"Xiangzhuang dances the sword, intended to pei gong." This is a scene that took place in the famous Hongmen Feast, and it is no stranger to us.
As an entertainment activity since ancient times, the sword dance has always been looming in the long river of history, and the Tang Dynasty is the era when all the feudal dynasties in China have flourished Chinese and economy in the past and present, which naturally extends many forms of culture and entertainment, and the sword dance has reached its peak in this era.
Due to the country's prosperity, the Tang Xuanzong period began to pursue vocal music and art. The liyuan disciples he presided over had a wide range of talents and far-reaching significance for the development of music and dance.
Sword dance, as a branch of dance, also reached the peak of art at this time. There are poetry clouds, there used to be a beautiful person, Gongsun Clan, a sword dance in all directions, depicting this kind of artistic behavior that can be seen everywhere in the life of the Tang people - sword dance.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > first, the origin is long, to the Tang Dynasty</h1>
In China's long-standing culture, the sword, as the earliest weapon, has long been impossible to examine the earliest age of its appearance. At present, the more famous one is the sharp bronze sword- the Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword. This artwork, which symbolizes the peak of bronze sword meaning, not only demonstrates the sharpness of the weapons of that era, but also illustrates the prosperity of China's ancient sword refining technology.
In the Spring and Autumn Period of our country, there were beautiful legends about the two sword masters of the cadre General Mo Xie, and at the same time, it also showed the achievements of China's sword culture, which changed from the beginning to prosperity and gradually reached the peak.
In the earliest times, due to the tedious and boring marching, and most of the soldiers were men, the sword dance was dominated by the majestic and strong beauty displayed by the men, and the Sword Dance of Xiangzhuang in the Hongmen Banquet, intended to be pei gong's behavior, can be seen that the sword dance at that time was a form of entertainment for the princes and nobles or the military when they feasted and drank.
In the Han Dynasty, which advocated force, due to the military achievements made by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the cry of Huo fu who was sick and would be punished from afar, the popularity of force became a common practice for a while and was respected by the people at all levels. At this time, with the promotion and application of swords, there was gradually an art form of sword dance.
In the process of development, due to the innovation of weapon systems, the prosperity of swords has gradually been replaced by various weapons to a certain extent. But this does not hinder the important position of the sword in weapons, as well as the common nature of the daily life of the samurai, during the Jin Dynasty, the weapons used by Liu Kun and Zu Di who smelled the chicken dancing were the protagonists of our day - the sword.
The ancient gentlemen defended themselves with swords, so the pursuit of swordsmanship by the scholar class at that time was unremitting. As early as the pre-Qin period, Confucius's disciple Zilu had a record of drawing swords and dancing, which shows that the sword dance has a long history.
In such a deep cultural background, and in the process of gradual ritualization of sword qi over the past thousand years, it seems inevitable that the sword dance of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > second, the whole people are still martial, and the sword moves in all directions</h1>
In the early days of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, due to the background setting of Li Tang's birth in the Longxi Clique, it seems that it was naturally determined that this dynasty was a prosperous world that advocated force and forged ahead. Then behind this prosperous world, military admiration undoubtedly strengthened the prosperity and prosperity of the dynasty.
In this kind of admiration for force by the whole people, as well as the desire to fight on the battlefield and make meritorious achievements, the environment for the rapid development of sword dance during the Tang Dynasty was gradually created.
In the early tang dynasty, the national strength of the army was strong in combat, and the good use of the upper rulers influenced a large number of promising soldiers to actively forge ahead and improve their martial arts. The sword, as a beautiful weapon, has a long history, and it has not disappeared among the newly emerged weapons, but has gradually flourished and occupied the hearts of the samurai masters.
With the prevalence of the martial arts spirit, sword dance as a daily activity related to force, has become widely popular, and among the samurai doctors who have great respect for sword dance, some of them are sword dance viewers, and another small number are directly involved in this activity.
Their admiration and participation accelerated the development of sword dance. Among the more famous of these is the general Pei Min, and in the legend of this general who advocated sword dance, there is a widely circulated story between him and Wu Daozi.
Although the general was a marcher, he was a rare filial piety, and on the occasion of his mother's death, he asked for calligraphy and painting from The Painting Saint Wu Daozi to fulfill his mother's last wish, and often accompanied his mother as a funeral object. However, Wu Daozi was unable to complete the painting immediately because of his exhaustion of inspiration, but instead asked General Pei Min to complete the painting by dancing the sword.
General Pei Min acted according to his words, and sure enough, the dance was painted and brought to life. The famous calligrapher Mr. Yan Zhenqing also described General Pei's sword dance posture, in Yan Zhenqing's pen, his sword dance posture is as dazzling as thunder and lightning.
