Yesterday was the seveneth day of the Chinese New Year, which is also called "Yan Yuck" (Everyone's birthday). Back twenty years ago, shops generally returned to business on this day after the long Chinese New Year break. And it was on the seventh day when people could try their luck whether they could see the Chinese lions or even dragons dancing to give well wishes to shop owners.
Colin Bradbury, who gave us a mini review of his GRD2 some week ago, was lucky enough to see a dragon dance and took some photos of it. He is going to share his luck with us. Thank you, Colin.
By Colin Bradbury: I took the children to Sai Kung (literally, West Tribute; aka the backyard garden of Hong Kong) square last Sunday and at the last minute put the GRDII in my pocket. Just to prove the old saying that "the best camera is the one you have with you when you need it", while we were there the local lion dance around the square and in and out of the shops happened. I grabbed the camera and followed them around for half an hour with the GRDII doing a great job of wide angle close ups and a quick candid shot of some of the spectators. I'm always impressed with what the camera can do in a variety of situations and,most importantly, I had it with me when I needed it. With two children and a dog in tow, there's no way I would have taken my big, heavy DSLR with me. And for the photo of the local spectators, I was sitting on the floor with the dog (every street photographer should have a dog), watching the dragon dance, and I just held the GRDII at ground level, glanced at the screen to make sure the ladies were in the frame, and shot. That's the type of picture that I REALLY couldn't have taken with a DSLR.
The more I use the GRDII, the more I love it.
Kung hei fat choy!*
(* "Kung hei fat choy" has nothing to do with anything fat or slim. It is a well wishing phrase for the Chinese New Year, meaning "Wishing you a good fortune".)
(Published with courtesy and copyright of Colin Bradbury)
Extra information by Nevin: A dragon dance is started by an eye inking ritual. Inking the eyes of the dragon, done by the most important big wig on the scene, has a connotation of praying to the gods to bestow spirits on the dragon. Having turned sacred, the dragon can start dancing around to give people blessings of a good weather and big harvests for the year.
Like the Chinese lions, the dragons branch off into the northern and southern breeds. The main difference lies in the most important part of the dragon, which is the head. In a nutshell, the southern breed has a bigger, heavier head. For that matter, the northern breed is usually chosen for performances to keep the stamina of performers. That said, dancing either dragon is physically demanding. A dragon can be as long as 20 to 100 metres or, even though rarely, 1,000 metres.
Besides the dragon dances in the Chinese New Year, there is also the special "Fo Nong" (Fire Dragon) dance in Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival day and the days before and after. The fire dragon is decorated with joss sticks and the dance in the evening is certainly a must-see in a lifetime.
Although there are religious myths about the origin of Chinese dragons, I learnt from an academic-turned-curator that the dragon was suspected to be an ancient Chinese totem evolved from the Chinese drawings of clouds. For futher reading, go here for thumbnails of the northern (top), southern (second) and fire (bottom) dragons and a brief religious explanation on their origin.
Extra information by Nevin: A dragon dance is started by an eye inking ritual. Inking the eyes of the dragon, done by the most important big wig on the scene, has a connotation of praying to the gods to bestow spirits on the dragon. Having turned sacred, the dragon can start dancing around to give people blessings of a good weather and big harvests for the year.
Like the Chinese lions, the dragons branch off into the northern and southern breeds. The main difference lies in the most important part of the dragon, which is the head. In a nutshell, the southern breed has a bigger, heavier head. For that matter, the northern breed is usually chosen for performances to keep the stamina of performers. That said, dancing either dragon is physically demanding. A dragon can be as long as 20 to 100 metres or, even though rarely, 1,000 metres.
Besides the dragon dances in the Chinese New Year, there is also the special "Fo Nong" (Fire Dragon) dance in Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival day and the days before and after. The fire dragon is decorated with joss sticks and the dance in the evening is certainly a must-see in a lifetime.
Although there are religious myths about the origin of Chinese dragons, I learnt from an academic-turned-curator that the dragon was suspected to be an ancient Chinese totem evolved from the Chinese drawings of clouds. For futher reading, go here for thumbnails of the northern (top), southern (second) and fire (bottom) dragons and a brief religious explanation on their origin.
A last note: There are some photos of lion dance on peg array here and here, which I mentioned but had not a chance to photograph for the Chinese Lions post.
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