Nian Monster

For Chinese people the lion is a holy animal. That is why lions play an important role in Chinese mythology. In China lions and people can be friends. An old Chinese story tells about a lion, lion dances and New Year:

A long time ago a strange creature appeared in China and horrified and ate men and animals. The fast and fierce creature was called nian, which sounds like the Chinese word for year. Neither the fox nor the tiger could fight the nian effectively and in despair the people asked the lion for help. The lion shook his mane, rushed towards the creature and wounded it. The nian hurried away with the tail between its legs. But it announced to return for taking revenge.

A year later the nian did return. This time the lion couldn't help the people. He was too busy with guarding the emperor's gate. So the villagers decided to do the job themselves. Out of bamboo and cloth they produced an image of the lion. Two men crawled inside it and approached the nian. The lion pranced and roared and the monster fled away again. This is the reason why on the eve of the Chinese New Year, lions always dance. They are frightening evil away for yet another year.

Nian Monster's response to "Red"

In Chinese mythology, a Nian (simplified Chinese: å¹´å…½; traditional Chinese: 年獸; pinyin: nián shòu) is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and is afraid of the color red. The Chinese Lion Dance is known to have originated from the legend of the Nian. The tradition began when a Nian attacked a village. After the attack, the villagers discussed how to make the Nian leave them alone. Eventually they came up with a plan where drums, plates and empty bowls were hit and firecrackers were thrown, causing loud banging sounds that would scare off the Nian. This scared the Nian, and since that time, the Nian has not appeared in the village again. The Nian is still believed to exist, but that it is scattered about the jungle and mountains, never to appear in front of a human again.

People's attitude toward the monster Nian

The Nian Monster of the Chinese Spring Festival: According to the legend, to avoid the attack of the Nian Monster, the villagers discussed how to make the Nian leave them alone. Eventually they came up with a plan where drums, plates and empty bowls were hit and firecrackers were thrown, causing loud banging sounds that would scare off the Nian.