A scroll slowly unfolds on the stage, the rice paper is laid on the bottom, and the actors are resurrected like characters in ancient paintings, leading the audience back to the Tang Dynasty 1200 years ago. On the evening of January 5, the Shangyin Opera House staged the experimental concert of "The Music of the Silk Road , Tang Yun Echoes", and the band that came out of the Dunhuang murals played the music of the lost millennium on the stage.
At the scene of "The Music of the Silk Road" and Tang Yun Echoes, digital media restored the Dunhuang murals.
What exactly was the music of the Tang Dynasty? The study of ancient Chinese music history was once widely regarded by scholars as "silent history", and successive Chinese and foreign scholars have tried to decipher the ancient scores like "Heavenly Books". This concert is a breakthrough step in the research results of predecessors, and the digital image restores the scene of music and dance in ancient times, bringing an immersive viewing experience.
Restoration of musical instruments and costume restoration details.
Last year, after dances such as "Tang Palace Night Banquet" and "Roselle Water Endowment" were "out of the circle" one after another, the variety show "Dance Millennium" jointly produced by Station B and Henan Satellite TV recently exceeded 70 million, with a Douban score of 8.8. Offline, the "HanTang Dance Workshop" quota of Shanghai International Dance Center is frequently sold in seconds, and it is sought after by "post-95" white-collar workers and college students, and the seemingly distant Hantang dance is entering the lives of urban people.
Show the beauty of the tang dynasty's beautiful dance.
In recent years, in the upsurge of traditional cultural revival, the restoration and re-creation of ancient Chinese music and dance have become the focus, and scholars, creators, performers, and enthusiasts from the folk are all trying. There are some successful cases, and there is no shortage of gimmicks and insufficient foundation. Today, how should ancient Chinese music and dance be revived? How should the past and the present, tradition and the present collide to create a new spark?
The accompaniment band divides with the dancers to create a stage functional partition that is as symmetrical as in the Tang Dynasty.
Move the museum into the concert hall so that the restoration can stand up to scrutiny
Tang Le's recovery is by no means an easy task. The Tang Dynasty was a thousand years old, and the ancient music score was lost. After thousands of years of development, ancient musical instruments have already undergone great changes in form.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, an ancient pipa notation was discovered in the Dunhuang Tibetan Scripture Cave, and this pipa "Heavenly Book" using the ancient notation method unveiled the mystery of Tang Dynasty music. Since the Western Han Dynasty, with the formation of the Silk Road, a large number of Buddhist cave murals, sculptures and excavated cultural relics in Xinjiang, Hexi Corridor and the Central Plains have recorded the historical materials of music and dance from the 4th to 11th centuries AD, and presented the rich appearance of music and dance in the Tang Dynasty. In addition, the 18 kinds of 75 complete Tang Dynasty musical instruments in the Shosoin Institute in Nara, Japan, also gave music archaeologists the hope of restoring Tang Dynasty music.
Since the 1980s, scholars ye Dong, Chen Yingshi, He Changlin, Zhao Xiaosheng, Ying Youqin and Zhao Weiping of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music have made great hardships and efforts for the study of Tang Dynasty music. The Center for Chinese and East Asian Ancient Music Research of Shanghai Conservatory of Music has collected and sorted out hundreds of original musical scores lost overseas, accumulated nearly 20,000 pages of high-definition electronic documents of ancient music scores, and made detailed translations and explanations for each ancient score. "Musical notation is the origin of everything, and only by collecting ancient scores scattered everywhere and conducting better research can the restoration of ancient music become more solid and more able to withstand scrutiny." Zhao Weiping told reporters.
On the basis of the study and translation of ancient notation, the restoration of ancient musical instruments and the restoration of playing methods by scholars and folk, including the restoration of ancient costumes and ancient dances, has been carried out all along. However, Zhao Weiping bluntly said that some so-called "restorations" lack foundations and are only formalities, which is a great disappointment.
