A preliminary study of the music and dance figurines of the Tombs of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Datong
"Cultural Relics World", 2004.06 Gu Shunfang
From June to September 2000, the Datong Archaeological Research Institute and the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute jointly excavated 11 Northern Wei tombs located in the Yanbei Normal Academy, of which M2 and M5 unearthed a number of kneeling or standing dance figurines with different races and movements. The instruments in the hands of the clay figurines have long gone (the instruments are most likely made of wood and have long since decayed), but judging from the different movements they have made, most of these figurines are musical tricks and are playing some kind of instrument. There are also "acrobats" or "dancers".
M5 has a definite chronology of the "First Year of Taihe" (477), which was the most glorious period of the Northern Wei Pingcheng era, and the excavation of the Yungang Grottoes was also at its peak.
Since the musical instruments held by the pottery figurines do not exist, and some of their arms are broken, they can only speculate about the type of instruments they held and their movement behaviors according to the movement posture of their arms, referring to the carvings of the music tricks in the middle grottoes of the Yungang Grottoes and the relevant music history works.
First, the form of M2's trick
The M2 has two forms of trick. The first is the kneeling music trick, which is a form of chamber music and dance. The second type is the Standing Posture Trick, which is a form of acrobatics.
(1) Chamber music and dance form music trick (Picture 1). A total of 8 bodies, all Han female appearance, combing high buns, with a scarf, with a "ten" shaped yin line, sagging to the shoulders, also known as a "round hat hanging skirt", wearing a collared coat (the placket is "left", that is, from the right side to the left side). According to their different arm movements, the type of instrument they are holding is speculated to be as follows:
1. 3 kinds of wind instruments
M2-1, both arms up to the left shoulder, as if playing a transverse flute instrument for the left handle
M2-4, both arms bent and raised to the front of the mouth, outside the left hand, inside the right hand, it seems to be playing the nest;
M2-6, both arms bent and raised to the front of the mouth, the left hand outside, the right hand inside, the hands close together, as if to play the beard.
2. 3 kinds of stringed instruments
M2-3, the left arm is bent to the chest, the right arm is bent to the abdomen, the hands are up and down, and the palms of the hands are extended, as if to play the basket;
M2-2, the right arm is bent forward, the back of the hand is up, the five fingers are extended, the left arm is bent, the forearm and hand are broken, and it seems to be playing a zither instrument;
M2-7, the left arm is bent forward and the palm of the hand is bent upwards (grip). The right arm is bent and retracted, as if playing lute music
3. Percussion
M2-5, both arms bent forward, the left hand is broken, the right palm is slightly bent inward, it seems to be playing a drum instrument
M2-8, the left arm is bent forward on the left leg surface, the right arm is bent forward to the chest, both hands are broken, up and down obliquely, it seems to be playing cymbal instruments.
In the east and north walls of Cave 37 of the Yungang Grottoes, the "Reincarnation by Elephant", "The Dream of Yalu yuanluo", and the "Dreaming of Yelutra" Buddhist legends on the south wall of Cave 6, there are devotees who play musical instruments in a kneeling posture, and according to the storyline, these two pictures show the interior, one is the bedroom of Shakyamuni's mother, Lady Maya, and the other is the bedroom of Shakyamuni's wife, Yeludhara. These musicians hold instruments such as the drum, the drum, the corset drum, the horizontal flute, the flute, the flute, the five strings, and the pipa. It is just that the offering person here, Leju, because the occasion of the performance is in the house of Shakyamuni, has a certain sense of sacredness, so the kneeling posture of the leju is shaped into a "hu kneeling form" of kneeling on one leg. However, this difference cannot be ruled out that this performance pattern comes from the chamber music and dance of the northern Wei secular society.
In the picture of the owner's feast at the tomb of Yu Hong's tomb (see "Briefing on the Cleaning of The Tomb of Yu Hong in the Sui Dynasty of Taiyuan", "Cultural Relics", No. 1, 2001), on the ground in front of the owner and his wife in the felt tent, there are music figures kneeling on the carpet playing musical instruments. From the carvings here, we can clearly see that 6 musicians in a kneeling position with their legs, surrounded by a standing dancer with a streamer, playing the stringed instrument lute and the signed wind instrument horizontal flute and the percussion instrument corset drum and bowl respectively.
