Chapter 3 The third chapter is the elegant and popular music of the Zhou Dynasty

The supreme ruling group of the Zhou Dynasty, like the monarchs of the Shang Dynasty, attached great importance to music and dance sacrifices. They not only paid attention to the role of music and dance in "communication", but also paid more attention to the role of music and dance in "ruling people", giving full play to the social functions of music and dance. It is said that when King Wu of Zhou defeated Zhou, the army camped in Shangqiu.The soldiers "singed and danced" all night long.It is also said that when King Wu defeated Zhou, he got the support of Ba people.The Ba people overwhelmed the enemy with songs and dances. This is the "Bayu Dance" in the later Han Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, in order to consolidate the achievements of victory and strengthen the control over the feudal princes, a whole set of regulations and systems were formulated from politics to culture. It is said in the history books that "the Duke of Zhou made rituals and music".It is said that under the auspices of Zhou Gongdan, the "patriarchal system" was clarified, and the princes were controlled under the Zhou emperor by blood relationship, and a hierarchical hierarchical system of emperor, princes, ministers, officials, and scholars was established.The combination of the patriarchal system and the hierarchical system forms a complete and strict etiquette system of monarchs and ministers, superiors and superiors, father and son, brothers, relatives, estrangement, respect and inferiority.In order to reflect and consolidate the etiquette system, the Duke of Zhou presided over the formulation of a set of music and dance systems for expeditions, alliances, banquets, marriages, and funerals.

From the beginning of Zhou Gong's "making rituals and making music", music and dance have been regarded as a means of "carrying the Tao" and playing a political role.Dance was incorporated into the system of "grace music" and became a tool for "rule by ritual" and "rule by music".The rulers use music and dance to record merits, worship gods, become enlightened, and help people. "Dancing with imagery" and "dancing with imagery" have become the purpose of Gagaku. In the early years of the Zhou Dynasty, on the basis of absorbing the cultural thoughts of the Shang Dynasty, the music and dance heritage of the previous generation "Cloud Gate", "Da Zhang", "Da Shao", "Da Xia" and "Da Sui" were collected and newly created. "Da Wu", collectively known as "Six Generations of Dance".

"Six Generations of Dance", also known as "Six Great Dances", is Ji Gongde's music and dance. "Cloud Gate" extols the Yellow Emperor's "Great Giving to the World"; "Da Zhang" extols Yao's great virtues and made them manifest in the world; "Da Sui" praises Tang's extermination of Xia Jie to save the people, and "Da Wu" praises the great achievements of King Wu in overthrowing Zhou and destroying Shang.Each music and dance has a clear theme, and they all commend the merits of a certain sage king. The dances of these six sets of music and dance can be divided into two categories.The first four are civil dances, and the last two are martial dances.During Wenwu, the dancers hold the musical instrument "龠" (panpipe) and the toba "Zhai" in their hands.During martial arts, dancers hold Gan (shield) Qi (axe) in their hands.

The so-called "wen" means to rule the world with literature and virtue, and "wu" means to rule the world with martial arts.The props, such as Zhai, Zhai, Gan, Qi, etc. held by the dancers, all have symbolic meanings, and every movement of the dance also has specific symbolic meanings. "Six Generations Dance" is the "Grace Music" of the Zhou Dynasty, and the performance ceremony is grand.The rhythms played and the gods sacrificed are all custom-made: when dancing "Cloud Gate", play the yellow bell, sing Dalu, and sacrifice to the gods; When dancing "Da Shao", they play Guxi, sing about Nanlu, and worship Siwang; when dancing "Great Summer", they play Rui [rui] Bin, sing Hanzhong, and offer sacrifices to mountains and rivers; when dancing "Da □", they play Yi Then, singing Xiaolu, enjoying the ancestors [bibi]; when dancing "Da Wu", playing Wushe, singing with the bell, enjoying the ancestors.

Five of the "Six Generations of Dance" are the music and dance of the previous generation, and only "Da Wu" is the creation of Zhou people.This is a music and dance with a clear political inclination. "Lu Shi Chunqiu" said that the author of "Da Wu" was Zhou Gong.This piece of music and dance shows the great achievements of King Wu in overcoming merchants.During the performance, the rumbling drums sounded, and the dance team stood majestically in full armor.Sing a majestic song and start dancing in the form of a battle formation.The dance is divided into six sections: the first section shows the dispatch of troops, the second section shows the destruction of Shang, the third section describes the march to the south, the fourth section expresses the pacification of the southern frontier, the fifth section praises the achievements of Zhou Gong and Zhao Gong, and the sixth section dances The team stood in silence, expressing their high respect to King Wu of Zhou.The difference between the six dances, apart from the movements, is mainly the change of formation.Part of the lyrics sung during the dance is preserved in "The Book of Songs Zhou Song".