To restore ancient music, it is necessary to restore ancient musical instruments. The restoration of ancient musical instruments needs to be rigorously examined according to historical records and cultural relics, and then customized by professional instrument makers, and every detail needs to be repeatedly considered. At the concert of "The Music of the Silk Road, Tang Yun Echoes", the four-stringed lute, the five-string straight pipa, the hoop, the horizontal flute, the karma drum and other restored instruments were displayed.
Solo songs such as "Yizhou" and "Changsha Female Introduction" were staged.
The musicians used these restored instruments to interpret exquisite ancient songs such as "Shi Shang Liu Quan", "Urgent Hu Xiang Qing", "Water Drum", "Pouring Cup Music", etc., and the singers interpreted the solo song "Yizhou" and "Changsha Female Introduction", showing the musical epic of Sheng Tang Hai Na BaiChuan, and the music and dance "Hu Xuan Dance" and "Hu Teng Dance" reproduced the beauty of the Tang Dynasty's beautiful and beautiful dance.
The creative team also combined traditional stage art and digital images to restore scenes in murals such as "Mogao Grottoes Cave 220th Music and Dance Map" on the stage, and the costumes were also based on cultural relics such as Tang Dynasty gilded bronze Huteng dance figurines as references, restoring the design of their hu shirts and long belts, and artistic processing.
Dai Xiaorong, concert producer, visual director and professor at the School of Digital Media Arts of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said: "The restoration of ancient music is based on the academic achievements of music archaeology, based on Dunhuang murals and ancient scriptures, and reproduces the scenes of ancient music performances. However, the reproduction of today's stage cannot be separated from the attributes of performance, and contemporary scientific and technological means should be used to express the emotions and contents of ancient music externalization. Through this concert, we moved the museum into the concert hall, which is a three-dimensional stage art presentation and a living intangible cultural heritage. ”
Combined with variety shows, games, etc., traditional culture is innovatively expressed
Recently, the variety show "Dance Millennium" has repeatedly appeared on the Weibo hot search list, and dance sections such as "Rebound Pipa" and "Dream Trick Lotte" have been praised by netizens as "Dancing Dunhuang that has been sleeping for a thousand years". Classic dance dramas scattered in the long river of art, such as "Copper Sparrow Trick", "Confucius", and "Zhaojun Out of the Plug", have once again broken into the vision of young people through the new presentation of variety shows. Some netizens left a message in the bullet screen: "After watching "Dance Millennium", I entered the pit Chinese dance for a second and was proud of our traditional culture. ”
Stills from the variety show "Dance Millennium".
These dance works are not historical "restoration", many of which are recreated on the basis of historical materials and research. The dance drama "Tongque Trick" was first performed in 1985 and was choreographed by Sun Ying, a professor at the Beijing Dance Academy, and the "famous scene" "Xianghe Song" was inspired by the Han Dynasty portrait bricks unearthed in Sichuan in 1956. Sun Ying is the founder of Han and Tang Dance, a contemporary dance variety that takes the music and dance of the Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty as the main form and attempts to revive the ancient Chinese music and dance atmosphere. In "Xianghe Song", he boldly imagined and created dances based on the image of the seven-plate dance drawn on Han bricks, reproducing the romantic style of the ancients "stepping on the seven stars and being a child of the universe".