Although Yu Hong's tomb is a Sui Dynasty tomb, according to its epitaph, the owner of the tomb was not only an official in the Sui Dynasty, but also a high-ranking official in the previous Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. Therefore, we regard the indoor dance music form in the tomb master's feast in the Yu Tomb as a traditional model that has been popular for a considerable period of time at that time, and of course should include the Northern Wei Pingcheng Era, which was not too far away from this time.
According to the feast of the owner of the stone rafter tomb excavated from the Yu Tomb, the M2 kneeling music trick should be an indoor dance accompaniment music trick that serves the owner. And the configuration of various instruments (wind instrument 3, string instrument 3, percussion instrument 2) is also basically in line with the principle of balance, and M2 has also unearthed clay figurines for dance postures, making this group of musical dance figurines very perfect (Fig. 2, a dancing figurine in the front)
(2) The form of a hundred acrobatics and tricks (Figure 3). This kind of music trick or acrobat is a male bearded person in a standing position. The character has a high nose and deep eyes, long eyebrows and big eyes, plump lips, a wide face, and a full head. A small sleeve placket with a side swing split (slit in the middle) top, a leather belt at the waist, and a gorgeous pattern painted on the lower body robe, which is convenient for the wear, and another belt is hung on the belt. As with the kneeling tricks mentioned above, the instruments in their hands do not exist, and they can only speculate on the type of instrument they hold and the work they perform according to their different arm movements: 1. Acrobatics
M2-13, legs apart to shoulder width, left arm bent upwards, hand to forehead support, right arm bent, hand fork waist as support, back to the forehead top pole (building), pole two children (M2-17, M2-18), one for the pole top to the waist, limbs naturally sagging, head drooping, the other child with both hands to the back legs clamped on the pole, abdomen outward, waist bent, natural light, beautiful shape.
M2-11, legs apart to shoulder width, arms bent upwards, palms extended, as if clapping, looking up. This figure should be a person standing next to the top of the building to ensure the safety of the acrobatic performance and do other auxiliary work.
2. Instrumental accompaniment
M2-14, legs apart to shoulder width, arms bent to the left shoulder, as if playing a transverse flute instrument.
M2-25, legs apart to shoulder width, left arm bent outwards, palm up, left arm bent inward, as if playing an pipa instrument.
M2-15 and M2-75, legs apart to shoulder width, arms bent forward, palms extended inwards, as if playing drum instruments.
M2-22, legs apart to shoulder width, open mouth, right arm bent inward to the mouth, left arm naturally drooping, as a shouting, as if to shout the way to direct the orchestra.
The above acrobatics and instrumental accompaniment are in the form of outdoor performances in the same group. But since the burial chamber was once stolen, it was an incomplete set of acrobatics.
Hundred opera acrobatics are outdoor street performances that have been popular during the Qin and Han dynasties. "Chinese Jin" has the phrase "dwarf Fulu". Wei Zhao's note said: Fu, Yuanye; Lu, spear and blade, fate as a play. Wang Guowei's "Song and Yuan Opera Examination" says: This is the origin of the Han "search for building" drama. Jin Zhaojue: Dulu, Guomingdian. Because of the "high good fortune of the Dulu State and the Common People", the Central Plains people after the Han Dynasty called this pole-finding technique the play of "Dulu Seeking Building", the play of "Fulu" and "Dulu", which has now been seen in the stone tombs of Yinan portraits in Shandong, the sarcophagus of the Eastern Han portraits unearthed in Yan County, Sichuan, and the murals of the Eastern Han tombs in Inner Mongolia and Linger. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, this "Dulu Xuntang" play was further developed and was called "slow play" by the people of the time. This so-called "aid play", Wei Shu. Lezhi is also known as "Yuanzhuo".
Yungang No. 38 Fu Female carved a vivid image of the boy and the provider of the Yuanzhu who was performing, and the four vertical musical tricks that appeared for the accompaniment of the performance each holding a horizontal flute, a corset drum, a shawl and other instruments. Interestingly. We see from the "Statue of Wu Tianen" on the outer wall of this cave that this cave is not used for the living people to worship and worship, but to pray for the deceased to "resign from the sea of suffering and become a god in the pure land". This is also evidenced by the fact that Cave 38 is located at a higher point (about 1.9 meters) above the ground and not easily accessible. Therefore, we can't help but consider whether in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the enjoyment of human art was placed in the place of the dead, whether the tomb was modeled on the grotto, or the grotto was modeled on age
Second, the M5's musical form
There are also two kinds of music tricks unearthed in M5, the first is a hundred acrobatics, and both are standing acrobatics or playing musical instruments. The second type is the one who blows on horseback and plays an instrument on horseback.