In addition to the above-mentioned "Six Generations Dance", there is also "Six Little Dances" in the elegant music of the Zhou Dynasty. "Human Dance". "Six Little Dances" is also a sacrificial music and dance. "Wu Wu" is used to sacrifice to the country, and the dancers hold the whole feather or colorful silk and dance. "Feather Dance" is used to worship the ancestral temple, and the dancers dance with variegated feathers.One said it was used to worship the Quartet. "Royal Dance" is also called "(Rain on the Emperor)", it is a dance to pray for rain.The dancers wear bird feathers on their heads, their jackets are also decorated with emerald feathers, and they also hold colorful bird feathers in their hands.

"Yan Dance" is used to worship Piyong, and the dancers hold yak tails. Some people say that "Yan Dance" is "Li". "Dry Dance" is used to sacrifice mountains and rivers, and the dancers hold shields. "Human Dance" worships the ancestral temple and the stars, and people dance with bare hands. In addition, the Zhou Dynasty also had an important martial dance "Xiang Wu", which is "Xiangjian (shuo Shuo)".An arrow is a bamboo pole.There is a saying that the Yin people were able to drive elephants to fight. Duke Zhou defeated the Yin people and used their elephant taming dance to publicize his martial arts.

All this kind of elegant music, the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to it.There are strict grade boundaries for the number of dance teams during performances.At that time, the ranks of music and dance were called "佾〔yiyi〕", with eight people each.The emperor's music and dance use Baqi, which is a dance team composed of 64 people.There are six princes, four officials, and two scholars.This kind of regulation embodies the etiquette system and must not be sloppy.A little carelessness or disrespect is a huge political mistake, and it even becomes a crime of being attacked with a drum.

The Zhou Dynasty stipulated that those who participated in these dance performances were all noble children of the royal family, and these music and dances were regarded as compulsory subjects for the education of noble children (so-called "Guo Zi").Of course, "savages" as common people also have to learn rituals and music.In terms of the emphasis on music and dance, the Zhou Dynasty surpassed its predecessors.

The children of the royal family and aristocrats should start to learn the "small dance" at the age of 13, the "elephant dance" at the age of 15, and the "big dance" and various rituals at the age of 20.If you have mastered these music and dances, you can become various officials.The Zhou Dynasty also set up a special music and dance organization called "Da Si Yue" to manage music and dance performances and be responsible for music and dance education. The reason why the Zhou Dynasty attached so much importance to music and dance and music and dance education was entirely for cultural control.The rulers of the Zhou Dynasty firmly believed that "music" and "ritual" could complement each other.According to Confucius' explanation, the basic spirit of "making rituals and making music" in the early Zhou Dynasty was "benevolence".That is to use "music" to control human relations within the scope of "rituals", and to emphasize the identity of the nation and clan through music and dance.Through the popularization of music and dance education, cultural identity can be realized.Therefore, Confucius praised both "Six Generations of Dance" and "Six Little Dances".Confucius watched "Da Shao" in the state of Qi and thought it was perfect, so happy that he didn't know the taste of meat in three months.The great educator Confucius believed that in order for young people to become talents and be a perfect person, education in music and dance is necessary.Confucius said: "Prosper in poetry, establish in ritual, and succeed in music." ("The Analects of Confucius Taber") That is to say, to become a gentleman with a complete personality, one must first learn poetry, and then learn ritual, and the ultimate moral cultivation Complete, must rely on music and dance.From the discussion about music and dance in "Book of Rites · Music Book" and Xunzi's "Yue Lun", we know that pre-Qin Confucianism attached great importance to the function of music and dance for self-cultivation.They believe that through the influence of music and dance, people's mental outlook, sentiments and interests will change, and people can become upright and docile, generous and serious, open-minded and ambitious.People co-authored the melody and rhythm of "Ya" and "Ode", in the regular movement rhythm and posture, and in the orderly formation change, they can get rid of vulgar behavior, get rid of sloppy behavior, and achieve consistent steps. With a dignified demeanor, he becomes a "gentleman" gentleman.Music and dance can not only perfect the personality, but also have the social effect of changing customs.Music and dance training can make people feel the majesty of kingship and the dignity of rank, which is conducive to the "rule of virtue".Therefore, in Confucian education subjects, "music" (including music and dance) occupies a very important position. Gagaku music such as "Six Generations Dance" and "Six Little Dances" are not only used in sacrificial ceremonies, but also used in banquets of nobles and princes.On the handed down Warring States Feast, Fishing and Hunting Bronze Pot, there are exquisite dance scenes in the cast feast picture.There were frequent diplomatic activities among the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty.Gagaku singing and dancing are indispensable when receiving foreign guests or meeting alliances. These "grace music" are regarded as classics by the rulers, and they are called "the music of the former kings".Because it has been used for ancestral temple sacrifices for a long time, it fully reflects the special political purpose and religious color, and the form is becoming more and more rigid and rigid, gradually losing its original vitality and artistic appeal. Opposite to the elegant music, it is the popular folk music, which is a song and dance participated by the common people, also known as "new music". There were all kinds of lively songs and dances among the people of various countries in the Zhou Dynasty.From some existing documents, we can figure out the lively scene of "vulgar music" in various places at that time. "The Book of Songs·Chen Feng" has an article "Wanqiu":