The "out of the circle" of "Tang Palace Night Banquet" and "Roselle Water Endowment" is inseparable from the "spectacle" created by high-tech such as virtual reality and underwater photography. "Dance Millennium" continues the innovative expression of traditional culture, not only integrating real scenes and modern technology, but also assisting the narrative in the form of film and television dramas, and using dance to tell the moving Chinese story behind the dance. In order to ensure the accuracy of art guides and interpretation of historical materials, the program team also invited experts from Beijing Dance Academy, Shanghai Museum and other institutions to check the pass. Some netizens commented: "Different dynasties and different styles of costumes, especially the costumes and makeup of dancers, are more attentive than many TV series." ”
In the B station where Generation Z gathers, the "national tide" shows vigorous vitality. According to statistics, in the past year, the total number of traditional culture lovers of Station B reached 136 million, and the number of national style video contributions on the whole station exceeded 2 million. In June last year, Tang Shiyi, the chief dancer of the China Opera and Dance Theatre, was invited by the wuxia online game "Against the Water Cold" to star in the ancient style dance "Hongyin", "Flying Like a Surprise, Graceful Like a Dragon", which was watched by more than 5 million people at Station B. Tang Shiyi said: "Classical dance makes people feel unfinished, its desire to refuse to meet, the desire to leave first the right, all represent the aesthetics and characteristics of the East." Online, I can feel the enthusiasm of these young audiences for classical dance, which for me is also a new representation of traditional culture. ”
Xiao Qi, who is studying at university, is a lover of Han and Tang Dynasty classical dance. In her view, in order to break the circle of classical dance, it is necessary to let such an art form go out of the theater and integrate into different forms such as film and television, variety shows, and games, but it cannot be transformed without limits for the sake of traffic and capital, and it is disconnected from the essence of real traditional culture. "Now the Hanfu cultural industry is also facing some such problems, although the popularization needs a certain degree of innovation, but blindly pursuing returns, there will be a risk of deformed development, losing the significance of inheritance."
In Xiao Qi's view, the most fundamental way to carry forward the Han and Tang Dance is to inherit Mr. Sun Ying's legacy and create more excellent works. "Chinese civilization has a long history, and the history of Chinese has never been out of touch with reality. How to use traditional arts to express traditional feelings while arousing the resonance and spiritual identity of modern audiences should be the breakthrough point for the development of Han and Tang works in the future. ”
"Han Tang Dance Workshop" scene
Bring tradition back to life, and non-professional dancers can also dance Han and Tang dances
Chen Li, deputy general manager and project director of shanghai international dance center, told reporters that in 2020, young dancer Tian Xiang's Hantang Dance Theater "Figurines: Squatting Dance Me" came to Shanghai to perform, and the works seemed to be niche, but they were quickly sold out after the ticket was issued. Last year, the Shanghai International Dance Center Theater commissioned Tian Xiang to create the premiere of "Figurine III.", and the box office was also hot. At the same time, the "HanTang Dance Workshop" was also held online and offline, and each time it was "killed" in a second.
Stills from Tian Xiang's "Figurines" series
Bei Bei, who is engaged in the game industry, saw some Introductions of Han Brick Rubbings and Chinese Paintings by chance in her college years, and learned about the dance drama "Copper Sparrow Trick" choreographed by Sun Ying on the Internet, and began to like Han and Tang Dance. Last year, at the "Han tang dance workshop" of the National Dance Theater, Bei Bei had studied with Tian Xiang. Tian Xiang first taught everyone to master the rhythm and rhythm, and then gradually added the shape and action, and inadvertently taught some choreographic thinking, which made Bei Bei feel that she had gained a lot.
Tian Xiang is an associate professor at the Beijing Dance Academy and a student of Sun Ying, the founder of Han Tang Dance. In 2016, Tian Xiang choreographed "Figurines" at a dance festival in the United States, inspired by Han Dynasty dance figurines. The simple lighting and dancing beauty divides the square stage, and the eight dancers incarnate as cultural relics in the glass cover and "live" in the sound of drumming. The "Figurines" series gradually derived, and Tian Xiang continued to explore and innovate while focusing on resurrecting the form of dancing figurines. All the works in the "Figurines" series have dances, costumes, makeup and hair, all have formal basis, and at the same time are concise and contemporary.
"Even if it is based on traditional culture, it is best not to detach from reality, because art is ultimately for the specific people of the moment, which is why many artists who do traditional dance are willing to cut into the work from a contemporary perspective." But the traditional 'root' must be kept, respected, and on top of this 'root' can innovation and development be discussed. Chen Li said.
