Dragon dancing is a traditional dance within Chinese culture that requires a large team of people to operate the dragon. When carrying out this dance, each performer would hold poles that span across the dragon’s long body, making wave-like motions to characterize the movements of a real dragon, accompanied by traditional Chinese music. Dragon dancing originated in the Han dynasty, and although it is similar to lion dancing in symbolizing good fortune and driving away evil spirits, this ritualistic practice was also performed to ask for rain during times of drought. Nowadays, this dance is performed during festivals during the Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The image on the left is one of the oldest surviving dragon dance costumes, named Moo Lung. It was made in 1878 with paper mache, silk, hand-blown glass, and feathers and made its last appearance in the Bok Kai Parade in 1930. Inside Moo Lung's mouth, as seen in many dragon dance puppet designs, is a ball sitting on its tongue. In certain dragon dance performances, there will be another individual holding a staff with a ball at the top in front of the dragon, simulating some sort of chase. Some believe that this spherical object is meant to represent wisdom, yang spiritual energy, or even the earth.

From the collection of: The New-York Historical Society