獅子，古作獅子，為西域各國進貢而來的珍禽異獸，威武勇猛，為百獸之王。原產自非洲、西亞和印度的獅子，經由絲路進貢到國內，當時獅子被記錄成各種譯名，由梵語 "Simha" 翻譯成『狻猊』或『狻糜』，後來取第一音『獅』，加個犬字旁，成為現在習慣的『獅子』了。東漢年間，佛教傳入中土，象徵智慧的文殊菩薩騎獅傳法，因此獅子普遍被附以極佳的印象，認為是具有神格形象的瑞獸，再加以中國人的想像力大肆發揮，獅子的藝術造形於是展開兩千年的流變和親民化。而在史籍上最早有關舞獅的，首推「舊唐書音樂志」上所記載：「大平樂， 後周武帝時造，亦謂之『五方獅子舞』。獅子鷙獸，出於西南夷天竺獅子國，緻毛為獅，人居其中，像其俛仰馴狎之容。二人持繩秉拂，為習弄之狀。五獅子各立其方位，百四十人歌『太平樂』。舞以足持繩者，服飾作崑崙像。」另外，歐陽修在「新唐書」的禮樂志也有舞獅的記載：「銅拔二，舞者四人，設五方獅子，高丈餘，飾以五色，每獅子有十二人，畫衣持紅拂，首如紅襪，謂之『獅子郎』。」 ，由此可見，在一千多年前，舞獅便是我國的民俗之一。

The lion was not a native animal to the Chinese vase land. It was brought to China as a tribute to the Chinese emperors by the foreign states in western and southern Asia through the Silk Road more than one thousand years ago. However, Chinese were immediately impressed by the appearance and power of the lion, and regarded it as the king of all animals and the symbol of courage and dignity in ancient China Its Chinese name "shi-zi" came from its name "simha" in Sanskrit. In Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China. According to Buddhist belief, the Bodhisattva of wisdom rode a lion; thus Chinese associated the image of good luck with lion Since then, lions had become part of Chinese people's life and tradition The earliest record about lion dance is found in Yin-Yue-Zhi, a historical account about music and related activities, in Jiou- Tan-Shu (the Old History of Tan Dynasty) According to this record, the earliest lion dance was performed by five "lions", each in one unique color, symbolizing the one of the five directions-East, West South, North, and Middle. The lions danced with a chorus formed by 140 singers According to Xin-Tan-Shu (the New History of Tan Dynasty), each lion was performed by 12 persons together It is clear that Chinese lion dance gained its basic form one thousand years ago This analytical study investigates the related historical accounts of lion dance, so to reflect the development of this unique folk activity and its influence to Chinese folk art.