Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Healthy Dance and Soft Dance in the Tang Dynasty
From the perspective of the relationship between politics and music and dance, the ceremonial and formal dances in "Nine Parts of Music" and "Ten Parts of Music" did represent the national level of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.However, considering the appreciation value of art, those ceremonial music and dances always have a certain rigid flavor.Whether in the court or in the folk, what is really moving is a group of performative dances.They have higher technical requirements and stronger artistic appeal.
People in the Tang Dynasty divided the performative dances spread in the court, wealthy families and folks into two categories according to their styles and characteristics: "healthy dance" and "soft dance".Generally speaking, healthy dance moves vigorously and has a lively rhythm; soft dance is graceful and soft, with a slow rhythm.
Most of the healthy and soft dances in the Tang Dynasty were solo dances or duet dances.
Among the healthy dances of the Tang Dynasty, the most famous ones are "Hu Xuan", "Hu Teng" and "Zhe Zhi" from the Western Regions.These dances are nimble, lively, lively, and pretty, showing the bold and cheerful national character of the people in the Western Regions. They are in line with the open and progressive era of the Tang Empire, and they are in line with the appreciation taste of the people at that time, so they can be popular in the court and among the people.
"Huxuan Dance" was introduced to the Central Plains from Kang Kingdom in Central Asia during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and became a popular dance genre all over the country in the Tang Dynasty.Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "Hu Xuannv":
Things in the world are incomparable, and the wheels are running slowly and the whirlwind is slow...Bai Juyi's friend Yuan Zhen and others also have poems describing "Hu Xuanwu".From their descriptions, we know that Hu Xuannu usually performs on small round carpets.They wore thin and soft ball gowns, light gauze scarves and glittering ornaments.Hu Xuannv danced to the sound of plucked stringed instruments and drums and flutes.The sleeves are raised, and with the change of movements, it is like flying snow and flying like fluffy grass.They turn left and right, seemingly never getting tired.It turned faster than a running wheel, faster than a whirlwind, so that the audience could not distinguish her back from her face.This kind of moving dance fascinated the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, so that "all the courtiers and concubines learn to circle", and concubines, court ladies, civil servants and generals all had to learn to circle.Tang Xuanzong's favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan and An Lushan who started the "Anshi Rebellion" are both masters of dancing Huxuan.We can roughly see Hu Xuan's dancing posture from the murals in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
Figure 20 Dance murals in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang (partial)
"Huteng Dance" is a folk dance from Shiguo (present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan).Li Duan, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, described the scene of Hu Teng's dance in "Hu Teng'er":
Another poet, Liu Yanshi, has a poem titled "Wang Zhongcheng's House Night Watching Hu Teng Dance":
From this we know that the performers of the "Hu Teng Dance" in the Tang Dynasty were mostly men of western ethnic groups.They wear pointed embroidered bead hats on their heads, and light woolen or paulownia shirts on their bodies.The placket is rolled back and forth, and a long grape-patterned belt is tied at the waist.Wearing soft brocade boots on the feet. "Hu Teng Dance" is also performed on tapestry.Accompanied by fife and pipa.Hu Teng's footwork is mainly based on jumping and rapid squatting and tapping.The intense movements often make the dancers "red sweat".Sometimes rushing around is like a bird flying, and sometimes jumping up and moving in the air is like spinning a wheel.Dancers sometimes hold wine glasses and dance while drinking.Sometimes he was so drunk that he staggered, and when he was happy, he threw the wine glass away.Sometimes with backhands on hips and body leaning back, like a crescent moon.There is a picture of music and dance in the murals of Tang Su Sixuan's tomb in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, which seems to be Hu Tengwu.
Figure 21 Music and dance murals unearthed from the tomb of Su Sixuan in the Tang Dynasty in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi
"Zhezhi Dance" is also a folk dance in Central Asia, which was very popular in the Tang Dynasty.Many poets in the Tang Dynasty, such as Liu Yuxi, Du Mu, Zhang Hu, Xu Hun, etc., wrote poems describing "Zhezhi Dance".From their descriptions, we know that the woman Wu Zhezhi in the Tang Dynasty had a slender figure and was wearing a thin, soft embroidered shirt.The shirt fits tightly on the body, and the sleeves are narrow and long.There are beaded flower hats on their heads, and some are decorated with small bells.Some have Luanfeng buns on their heads, and red brocade soft boots on their feet.The accompaniment is mainly tambourine, with occasional singing.Drum beats vary a lot.
The poets of the Tang Dynasty said: "Strike the drum three times in a row to remind you" (Bai Juyi's "Zhezhi Prostitute"), "Zhezhi first hit the drum to move" (Zhang Xiaobiao's "Zhezhi"), "The big drum is like the wind and dances the Zhezhi. "(Yang Juyuan's "Send to Shenzhou Lu Gongshijun"), "Zhezhi Man Drums Yin Qinglei" (Du Mu's "Four Poems of the Old Tour of Huaizhongling")... It shows that Zhezhi Dance appears in the sound of drums, and the whole set of dance moves also It is all controlled and coordinated by the sound of drums.Zhezhiwu has a lot of kung fu in his sleeves.Sometimes the sleeves are turned up, "drumming in the raised sleeves";Kung Fu is not simple. In addition to the general stepping, there are also movements such as squatting and squatting. , "The red 罨 [yan eye] painted shirt wraps around the wrist, and the green peach squares the hips and the waist" (Zhang Hu's "Viewing Hangzhou Zhezhi").
