Research On Lichuan White Lion Dance From The Perspective Of Semiotics

As one of the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects,"Lichuan Dance White Lion" is the crystallization of local folk culture,containing strong local cultural characteristics,and is deeply loved by the people of Lichuan.With the promotion of the cultural confidence strategy and the emphasis on the protection of intangible cultural heritage,research on traditional ethnic sports and folk customs has been deepening.However,its related research is only based on project inheritance and protection,and involves insufficient research on micro level cognition and communication,which is difficult to deeply stimulate public recognition of its culture.Therefore,it is particularly important and urgent to conduct semiotic research on folk sports.On the basis of consulting semiotic literature and ethnography,combined with the results of field investigations in the past six months,this article conducts a study of the Lichuan White Lion Dance from the perspective of semiotics.Using the "symbol trisection method" to study the formation,cognition,and communication process of the dance white lion symbol,and then using the "symbol self" and "exploring community" theories to explore the relationship between the dance white lion symbol communication and community.From the perspective of semiotics,the article first explores the cultural connotation of the project through research on the iconicity,indicative,and prescriptive attributes of the Lichuan dance white lion,clarifying the symbolization process of the Lichuan dance white lion,and then studies the reflexivity,consistency,and materiality of the "symbolic self" of the dance white lion based on the characteristics of symbolic communication,Finally,using history as a time clue to study the exploration of the Lichuan Dance White Lion community and the sense of community identity gained through the dissemination of symbols among communities,the following conclusions are drawn:(1)The Lichuan White Lion Dance has undergone a process of symbolizing the dance white lion object,the dance white lion symbol,and the dance white lion interpretation item.It is also a process of symbol from cognition to dissemination.The dancing white lion symbol is the representation form of the white lion object,and the dancing white lion interpretation item is the continuation of the meaning expansion of the white lion symbol.(2)The white lion symbols of Lichuan dance are divided into iconicity symbols,indicator symbols,and protocol symbols according to the symbol trisection method.The white lion iconographic symbol is the most intuitive way to recognize symbols,with rich explanatory items from the human body’s visual,auditory,and spatial senses;There is a motivational referential relationship between the white lion deictic symbol and the symbolic object,which distinguishes the vector direction of cognition of phenomena such as concepts,classification,and temporal order from natural,artificial,and artistic perspectives;The convention and dissemination of the white lion symbol make the interpretation of the white lion symbol accurate and effective.(3)The symbolic self of the Lichuan Dance White Lion is restored upward to three levels: symbolic interaction,social organization,and culture,reflecting the reflexivity,consistency,and materiality of the symbolic self of the Lichuan Dance White Lion.The reflexivity is mainly reflected in the high degree of correlation between the symbolic self of the white lion in Lichuan dance and social background;The consistency is manifested in the organic unity of the community and individual concepts of the Lichuan dance white lion symbol;Materiality is reflected in the materialization of the Lichuan Dance White Lion Symbol Self in its production techniques and interpretation items that are not limited by time and space.(4)Tracing back to the historical origin of the Lichuan dance white lion,the dance white lion experienced three periods of formation and development,prosperity,decline,and recovery.Under historical and social backgrounds,the final interpretation of the dance white lion symbol spread,forming a community of inquiry into the Lichuan dance white lion.The common interpretation of the dance white lion symbol spread,and individuals in the community also generated a sense of community identity.