Chapter 2 Chapter 1 The Germination of Pre-Qin Acrobatics

The emergence of activities such as wrestling and fighting, in addition to entertainment, the main purpose is self-defense and real fighting.In order to survive, people in ancient society had to use simple weapons such as wooden sticks and stones to defend against the attacks and injuries of wild animals, but also had to use unarmed combat methods, such as kicking, wrestling, hugging, pressing, etc. Pushing, pinching and other means of self-defense gradually produced activities such as wrestling, fighting, and lifting tripods, and the popularity of these activities was directly related to the frequent wars in the pre-Qin period.The great military strategist Wu Qi said in "Wu Zi·Expect the Enemy":

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the way of war has undergone significant changes, from the previous combat with chariots to infantry combat. It was against this historical background that King Wuling of Zhao made a decisive decision and advocated "Hu Fu cavalry and shooting" , and soon got the approval and response of the monarchs of various countries.After the formation of infantry combat, due to the rapid development of cavalry and archery activities, it is necessary to have tiger and cardinal warriors in the "one army" who can "carry the tripod lightly, and lighten the military horse" to be able to take the lead in the event of a war and "take the flag and take the general" , head start.Shu Lianghe, the father of the great educator Confucius, was a man of the tigers.According to "Zuo Zhuan·Xianggong Ten Years" records: Once various princes attacked and forced [bi to force] Yang, the soldiers who forced Yang opened the city gate to lure soldiers and horses from all walks of life to enter the city, and then suddenly lowered the "hanging gate" (similar to a gate) Heavy objects), in an attempt to trap the soldiers entering the city to death in the city.At this time, Shu Lianghe "jumped it" with both hands, and after most of the soldiers caught in the trick escaped, he put down the "hanging door" and retreated.In this battle, the warrior of the state of Lu, Di Ju (Sisi) Mi, held up a large armored wheel as a shield with one hand, and swung a big halberd with the other to charge back and forth, killing many enemies.Bian Zhuang and Meng Ben were also famous warriors in the pre-Qin period. Bian Zhuang tried to assassinate two tigers, and his bravery was famous among the princes, so that the Qihou did not dare to send troops to attack Lu ("Historical Records·Chen Zhen Biography"); Jiaolong, Lu Xing does not avoid the Si (si 4) tiger" ("Zi Zi").It is not an easy task to reach this level. Not only must amazing martial arts skills, but also an extremely strong body and amazing strength are required to withstand the arduous struggle.At that time, in order to defend the country, the monarchs of various countries not only needed to recruit many warriors, but some of them were warriors themselves. According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records·Yin Benji", King Zhou of Yin was "extraordinary in talent and fierce in hand". "Historical Records of Justice" quoted "The Century of Emperors" as saying that King Zhou of Yin was able to "draw nine bulls backwards and caress beams and Yizhu".Wang Chong of the Han Dynasty said in "Lunheng Yuzeng Pian" that King Zhou of Yin was able to "stretch the hook with the iron", which was extremely powerful.Fei Lian and Elai under King Zhou could also "strengthen the horns of the rhinoceros and fight the bears and tigers bravely." "Liezi Zhongni" records that King Xuan of Zhou claimed to be able to "crack the leather of the rhinoceros and drag the tail of nine bulls" with both hands. ".

Lifting a tripod is an important way of training and comparing strength in ancient times, similar to lifting a big knife in modern acrobatics, pulling a hard bow and weightlifting competitions in sports.According to the records of "Historical Records Qin Benji", King Wu of Qin likes to compete with his subjects. Once he wrestled with the strong man Meng Shuo, he accidentally "broke the tibia" and died soon. Being implicated, the whole family was killed.It can be seen that this kind of competition is quite fierce and dangerous.Wu Huo was a famous strongman during the Warring States Period. He was favored by King Wu of Qin along with Ren Bi and Meng Shuo. Meng Ke said that he could lift a hundred jun (3000 catties) with strength.Xia Yu was as famous as Meng Ben and Wu Huo. He was a native of Wei. Legend has it that he was able to lift a thousand ounces and was later killed by Tian Bo.Probably because Wuhuo and Xia Yu were the most famous in the pre-Qin period, and there were many legends. Later, not only the names of acrobatic competitions such as "Wuhuo Carrying the Ding" and "Xia Yu Carrying the Ding" were handed down, but also the ancient artists who performed powerful skills , all regard Wu Huo and Xia Yu as their ancestors.