When the dance is about to end, the drum beats urgently, and the climax arrives.At this time, the physical exertion of the dancers also reached its climax, "the drums urged the disabled to clap their waists and their bodies were soft, and the sweat drenched their clothes with raindrops" (Liu Yuxi's "He Le Tian Zhe Zhi").At the end of the song and the dance, we still have to send hope to the audience, leaving a charming glance, "When the song is finished, Zeng Bo still pays attention to people."When leaving the arena, it is unavoidable to bow to the audience by "slanting and lightening the body".
Figure 22 Tang Zhezhi Dance Figurines
"Zhe Zhi Dance" also has a pair of dancers, called "Shuang Zhe Zhi".There is also a kind of "Qu Zhezhi", which is performed by two girls.They first hid in the "lotus flower". When the petals slowly opened, the girl came out of the lotus flower and danced opposite each other in an "elegant and wonderful" style. "Qu Zhezhi" is not a healthy dance, but a soft dance.He Ning, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, said in "Jie Hong Ge" that "two little fairies in Yaochi, at this time took away the name of Zhezhi", which is the performance of "Qu Zhezhi".
"Zhezhi Dance" was popular all over the country in the Tang Dynasty, and it was still a popular dance until the Song Dynasty.Kou Zhun, a famous minister in the Northern Song Dynasty, would arrange a Zhezhi Dance program for every banquet, so he got the nickname "Zhezhidian".
Among the healthy dances of the Tang Dynasty, "Sword Dance" is also very famous.It is developed from various postures of ancient fencing.Aunt Gongsun was once the best performer of "Sword Dance" in Tang Dynasty.Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, saw Gongsun Da Niang dance sword in Henan when he was young.In the second year of Dali (767 A.D.), Du Fu saw the sword performance of Li Shiriniang, a disciple of Aunt Gongsun, in Kui Prefecture, Sichuan Province, so he wrote a poem "Watching Aunt Gongsun's Disciples Dance Swords" .The poem says that Grandma Gongsun's sword dance is famous all over the world, and every time she performs it, there are as many spectators as there are mountains.When she dances, the sword shines in all directions, as if Hou Yi shot down nine suns in the myth.Following her nimble footwork, the sword turned around with a cold light, like a group of immortals flying on a dragon.The rumble of drums, like the fury of thunder, often makes the audience change color, and sometimes makes people feel that the sky is low and uncertain.After dancing, closing the sword is like collecting waves in the river and sea, condensing the clear light.
It is said that Zhang Xu, a calligrapher famous for his cursive script in the Tang Dynasty, was inspired to improve his cursive script after watching Aunt Gongsun dance sword.
Aunt Gongsun was a dancer in Liyuan and Jiaofang during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.Her sword dancing skills were unmatched by anyone at the time, so Du Fu said: "There are eight thousand maids of the late emperor, and Gongsun is the first in swords."
Aunt Gongsun wore beautified military uniforms back then, so the military attire of "Jade Appearance and Brocade Clothes" became the favorite fashion of women all over the world for a while.Sikong Tu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, said in his poem "Sword Weapons": "Downstairs, Gongsun used to be good at the field, and Kong taught women to love military uniforms."
"Sword Dance" is a female solo dance.As for what kind of dance tool the "sword weapon" is, people have different opinions.Some people say it is silk, some say it is dancing with bare hands, some say it is "shooting star", but we would rather believe what the poets of the Tang Dynasty said was a sword.
"Sword Dance" was later adapted into a men's group dance. The dancers hold torches, flags, etc., and perform battle performances in formation.Yao He, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote three poems "Swords of Swords", which can show the theme, props, costumes, and majestic atmosphere of this dance.
The holy dynasty can use troops, and defeats the enemy as fast as a god.When crossing the Yellow River at night, the general will use his division in danger.After breaking the captives and traveling thousands of miles, the three armies are full of spirits.
Among the dances of the Tang Dynasty, "Yellow Roe", "Dharma Branch", "Da Weizhou", "Aliao", "Willow Branches" and so on are also relatively famous.
Among the dances belonging to soft dance, "Green Waist" and "Spring Warbler" are the most influential.
"Green Waist" is also written as "Six Yao" and "Lu Yao".During the first year of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty, musicians presented a piece of music to the emperor. The emperor was very satisfied and asked people to extract the most exciting part of it, so this piece of music was called "Lu Yao".This "Luyao" was once compiled into a pipa song and became a popular music at that time. There is a saying that "Liuyao water tunes are sung by every family".Ruanwu's "Green Waist" was compiled based on this piece.
