Recently, a video of a girl's "drunken lion" performance went viral across China. In the video, the pink lion is lively and energetic, with the performer skillfully portraying the actions of sniffing, drinking, and getting drunk. These two senior high school girls are both from Raoping, Chaozhou and recently, reporters visited the Shanglin Folk Lion Dance Association in Huanggang Town to uncover the story behind this "drunken" lion.

The performer of the lion-like head, Yu Yiting, is a student at Chaozhou Jinshan High School and has been practicing lion dance for nearly six years. She confessed, "During practice, I wear sandbags on both hands to lift the lion-like head, which weighs nearly five kilograms. After practicing, my hands shake." The performer of the lion-like tail, Yu Muyi, attends Tianjiabing Experimental Middle School. "As the tail, I often need to support the team member in front of me, so it requires a lot of strength," said Yu Muyi. She added that every afternoon after school, she trains at the base from 5:00 PM until 8:00 or 9:00 PM.

Yu Jingwen, president of the Shanglin Folk Lion Dance Association, explained that most of the team members are aged 12 to 24. Recruits first undergo physical fitness and martial arts training before learning the lion dance, which has a history of several hundred years, known for its unique techniques and martial arts foundation.

Yu Yiting and Yu Muyi are outstanding performers of the "drunken lion" in their team. They believe that girls have a unique advantage when it comes to portraying the playful and cute side of the lion. Yu Yiting said, "The coach asks us to achieve 'unity of human and lion,' so I incorporate the charm of the performance into my daily life." She firmly added, "Through our performance, I hope more people will see that girls can perform lion dance brilliantly because traditional culture should not only be seen but also loved!"

Source: Lingnan on the Cloud

“醉狮”女孩：传统文化不单要被看见，更应该被热爱

近日，一段女生“醉狮”表演视频火爆中国全网。视频中，粉色醒狮灵动活泼，表演者将闻酒、喝酒、醉酒等动作演绎得惟妙惟肖。据悉，这两位高三女生均来自潮州市饶平县，近日记者走访了当地黄冈镇上林民间醒狮协会，探访这头“醉酒”醒狮背后的故事。

表演狮头的余伊婷就读于潮州市金山中学，练狮近六年。她坦言：“练习时，双手各绑沙袋举起近十斤狮头，练完双手都会抖。”而负责狮尾表演的余睦仪，就读于田家炳实验中学，“作为狮子尾部，时常要扛起前面的队友，所以对力量要求特别高。”余睦仪说道，每天下午放学都会来基地，从下午五点训练到晚上八九点。

上林民间醒狮协会会长余静文介绍，队员多在12至24岁，入队后先进行身体锻炼和武术训练，再学习醒狮，传统醒狮已有数百年历史，以独特技巧和武术功底闻名。

余伊婷、余睦仪是队伍中表演“醉狮”的佼佼者。她们认为，女生在表现狮子俏皮可爱的一面有独特优势。余伊婷表示：“教练要求‘人狮合一’，我会把表演时的神韵融入日常。”她坚定地说：“希望通过我们的表演，让更多人看到女生舞狮也能舞得很精彩，因为传统文化不仅要被看到，更应该被热爱！”

文、图 | 羊城晚报全媒体记者 曾柯权 受访者供图
译｜肖凯欣
英文审校｜林佳岱