(1) The Hundred Acrobatics M5 unearthed four Hundred Acrobatic Pottery (Figure 4), and like M2, these musicians or acrobats are all male Hu people in standing positions. It's just that the damage is more severe than M2. The height of the circle is about 25.2 cm. The well-preserved one wears a round hood and a bearded garment with a split lower side, a red robe, and a pattern on the garment.
M5-98, upright on the back, the hands of zinc damage is not present, it seems to be the forehead of the top of the building.
M5-89, upright, face up, gaze obliquely above, arms forward, palms up, curved and forward, as a support. It seems to protect the safety of acrobatic performances.
M5-104.The head and left arm do not exist. The person plays a wind instrument outdoors with his legs apart and leaning forward slightly, his right arm bent upwards, his hands to the front of his chest and neck.
M5-105, the upright posture is the same as the M5-104 box, the left hand forearm is broken, the head is slightly lower, the eyes are looking down, the left arm (big arm) is forward, the right arm is bent upwards, the hand to the shoulder, the fingers are extended, it seems to be a player who plays a stringed instrument.
apparently. This is a very incomplete set of acrobatic pottery characters, but observed from the performance of the character form. Although it is different from M2 in terms of the type of musical instruments and the expression of the characters' movements, its acrobatic forms are basically the same.
(2) Immediately the moth blows
As the name suggests, it is a form in which the character rides a horse as an instrument. M5 unearthed two musicians of this form. The figure wears a hat and a stout body, rides on short-legged and stout horseback, and plays an instrument.
M5-86 (Fig. 5), the left arm is bent forward, the hand is held in an arc, the right arm is bent, the hand is in front of the mouth, and the gesture of the two hands matching is like playing a longer wind instrument.
M5-103 (Fig. 6), both arms bent up to the shoulders at the same time, both hands as a support, as if playing the flute.
Jin Weida's "History of Ancient Chinese Music" has the following discussion when talking about the "folk advocacy" of "Qin and Han, Wei and Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties":
"The trumpet appeared at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, and Liu Xian's Dingjun Li (定军礼) yun quoted in volume 16 of the Collected Poems of Lefu: 'The preaching of the unknown is also the beginning of the Han Ban Yixiong Shuo, and there is a sound of harmony, not the eight tones.'"
The Genealogy of Ten Thousand Surnames and the Dictionary of Personal Names also say: "The one who is one in the class, the late Qin Dynasty avoids the troubles of the land and buildings, and starts as a shepherd." When filial piety and gaohou are high, they go in and out of the safari, and the flag is trumpeted, and the side is dominated by wealth. '
It can be seen from this that the advocacy of the Ban Yi period was based on the Pai Ce and the Poor as the main instruments and used as an honor guard band on the march. This kind of propaganda can be said to be the beginning of folk propaganda,... Later, this form of folk propaganda was absorbed into the army and used as a military music. "
The "Outline of the History of Chinese Music" edited by Wu Zhao and Liu Dongsheng said: "Advocating is an important kind of music that began to prevail in the Six Dynasties of Han and Wei. Drumming is mainly composed of drums and instruments such as flutes and cages. Among them, the drums and flutes and boxes played during the pilgrimage banquet are called "drum blowing" or "Yellow Gate drum blowing" played by drums and flutes and boxes on horseback as travel honor guards; There are drums, flutes, and chapters, plus the gong played as a military music on the horse called '铙歌' or 'short 铙铙歌.' '"
From this we speculate
The image of the horse-riding musician of the M5 should be a military music performance with the nature of an honor guard.
One M5 to one 103, it can be certainly a player who plays the flute.
- M5-86, should be the player who plays the larger arrow. The two immediately trumpeted by the one M5 unearthed are incomplete. If it is "riding and blowing", then there should also be a drummer who plays the drum, missing one; If it is a "song" or a "short song", then there should also be a drummer and a horse player who plays a drum, missing two.
(Author's work unit: Datong Institute of Archaeology, Shanxi Province)