Dujuan and Bailing began telling the story of the lion-dance tradition in Shifang Town. During the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, Shifang Town had already begun to take shape. The town's divisions began with a pond in its center, about ten mu in size. The pond sat right on the boundary running through the middle of town. Over the years, the eastern and western ends of town had often quarreled over the dividing line, and there had been several brawls. Later, an outsider named Zhu Biao, relying on his wealth and on his son holding a high government post, seized the pond. Fearing the villagers might rebel, he allowed only one side to raise and catch fish in the pond each year. Every Spring Festival, the finest lion dancers from the east and west of the village held competitions in their respective areas. Zhu Biao invited an old master to judge, and the winner earned the right to use the pond the following year.
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.
