Jewelry with Silver Medallion (Modern)Shenzhen Museum
What is a Qilin?
The Qilin, also known as Chinese unicorn is one of the four sacred animals (Qilin, Dragon, Phoenix and Turtle) in Chinese mythology. It's seen as a creature of great power and wisdom, and its appearance was a sign of good fortune.
Worship before the Qilin dance performance in Yongshengtang in 2004 by Zhang XiaochunShenzhen Museum
What is a Qilin dance?
Qilin represents auspiciousness, prosperity and peace, and similar to the lion dance and dragon dance, it mostly appears in festivals such as the Lunar New Year and religious events. The Qilin dance is especially prevalent in the Cantonese and Hakka cultures.
Dozing off during the Qilin dance performance by Li XinglinShenzhen Museum
How to perform a Qilin dance?
The Qilin dancing is mainly performed by moving the Qilin's head to imitate the movements of animals like cats and tigers, such as head shaking, tail wagging, and playing.
It also integrates basic martial arts steps, and squatting, lying, bending, rising, hopping, and jumping.
Qilin dance performer Zhang Xinhua's dancing moves by Li XinglinShenzhen Museum
The use of martial arts routines symbolizes the guardian nature of the Qilin.
Instrumental accompaniment during Qilin dance by Li XinglinShenzhen Museum
The culture of using the dancing Qilin for traditional folk dances and to portray the festive customs of the Hakka people has gradually permeated into the cultural life of local people, and has slowly become a characteristic part of the folk culture in the Bantian region.