This all shows the transcendent achievements of General Pei's sword dance, and it is inevitable that Emperor Wenzong, who has always been a literary style, listed his sword dance with Li Bai's poetry and Zhang Xu's cursive writing as the three major skills at that time.
At that time, the sword dance was not only popular among generals and generals, but also widely spread among literati and inkers. For example, the poet Li Bai, who is juxtaposed with General Pei's sword dance, is also a master of sword dance.
He was once a hero who danced his sword in the waterfall to "draw a knife and cut off the water and flow more", and also once made a "ten steps to kill one person, thousands of miles without leaving a line". From Li Bai alone, we can see that in tang dynasty society, there was a general admiration for force, and Wen Ce seemed to be inferior.
All this shows the open and uninhibited atmosphere of the entire Tang Dynasty and the atmosphere of advocating force. It is this mentality of winning by force that determines the grandeur of Datang.
The symbol of the peak of sword dance art in the Tang Dynasty is far more than this, when the world, the monarchs and men and women, young and poor, rich and lowly are obsessed with sword dance art, such as the sword dancers represented by women, there are artists who are good at sword dance such as Gongsun Da niang Li Twelve Niang.
When Emperor Xuanzong founded Pear Garden, he must not have imagined that this sword dance activity would spread in all directions with the support of the people and the love of the soldiers, forming a system and norms.
Facts have also proved that sword dance, as an art form that flourished in the Tang Dynasty, was an indispensable form of entertainment for the residents and the army of the Tang Dynasty, and it was also the peak of art that people liked to hear.
In the army, at banquets, and in the streets of Chang'an City, the majestic posture of dancing with swords and the elation of the onlookers could be seen everywhere. It can be seen that the audience of the art of sword dance is huge and the number of advocates is large.
However, it is the sword dance art of the Tang Dynasty that is at its peak, but it is rare in the depiction and life of later generations. After the sword dance reached its peak in the late Tang Dynasty, it suddenly took a sharp turn and decayed. What led to such a drastic change? The various reasons behind this should also start from the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > three, success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He</h1>
During the period of rapid decline of the sword dance, it was also the period when the military strength of the Tang Dynasty declined and the country was headed for extinction. It can be seen that there is a certain correlation between the two, and it is this connection that makes the fate of the sword dance art closely linked to the Tang Dynasty.
Looking at the entire history of the Tang Dynasty's hegemony over the world, we can know that the army of the Tang Dynasty was the most advanced and the most powerful team in the world at that time. Then, the sword dance culture that flourished in this team also symbolized the Tang Army's combat effectiveness behind the day after day. The so-called overwhelming force is the military momentum bred in this daily related culture.
Under the protection of this iron army, the entire Central Plains territory was opened up and the people lived a prosperous life. Both economy and culture take on a thriving form of development. This also creates a stable and prosperous living environment for the people, so that sword dance and other cultures can develop steadily in this fertile land.
This is the worship of the force that maintains this prosperity, which makes the people extremely favor the sword dance culture. The relationship between the two is mutually reinforcing. In addition, due to the enlightened national style of the Tang Dynasty, the status of women has greatly improved compared with the previous feudal dynasties, and the residents here have a high degree of freedom in cultural activities and cultural exchange activities.
This is the fertile land for the development of housing and the reason for its prosperity, and the enlightened and inclusive Tang Dynasty, due to its deep cultural exchanges with the surrounding nomads, made the nomadic people uninhibited and also affected the people living in the Central Plains. The sword dance culture is the representative of this boldness and rigidity.
In the later period of the Tang Dynasty, due to the impact of the Anshi Rebellion and the gradual division of the Li Tang Dynasty by the feudal towns, it was eventually replaced by other dynasties. This open-minded and inclusive diplomatic attitude, as well as the social atmosphere of advocating force, have gradually disappeared.
It is precisely because of the disappearance of various reasons that promote the prosperity of sword dance culture that the sword dance culture, a flourishing artistic activity, has gradually lost its foundation.
There is no doubt that it was a dynasty worth remembering, not only because of the heyday of sword dance and other cultures born in that land, but also in the openness and tolerance of "no matter Yidi, love is the same".
With the development of time and the decline of sword dance culture, Gongsun Daniang's style of being rigid and soft and graceful like a dragon. In the end, it is a pity that it has been lost in the smoke and dust of history, and we can only glimpse one or two through the recorded poems today.
In the forward of the wheel of history, many cultures from the beginning to the victory, from prosperity to decline, this is the natural development and dynastic changes can not change the law, all we can do is to remember these cultural facts, in history there is their own existence and self-formed system, rather than like the hanging garden of Babylon, drowned in the dust and sand do not know the end.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" >4, See Resources</h1>
1. "History of Xiang Yu Benji"
2. "Guan Gongsun Grand Lady Disciple Sword Dance Instrument Line"
3. "Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom"