighttime performance in 2013 prompted Li to develop luminous lions. "The venue was quite dark, making it difficult for the audience to see our movements clearly. I wondered if attaching light strips to the lion would dramatically enhance the atmosphere and visual appeal of evening performances."

Li Zujie works on a lion head. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Li wasted no time putting his idea into practice. While studying in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, he would go to markets to select materials and learn technical skills after class.

His hard work paid off. After about six months of experimentation, the first-generation luminous lion prototype was successfully developed.

By customizing higher-quality LED strips, larger-capacity batteries, and optimizing circuit placement to accommodate dance movements, Li's team improved the performance of the second-generation luminous lions.

In recent years, Li and his luminous lions have graced over 20 major galas and events, including the Chinese TV show "Charm China" in 2017, the opening ceremony of the 4th Annual International Jackie Chan Action Movie Week in 2018, and the 2020 Spring Festival Gala at the sub-venue in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

After the second-generation luminous lions gained fame, Li received a flood of orders and constant performance invitations. Yet he didn't rest on his laurels. After three years of refinement, he incorporated digital control and programmable lighting technology, enabling the third-generation luminous lions to change colors in sync with music and movement patterns.

Beyond preserving lion dance traditions and crafting lion heads, Li has leveraged short videos and e-commerce platforms to further spread the Suixi lion dance.

In March 2018, Li posted his first short video about the Suixi lion dance on the popular short video platform Douyin. To date, his account on the platform has posted over 1,000 videos featuring training and performance clips, lion head crafting processes, and related cultural and creative products, attracting more than 200,000 followers. One video featuring breathtaking lion dance moves garnered over 210,000 likes on Douyin alone, with total views exceeding 100 million across different platforms.

Online popularity has boosted offline performances and sales. "Since we started producing short videos, we've received dozens of performance invitations through online channels, and many people have placed orders for luminous lions after seeing our videos," Li said.

Today, Li's family factory sells over 10,000 lion dance-related products annually, reaching more than 20 countries and regions worldwide. Last year alone, the factory sold over 400 luminous lions. In addition, miniature lion dance-themed cultural products become best sellers in Li's online store.

In recent years, Li and his team have actively promoted lion dance through school programs, educational tours, and training classes.

"Currently, our team has introduced lion dance to three schools, teaching over 100 students. Whenever possible, I make sure to teach in person," he said.

Li has contributed wholeheartedly to the preservation of lion dance. "The lion dance industry is no longer just about making a living like in the past. As new-generation inheritors, we should focus more on how to expand the reach of Chinese traditional culture," Li noted.