Chapter 23 Section 2 Lu Qi Ren, She Huo

The rise of opera in the Song Dynasty replaced the grand event of acrobatics performing in the court, making acrobats lose their important status in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and gradually fell into the lower class of society to make a living.Among them, some well-known and highly skilled artists come to "Washe Goulan" to perform. According to "Tokyo Menghualu", there are many performances in "Washe Goulan", including zaju, singing and dancing, storytelling, martial arts, Illusion, acrobatics, etc. are still collectively referred to as "Baixi" according to the theory of the Han Dynasty, while acrobats are called "Baixi kickers".But most of the acrobats have become luqiren.Luqi people refer to artists who "do not enter the Goulan". They form a group of three or five people, and sometimes they only make a living alone.According to "Wulin Old Stories" Volume 6 "Wazi Gou Lan", these artists either set up "field performers" in open places on the streets or in the open air in the countryside, and they are called "wilders", "the second best artist". .This small form of performance is called "Village Baixi", and the artists who participate in this kind of performance are called "Luqiren".In "West Lake Old Man's Fanshenglu", "Luqiren Zuochang" records Lin Yuxian's little illusion of "sacred flowers and medicine", which is called "ancient color trick" by modern people.Because acrobats go to the vast folk and absorb milk from the masses, this ancient traditional art has injected new blood, created new content, and become a popular art form with strong vitality.From the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, acrobatics in our country were mostly engaged in performances in the form of "village operas" to make a living.

Due to the prosperity and development of acrobatic art, the division of labor has become more and more refined, and many varieties and categories have gradually formed.Artists in the same industry, either because of the relationship between teachers and teachers, or because of mutual cooperation, freely form small groups, which is "shehuo".Every item of acrobatic performance has someone who specializes in studying it. The large-scale ones are called "she", and the small-scale ones are called "fire". They are collectively called "shehuo".Some "societies" are composed of many similar art types, which are actually organizations of a larger trade or category. The artists in "Shehuo" come from very complicated sources, including some unwilling intellectuals, monks, and Taoist priests.In "Old Stories of Wulin" Volume 6 "Actors of All Colors", 55 occupations are recorded, of which 23 are acrobatics, including juggling juggling, kicking, jacking, stepping rope, Qiao Sumo, and Qishengfa. , the content is quite rich, and the business is quite fine.Among them, the "Qiyun Club" of kickball, the "Jiaodai Club" of sumo wrestling, and the "Yunji Club" of teasing are all organizations for acrobatic performances.In "Tokyo Menghualu" Volume 6 "Lantern Festival" records the grand occasion of performances in the "Shanpeng" during the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Kaifeng every year.The Song Dynasty sent people to collect "thaumaturgy and supernatural powers, singing and dancing, hundreds of operas, and scales are in touch", so that the sound of music and noise was heard for "more than ten miles". Among them, there are many acrobatics, including:

In the eighth volume of this book, "Cui Fujun's birthday on June 6th, Shenbao Guanshen's birthday on the 24th" records the grand performance of "Shehuo" on the balcony of the Song Dynasty: There are also two poles erected in front of the main hall, and a crossbar is erected on the tip of the poles. Artists stand on the crossbars, "pretend to be gods and ghosts, and blow out fireworks", which is very "dangerous and frightening".The performance didn't stop until late at night, and the audience was like a cloud.