Eight-year-old Jiao Zhanfei beats a large drum with all his might. He waves the mallets up and down in various gestures, and the beating drums shake one's heart and make one feel intoxicated. Ten-year-old Tan Zhanpeng holds a bronze gong in his left hand and beats the gong with a mallet. The sounds of the gong lift people's spirits.

Among the eight cymbal players, three attract the most attention. Five-year-old Huang Xiu plays his cymbals to the rhythm of the drums and gongs, and he looks serious. Seven-year-old Tan Shiwan plays her cymbals rhythmically and forcefully. Two-year-old Kang Kang follows suit. His ten-minute performance brings cheers from the audience, and many of the onlookers can hardly keep from laughing because they see that the place where Kang Kang stands is wet: the little boy has wet his pants during the performance.

This is a lion-dance performance in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. The performers are members of the Awakening Lion Troupe under the Zhaoqing Electric Power Installation Company. The troupe is a Bronze-Medal winner of the International Lion-Dance Championship and has a team of adults and a team of children. Both teams have participated in many celebrations and grand gatherings.

The children's team was established four years ago. The oldest member is 16 years old, and the youngest is two. Most of the team members are children of employees of the Electric Power Installation Company. They have fallen in love with the lion dance, and they practice hard every night in the Zhaoqing Sports Center. They study every movement carefully and have an impressive bearing when practicing Chinese martial arts.

"Chinese martial arts form the basic skills for the lion dance," says the coach. "Quick and solid step movements and strong health are also necessary. The first requirement for a lion dancer is to learn the basic skills of Chinese martial arts, which requires unremitting effort."

As the drums and gongs beat, the small lion dancers jump onto iron stakes two meters high, making all sorts of movements to express the joy of lions after a triumph achieved through many hardships. Many of the movements on the stakes are difficult and dangerous even for adults, but the children perform them vividly.

Three years ago, the children's team participated in the National Lion-Dance Championship in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The team won a Silver Medal for excellent performance, and scored only 0.05 points less than the champion. Some of the members returned crying and decided to work harder to win first place in the World Lion-Dance Championship.

(China Pictorial 06/14/2001)