Li Qunyu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem titled "Changsha Nine Days Climb the East Tower to Watch the Dance":
From the poem, we can know that "Green Waist" is a female solo dance.The dancers wear long-sleeved dance clothes and long skirts that can be "flying".The dancing posture is light and fast changing.Sometimes it plays like emeralds among orchids, and sometimes it dances like a dragon.When the sleeves are lowered, it looks like a lotus flower out of the waves, the rhythm speeds up, and the sleeves fly up, like the wind stirring snowflakes. The dancer seems to be flying in the air to chase Jinghong. The performance of "Green Waist" makes "Qianxi Dance" and "White Rice Dance" look inferior.
Gu Hongzhong, a painter of the Five Dynasties, painted a picture of "Han Xizai's Night Banquet", in which there is a scene of Wangwushan dancing "Green Waist".
"Spring Warbler" is a soft dance with singing and dancing.The performers are women.Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty Li Zhi heard the warbler singing in the garden one morning, and taught court musician Bai Mingda from Kucha to write a song "Spring Warbler".The dance "Spring Warbler" was created based on this piece of music.When performing in the palace, there are female voices to accompany them.
Zhang Hu's poem "Spring Warbler's Song" said: "My wife has already sung the spring warbler's song, and the soft dance of the flowers under the [suo shrink] comes."
This dance spread to Korea and also to Japan.
The performative dances of the Tang Dynasty include some famous dances, such as "Lingbo Song", "Bodhisattva Man", "He Manzi", "Fire Phoenix" and so on.
Most of the performative dances in the Tang Dynasty were emotional dances, but there were also some songs and dances that showed certain storylines and characters, which were actually small songs and dances. "Botou", "Dai Mian" and "Ta Yao Niang" are famous song and dance dramas of the Tang Dynasty.
"Botou" is also written as "pull the head" and "pull the head", which is a mask dance from the Western Regions.The performance is that a barbarian was eaten by a tiger. His son went to the mountain to find his body and killed the tiger.The mountain has 20 folds, and the tune has 8 sections.The performers are dressed in plain clothes, masks, disheveled hair, and weeping faces.Obviously, it is a kind of makeup based on the character's identity and situation.
This program spread to Japan, and in the Japanese book "Ancient Music Noodles", there is a drawing of the mask of "Putting the Head".The mask has a red face, loose hair, raised eyebrows, and a big nose, so it can be seen that it is a barbarian.The mouth is wide open, as if crying, which is also in line with the scene stipulated by the subject matter.In Japan's "Dance and Music Picture", there is also a picture of "Putting the Head" dancing posture, indicating that it is a Tianzhu music dance.Performed by one person.Wearing a red robe, wearing a grinning mask, and carrying a stick in his hand.
"Dai Mian" is also written as "Da Mian", formerly known as "Lanling King Entering the Battle Song", referred to as "Lanling King".
It is said that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Chang Gong, the king of Lanling in the Northern Qi Dynasty, was brave and good at fighting, but his face was too handsome, like a woman.He thought that his appearance could not deter the enemy, so he carved a mask out of wood and wore it when he was in battle.When fighting against the Northern Zhou Dynasty under the city of Jinyong, he used this makeup to go out in battle, and it really did a great job.The warriors sang and cheered for this, which became "Lanling King Entering the Battle Song".From this song developed into Masquerade.The performer is dressed in purple with a gold belt around his waist and holds a whip in his hand.The main action is "command stab".King Lanling was a general who was loved by the people and supported by his subordinates, but he ended up miserable, being poisoned to death by Empress Qi Gaowei.Perhaps it was because of the people's sympathy for him that this dance program was passed down to later generations.
During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, this originally majestic dance program was changed to soft, so "Jiaofang Ji" classified it as a "soft dance".This dance was also introduced to Japan.In the Japanese section, the people nearby cheered in unison: "Ta Yao Niang and come! Ta Yao Niang, come and reconcile!" Then, her husband Su entered the arena and performed the action of beating his wife while drunk.This is a comical song and dance program, and the form of the performance has been constantly changing since the Tang Dynasty.Later, Su's wife was played by a woman. In addition to the drunkard Su, a "court" dedicated to making jokes was added.
Chang Feiyue of the Tang Dynasty had a poem "Ode to Rong Niang" that said: "Mass circles around, and people crowd to see the circle." It can be seen that this show is often performed in the square.
These small singing and dancing dramas actually have the characteristics of Chinese opera art combining speaking, singing, dancing and other performing arts.Therefore, when people study the origin of Chinese opera, they also pay great attention to these singing and dancing programs.
The performing dance of the Tang Dynasty, whether it is a healthy dance, a soft dance, or other dances, is the most important part of the dance of the Tang Dynasty.With their rich and colorful styles and genres, they won the love of people from all walks of life at that time.They condense the creative spirit of art of people of all nationalities and have produced extensive international influence.These dances have been passed down for a long time, and their traces can still be seen in the national folk dances of our country.