Also participating in "Figurine III" last year were members of the Fudan University Student Dance Troupe. They are not professional dancers, the entry is relatively slow, but under the guidance of Tian Xiang, they learn quickly, and the final stage presentation also makes Tian Xiang very satisfied. Tian Xiang said: "This is a very good phenomenon, indicating that young people have a love for traditional culture and national tide. I hope to use my creative method to inspire their physical thinking, discover and present beauty. ”
The "Han and Tang Dance Inheritance and Creation Center" jointly planned by the National Dance Theater and Tian Xiang was officially established a few days ago. The Creation Center is open to the majority of Han and Tang Dance lovers, and popularizes and inherits Han And Tang Dance through a series of offline and online workshops. From "zero foundation" to "advanced class", when the time is ripe, the "Han tang dance troupe" with the goal of creating performances will be formed, and new works will be launched to meet the audience at the National Dance Theater.
Xiao Yao, a 24-year-old choreographer, just participated in the "Han Tang Dance Workshop" online a few days ago, and in her opinion, the best way for Han Tang dance to "break the circle" is to let it integrate into people's lives. "I think that in the future, the elements of Han and Tang dance can be combined with anime, two-dimensional, and fashion to become part of the daily life of young people." You can also use Han Tang dance elements to create works for middle-aged and elderly people, so that the square dance teams in the streets and alleys can also use their way to inherit Han And Tang dance in the folk. ”
Reporter's Note: Let the unpopular "no study" follow someone
Four years ago, when this reporter first interviewed Professor Zhao Weiping, he revealed his grand idea of restoring Tang Dynasty music on stage. At that time, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music's Database on Ancient Notation in China and East Asia had just been launched, and 10,000 pages of ancient music scores scattered around the world were unveiled, and if you wanted to see "Dunhuang Pipa Notation", you did not have to run to the National Library of France.
Professor Zhao Weiping took the stage to give a lecture.
He has repeatedly mentioned to me that the study of ancient Chinese music is inseparable from the continuous efforts of generations of scholars around the world. In 1938, the Japanese scholar Lin Qiansan translated 25 pieces of music of "Dunhuang Pipa Notation", and his English paper caused a worldwide sensation. There is also the Englishman Lawrence Bi Heng, who set up a research group at Cambridge University, and the seven-volume "Music From Tang Court" has attracted global attention. In the 1980s, China also set off a climax in the study of ancient scores, and the research of many scholars at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music came to the fore and made breakthrough progress.
However, Zhao Weiping's heart was full of urgency. The revival of ancient Chinese music culture still has a long way to go, but the most important ancient genealogy researchers in britain and Japan have basically died or retired, and some of them lack successors, and Chen Yingshi, the Chinese scholar who pioneered the theory of "hitting the beat theory", also died in 2020. Zhao Weiping hopes that the establishment of the ancient score database and the performance of this concert will attract the attention of more young people, and call on more descendants to continue to study and translate the ancient score, and put these research results on the stage and perform them to people all over the world.
In the revival of traditional culture, young people are the key. In recent years, reporters have often found at the scene of traditional cultural performances that young people wearing Hanfu sat in the audience, who dressed up in costume, not just to take pictures and punch cards on the spot, but to truly love traditional culture. They will consult the data to do research, not to be blinded by some gimmicks in the market, and to identify the content that really has ornamental value and inheritance value.
Don't underestimate "love". Lawrence Bi Hao was originally a biologist, and it was precisely because of a trip to China in the 1940s that he "switched" to study ancient Chinese music halfway, and finally achieved remarkable results. Nowadays, in China, many young people who love traditional culture gather together because of the same interests, research and exchange, and accumulate more and more abundantly. For example, the "Chinese Costume Restoration Group" that the reporter once interviewed, this non-governmental organization has restored many sets of ancient costumes from the pre-Qin to the Ming and Qing dynasties based on archaeological research in the past ten years, and published monographs such as "Chinese Makeup" and "Han and Jin Clothes".
The revival of traditional culture, "breaking the circle" is just the beginning, but also to turn the "post-95" and "post-00" young people's love for traditional culture into creativity, continue to excavate the treasures in traditional culture, willing to invest in the research of unpopular "absolute learning", with their research and dedication, so that traditional culture has new vitality.