Angle resistance is also a kind of force in ancient times, but it does not rely solely on strength, but a comprehensive martial arts technique of wrestling, grappling, boxing, and hand fighting. It has always been a part of our military training.Later boxing, grappling, bare-handed swordsmanship, and karate and jujitsu, which were later developed in Japan, all originated from this.This kind of fierce fighting is performed exaggeratedly to reflect the spirit of martial arts, and as a means of entertainment, this produced the pre-Qin corner play.All ethnic groups in our country paid attention to totem worship in ancient times, and among all kinds of totems, the worship of dragons is the most common.According to legend, the dragon is a kind of divine beast that can go up to the sky and enter the water, and its changes are unpredictable. It has horns on its head, which are very sharp and can touch people. ”) is a moving mythical story that opens mountains with tentacles and draws trails to lead the way.The head-to-head action in the Jiao-Dai play is the imitation and worship of the dragon in the ancient totem.

It is recorded in "Historical Records · Li Si Biography" that Hu Hai, the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty, "worked as a concubine [huhu] to arrive at the view of Youhaihai" in Ganquan Palace.Before the Qin Dynasty, the wrestling game was called "觳觝 [di bottom]", "觳" means to breathe heavily, and "觝" refers to mutual push, 戗 [qiang gun], resistance, pillow, and even developed to swing And pressing and other drastic actions.It can be imagined that in the early days, the opponents often relied on stupid strength to win, and the ingenuity of the tricks was second, which is the so-called "one strength against ten rounds".Pei Yi (yin Yin) of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty quoted the words of Ying Shao (shao Shao) of the later Han Dynasty in "Historical Records Collection": "During the Warring States period, the etiquette of martial arts was slightly increased, and it was considered to be entertaining and boastful." Later, the Qin State changed its style. It's called "Jiao Da".Wen Ying explained that in addition to "pairs of equals and wrestling", Qin Zhijiao also carried out more activities of "skills, arts, archery, and defense".That is to say, Jiaodi play is not only an exaggerated bare-handed fighting performance between two pairs, but also includes archery, horse riding, driving and other game content, and the word Jiaodi is just a synonym for various games.According to the old annotation of the sentence "Shaoshi Zhou is the right of Zhao Jianzi in "Mandarin·Jinyu, hear the cow and talk powerfully, please play with him"" and the textual research on Yu Yue (yueyue) of the Qing Dynasty "Erma (shanshan) Record" , the original meaning of the word "play" is wrestling.According to the sentence in "Historical Records The Family of Confucius" that "advocates dwarfs to play before", the word "play" also refers to singing and dancing, acrobatics and other content.Since Jiaodi Opera is acrobatics performing battle scenes, it should reflect the ancient war life, so "Chi You Opera" came into being. As the name suggests, "Chi You Opera" is a wrestling acrobatic that reflects or expresses Chi You.Chi You was a great hero among the Shennong tribe in ancient my country. There is still Chi You's tomb in Zhuolu County, Hebei Province.Chi You is the chief of the Jiuli tribe within the Shennong clan and a subject of Emperor Yan (a descendant of the Shennong clan).Emperor Yan's power declined, and the land of the Central Plains gradually became a war-torn place where princes invaded each other.At this time, Huangdi, the chieftain of the Xuanyuan clan, took the opportunity to expand his power, subdued the princes from all walks of life with martial arts and martial arts, and started a battle with Emperor Yan in the "Field of Banquan" in the Central Plains. This is the famous battle between Yan and Huang in history. origin.As a result, Emperor Yan failed and lost his leadership.Chi You refused to accept it, rose up and fought, and fought bloody battles with the Yellow Emperor in the "Zhuolu Field", but was defeated and died because of the lack of strength.However, his indomitable fighting spirit and heroic and tenacious fighting deeds had a great influence on later generations.According to the "Dragon Fish River Picture" in the Han Dynasty, after Chiyou's sacrifice, the world was still restless, so he "painted Chiyou's image to prestige the world" and became the God of War in ancient Chinese legends.Although Chi You's image was belittled in many documents of later generations, he still couldn't conceal his heroic temperament.

In the "Shu Yi Ji" written by Ren Fang (fang Fang) of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, it is recorded in the Qin and Han Dynasties that Chi You's ears are like swords and halberds, and his head has horns. ", resulting in the "Chi You Opera" that imitates his actions.This kind of performance interspersed with martial arts and fighting scenes is the germination of ancient acrobatic art.In the openworked bronze plaque "Jiadi Image" unearthed from the Fengxi Zhou tomb in Shaanxi, and the "Jiadi Picture of Eastern Han Murals" unearthed from the Dahuting Han Tomb in Jiangmi County, Hubei Province, the general situation of the Jiaodi can be seen.The silk paintings unearthed from the Jinqueshan Han Cemetery in the Linyi area of ​​Shandong have some new content. Not only does a pair of strong warriors look at each other with their sleeves rolled up, they are preparing to fight each other.