Nian
Encyclopedia
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
, a Nian is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
, it comes out of hiding to attack people, and prefers children. Weaknesses of the Nian are purported to be a sensitivity to loud noises, and a fear of the colour red. The Chinese Lion Dance
Lion dance
Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is often mistakenly referred to as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon needs many people...
is known to have originated from the legend of the Nian. The tradition has its origins in a story of a Nian's attack on a village. After the attack, the villagers discussed how to make the Nian leave them in peace. The traditions of firecrackers and red robes found in many Lion Dance portrayals originates from the plans the villagers had in which drums, plates and empty bowls were hit, red robes were worn, and firecrackers were thrown, causing loud banging sounds that they hoped to intimidate the Nian. According to this same myth, the Nian has not appeared in the village again. The Nian is still believed to exist; however, it is not believed to ever make an appearance to a human again - a result of the successful plan.
See also
- Chinese mythology in popular cultureChinese mythology in popular cultureElements of Chinese mythology have appeared many times in popular culture.- Dragon turtle :*Bowser, the arch-nemesis of Mario in the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise, is a well known dragon turtle....
- Guild WarsGuild WarsGuild Wars is an episodic series of online 3D fantasy role-playing games developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft. Although often defined as an MMORPG the developers define it as a CORPG due to significant differences from the MMORPG genre. It provides two main modes of gameplay—a cooperative...
(where Nians perform as an enemy) - Three DeliveryThree DeliveryThree Delivery is an American animated sitcom and action adventure, inspired by kung-fu movies. It is created by Larry Schwarz, who also created similar series, Kappa Mikey and Speed Racer: The Next Generation. It is a collaboration between Animation Collective in Manhattan, New York and the...
(animated show where the Nian appeared in an episode) - Yule GoatYule GoatThe Yule Goat is one of the oldest Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbols and traditions. Originally denoting the goat that was slaughtered during the Germanic pagan festival of Yule, "Yule Goat" now typically refers to a goat-figure made of straw...