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The Kirin of TinSum Village has a long history. During festivals such as the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Kirin team visits every household in Tin sum Village to wish them a happy new year. The customary ritual of "lighting lanterns" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Taiping Qingjiao Festival held every ten years, and even wedding celebrations will also be celebrated.
Many villages in the New Territories of Hong Kong also have the custom of dancing the unicorn, which is divided into two schools: Dongguan and Hakka. Our Tin Sam Village is based on the Hakka unicorn.
The Qilin dance requires a lot of skill and the steps are very difficult. To dance well, one must not only understand waist and horse movements, but also have a good foundation in Kung Fu.
The accompaniment music of the Qilin Dance is ancient music that has been passed down since ancient times, and the main instruments are gongs, drums, and "da cha", none of which can be missing.
The "Da Cha" is the soul of the three instruments. It can lead the Qilin to jump and dance to the rhythm of the essence. The gong follows the rhythm of the Da Cha and joins in. It can be described as singing and responding. The drum sounds brisk and a little fast.
The Qilin's dance steps must follow the music, and the music must also be played in conjunction with the Qilin's dance steps. It can be said that the visual and auditory integration is the only way to achieve perfection.
In 1976, during the Tianxin Village Taiping Qingjiao Festival, Tianxin Village recruited a group of young people to participate in the Qilin Dance for the first time. A group of young men in their teens, led by Mr. Wei Changshou, practiced day and night.
On the day of the ceremony, the Young Unicorn Team came to welcome the guests, and people from all walks of life praised the performance as spectacular.
The Qilin dance is passed down from master to apprentice from generation to generation. As the younger generation has been less involved in recent years, I hope that the traditional custom of the Qilin dance can continue.
The head of the Qilin is like a dragon, the shape is like a horse, the body is like a deer, the tail is like an ox's tail, there are colorful fur patterns on the back, yellow fur on the abdomen, the mouth can spit fire, and the voice is like thunder. According to legend, it only appears in times of peace and prosperity or when there are saints in the world. Xu Shen of the Han Dynasty wrote in "Shuowen Jiezi": "Qilin is a kind beast, with the body of a moose, the tail of an ox and one horn; 麐(麟) is a female Qilin."
Kirin, also known as Qilin, is a mythical beast in ancient Chinese mythology and legends, often confused with dragon horse. In ancient China, Qilin symbolized auspiciousness. Male beasts are called Qilin and female beasts are called Lin. It is said that they can live for 2,000 years. They have a gentle temperament. Although they have weapons that can attack enemies, they do not hurt people or animals, and do not trample on insects, flowers and plants, so they are called benevolent beasts.
Because a unicorn appeared when Confucius was born, people believed that the unicorn would bring sons to people and make the family prosperous. Therefore, there is a saying that the unicorn brings children, and outstanding children are called "unicorn children" or "lin children". Since then, the "unicorn bringing children" painting has gradually appeared among the people.
As a woodcut painting, the couplet "The son of a unicorn in the sky, the number one scholar on earth" is engraved on it, which is regarded as a good omen. It is generally believed that praying to the unicorn can help one give birth to a son.
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