Chapter 6 Section 5 Witch Dance, Nuo Dance, and Martial Arts Dance

Although witch dance, Nuo dance and martial dance are not pure acrobatics, they contain acrobatic content and have a certain influence on the emergence and development of acrobatic art in later generations. Wu Wu, also known as Wu Ji (xixi) dance.Chinese witch culture originated very early, around the late stage of primitive society. "Chu Yu" says: "A male is called a scorpion, and a female is called a shaman." A shaman specializes in praying to the gods on behalf of people, asking for the protection of the gods, and can convey the meaning of the gods to people.As for witch history, it can speak on behalf of ghosts and gods, and guide the country's politics and the actions of the monarch.In ancient times, the whole society was dominated by witches.However, witches and gods must use singing and dancing, so Wang Guowei said in "Song and Yuan Opera Research": "The ancient witches really took singing and dancing as their job, and they also took pleasure in gods and men." Shang superstitiously believed in ghosts and gods, especially divination, which gave witches a very high status in society.According to oracle bone inscriptions, the king of Shang sometimes performed dances in person to perform sacrifices and divination, imitating the "Yu steps" (also known as "witch steps") left by Dayu for dancing.Ge Hong in the Jin Dynasty recorded "Yu's footwork" in "Baopuzi", which can be called the ancient dance score.In the Xia and Shang dynasties, witches presided over every sacrifice and divination.They hold animal tails or bird feathers, while reciting, singing, dancing, and dancing, generally with relatively high skills.The singing and dancing performed by witches is called witch dance, and is recognized and valued by the whole clan or society.The movements of witch dances are peculiar and graceful. They hold colorful ornaments, which symbolize good luck.In addition to offering sacrifices and asking divination, witch dance is also used to pray for rain. For example, in "Yin Ruins Shu Qi":

Nuo dance is developed on the basis of witch dance.Every year on the eighth day of the first month of wax (zha), the ancients would invite witches to sing and dance to drive away ghosts and disasters, and pray for blessings from heaven.Later, on New Year's Eve every year, witch dances are performed to drive away ghosts; when hunting in the fields, they also perform witch dances to worship the gods and sacrifice to ancestors with the wild animals they have obtained.The ancient Nuo dance was formed by reforming this kind of witch dance when exorcising ghosts and disasters, praying to gods and offering sacrifices to ancestors.Nuo was originally a matter of exorcising epidemic ghosts from Suoshi.Nuo dance is different from general witch dance and has great changes.There are records of Nuo rituals in books such as "Book of Rites", "Hanshu·Book of Rites", "Lushi Chunqiu", "Huainanzi", and there are three times a year:

(1) In the spring, "the people of the country are exorcised, and the nine gates are smashed to complete the spring." (2) In Zhongqiu, "the Son of Heaven is Nuo, who guards against illnesses and invigorates the Qi of autumn". (3) Ji Dong "ordered the Grand Nuo, who was next to him, and unearthed cattle to send cold air." The so-called "Bi Chun Qi", "Tong Qiu Qi" and "Sending Cold Qi" are the purpose of Nuo setting, but Nuo is more important to people's health, that is, to drive away plague ghosts.Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty introduced the origin of the "God of Plague" in his "Declaration". He was the third son of Emperor Zhuanxu in ancient times. He "was born and died as a ghost". In the corner, good at frightening children.So Fang Xiangshi was ordered to drive away the plague ghosts.According to "Zhou Li · Xia Guan · Fang Xiangshi" records:

Zheng Xuan's note said: "Those who pretend to be bear skins, drive away the ghosts of epidemic diseases with shock, and now they are also 魌 (qi deceiving) their heads." 魌头 refers to a wooden mask, only showing both eyes.According to Jao Tsung-yi’s "Shang Jia Wei Zuo Keng (Nuo) Research", "Nuo originated in Yin, and it was originally a Yin ritual". From the pre-Qin period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the activities of Nuo were recorded in historical records, and some of them were described in detail. , 3,000-year-old folklore.In the ancient Nuo dance, almost all the men, women and children of the clan were mobilized to participate. Fang Xiangshi wearing a golden four-eyed mask led many people wearing various totem and animal masks to perform. Beat the drum and shout, expel the unknown", the person who played the role of Fang Xiang may be the chief of the clan.Nuo dance is simple, with rough and powerful movements, healthy and funny, which embodies the spirit of the people who dare to overcome evil and pursue a happy life.Dressing people up as animals to sing and dance has been an important part of acrobatics since the Han Dynasty, such as dragon dance and lion dance, all of which were influenced by it.During the Yin and Zhou dynasties, Fang Xiangshi wore a scorpion head to chase ghosts. In the Six Dynasties, it was changed to "wear a beard head and be a King Kong warrior" ("Jingchu Sui Shi Ji"), which was obviously influenced by Buddhism.From the Song Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, there were great changes in the characters and dance content. According to the records of Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Menghualu", the court Nuo dance in the Song Dynasty no longer had Fang Xiangshi, twelve beasts, 侲〔zhenzhen〕zi, etc. There are more than a thousand people in total, and the scale is quite large, so it can also be called Wujuan and Wuzhongkui.

Martial dance is a dance that is different from the civil dance at that time.According to Chen Yang (yang Yang)'s explanation in "Music Book·Le Wu", to conquer the world with literature and morality to compose dance, and to win the world with martial arts to do martial arts, ""Great Summer" goes up, and Wenwu also; "Da (上艹left)氵右only) [HUO Huo] "and down, Wu Wu also".In civil dance, the performers mostly dance with bird feathers, colored silk, and yak tails, symbolizing the dance of beasts; in martial arts, performers mostly hold Zhugan (shield) and jade Qi (jade weapons such as axes) for dance. , the posture is brave, symbolizing war, so the cultural and martial dances are collectively called "Ganyu Dance".According to "Zhou Li Chun Guan Da Si Le" and Zheng Xuan's notes, the "Da Juan" of the Yellow Emperor, the "Da Cheng" of Yao Shi (also known as "Xianchi" or "Da Zhang"), and the "Da Zhang" of Shun Shi Da Shao (named "Jiu Shao") and Xia Yushi's "Da Xia" (named "Jiu Cheng") are both literary dances.Yin Tang exterminated Jie, and Wu Wang defeated Zhou, all of which used martial arts to conquer the world. Therefore, "Da (上艺左尵右)" in the time of Yin Tang and "Da Wu" in the time of King Wu of Zhou are both famous martial dances. "Da Wu" is a performance performed by King Wu to celebrate the extermination of Yin and Shang. According to "Lu Shi Chunqiu", this dance was made by Zhou Gongdan. The method of stabbing was added to the music and dance, which has the nature of martial arts, so it developed into a training for soldiers in later generations. one of the contents.It is recorded in "Leji Binmujia" that Confucius watched the performance of this dance.

In the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" article on the first year of Emperor Shun: "(Shun) is the emperor, hits the stone [fufu] stone, sings nine songs, and dances with all beasts." In Jin Dynasty Wang Jia's "Supplements" "Shen Nong's" article contains: "Play the harmony of the nine heavens, the beasts lead the dance, and the eight tones harmonize." It can be seen that as early as the Shennong and Yao and Shun eras, there have been imitations of "Hundred Beasts", or wearing "Hundred Beasts" The singing and dancing of masks may be the predecessor of witch dance, Nuo dance and martial dance. "Zhouyi·Jian Gua" line: "Hongjian is on the land, and his feathers can be used as a ceremony", which refers to hunting swan geese and dancing with their feathers.It shows that witch dance, Nuo dance and martial dance are ancient folk customs.