Copywriter|Aquatic smoker
Editor|Aquatic Smoker
preface
Tang Xuanzong was arguably the premier musical artist in that era.
Emperor Xuanzong's love of music and dance is not only innate to him, but also his use of music and dance to maintain his authority, which is a way for him to pursue the value of life.
Xuanzong's concepts of "music" and "dance" have been quite perfected and can be applied to practice, so his concepts of "music" and "dance" and the means of "music" and "dance" adopted are of great cultural value.
1. Consolidate rule and promote the unity of monarchs and subjects
Emperor Xuanzong's early ban on music and dance was an effort by him, which greatly helped the arrival of the Tang Dynasty, and from the two eras of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian, there was a tendency to luxury, that is, the demand for music and dance was very high.
To the two generations of Zhongzong and Ruizong, the emperor was delayed in enjoying and entertaining, without any restrictions on worldly entertainment, wasting huge resources and energy, and indifferent to government affairs.
Emperor Xuanzong restrained his hedonism and regarded hedonism as a major measure to abstain from extravagance and thrift, expressing his idea that "if you want to stop slander, you must first cultivate yourself".
Thus, during Emperor Xuanzong's early reign, his imperial power tended to be strengthened, while his role as a musician was deliberately diluted.
During this period, the Zong clan maintained a good relationship between music and dance and the affairs of the government, and did his best to eliminate the shortcomings, and in just six or seven years, the whole world became orderly and rich.
Emperor Xuanzong advocated that princes and ministers drink and have fun, which also contributed to the harmony between the princes and ministers, as recorded in the Old Book of Tang - Emperor Jean's Constitutional Biography:
"Once, when Emperor Xuanzong arrived here, he heard the music of several kings, so he summoned him here to have dinner with them, and if he was lucky, he would be appreciated and give gold points to celebrate."
It shows that Emperor Xuanzong is very much in favor of the princes' philanthropic movement, and he is even more thoughtful.
Wang Fuzhi said:
"Emperor Xuanzong and the great kings met in cockfights and flutes, and then with a thunderous momentum, they spit out those provocative little people, and the great kings kept the throne, and the royal family could not shake the capital, wouldn't it be possible to stop!"
The reason why Emperor Xuanzong advocated music for pleasure is probably to use musicians to dissipate their fighting spirit and make them lose their competitive spirit.
Emperor Xuanzong "Since the last dynasty, he has mostly traveled with the princes, in the forbidden palace, kowtowing, like a family, food and clothing, all equal. ”
In the middle of the temple, five halls were placed and sat side by side with the kings, called the "Five Kings' Tent".
They talk about poetry, or drink, or play games, or hunt, or hold a bamboo pole; Qinse ensemble, Fan Shanwa ensemble.
All the kings knew Emperor Xuanzong's intentions in doing this, and they all wanted to use this to dispel his suspicions.
Among the kings, headed by King Ning, he was the most humble, never arguing with people, befriending people, and Emperor Xuanzong trusted him even more.
As a result, Emperor Xuanzong's method of winning people's hearts with music and dance has received a good effect, and their "intimacy" has also become a legend.
Emperor Xuanzong encouraged the kings to feast because he wanted to eradicate hidden political dangers, but ordering ministers to attend banquets was a magnanimous attitude and a means of bringing monarchs closer together.
It can be seen from the "Xu Baiguan Holiday Vacation Does Not Enter the Imperial Edict" that the reason why Emperor Xuanzong did this is obviously that he also has a kind of thinking that "the happiness of one person is not as good as the happiness of one person".
In terms of political stability and economic prosperity, Emperor Xuanzong was in the middle and late stages of his reign, because he felt that he had nothing to worry about, so he locked himself in the palace and indulged in pleasure.
The pleasure of indulging in sound and color was bound to cause chaos in national affairs, which was also an important factor in the Anshi Rebellion, but Emperor Xuanzong's early music and dance policies played a large role in the stability of his regime.
Second, improve the artistic level of music and dance in the Tang Dynasty
Although the palace music of the era of Emperor Gaozong Wu has actively moved closer to art, it still focuses on visual and auditory shock, and the arrangement of music is mostly to show sound and pomp and circumstance, and there are also "Spring Yingxiao" to express their emotions, but they have not yet become the main theme of palace music.
In general, the music and dance after Gao Zongwu is still at a relatively low stage at the artistic level, and its aesthetic significance is not very prominent.
Because of this, many dances have been lost.
During the Xuanzong period, all music and dance were mainly entertainment.
Emperor Xuanzong is amorous by nature, and many dances have a beautiful legend, it is said that "Neon Clothes and Plumes" came back from the moon, and the creators wore colorful clothes and ribbons to show the elegance of the fairy.
This dance is the masterpiece of Emperor Xuanzong's concubine Yang Yuhuan, Zhang Ku has a song "Huaqing Palace", and there is a poem Yun:
"In the dead of night, Bi Yunxian plays colorful clothes. A song of blue flute pierces the sky, and a bright moon hangs on Lishan Mountain. ”
This dance not only has a beautiful melody, but also has an otherworldly feeling, not as shocking as "Broken Formation", not as imposing as "Divine Officer", but has an elusive sense of beauty.
According to legend, this dance is called "Lingbo Qu", known as "Dragon in Night Dreams", and known as "Huqin".
An actor named Xie Aman in the palace, because he was good at this piece, was favored by Yang Guifei and gave her a "golden armband".
The level of this music has surpassed all previous dances, even future dances.
In addition, the horse of the Xuanzong festival, which is also one of the most artistic dances of ancient animals, is called "Pouring Cup", and when the music sounds, the horses will "hold their heads high and move with the festival."
The New Book of Tang Music Records says:
"When the emperor ascended Lishan Mountain, Yang Guifei's birthday, ordered Zhang Le Changsheng Hall, played a new song, has not yet been named, sent a song south, named "Lychee Xiang"."
There is an article about Emperor Xuanzong in the "Legend of the Open Heaven", he saw "the music of Shangqing" on the moon and praised it, so he played the song he wrote with a jade flute, named "Ziyun Hui".
From their origin, name and dance form, the music and dance of the Xuanzong period either paid attention to the display of dance posture or the expression of emotions, pursuing a wonderful enjoyment, rather than a political role, which is why Emperor Xuanzong attached so much importance to the entertainment value of music and dance and recognized its uniqueness.
This is also an important reason for the development of Shengtang music and dance art.
Second, the exchange of Hu Han music and dance has been promoted
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was a person from a martial arts family, plus Gaozu and Emperor Taizong were both humble people, so when the Tang Dynasty was founded, it was very open to the culture of other countries.
Emperor Taizong once said, "Although China is a noble, Xu only likes them." ”
Therefore, since the Tang Dynasty, there have been exchanges and interactions between the two countries.
However, by the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Hudi had a particularly pronounced influence on the Central Plains, which had a lot to do with Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty's preference for Hule Hu dance and Hu customs.
In the Xuanzong era, Hu dance Hu music was very popular, and Bai Juyi had a song "Hu Xuannu":
"Hu Xuannu left the Kang family, it was useless, and there was no trace in the east."
"When the Tianbao season is in the New Year, the world changes, and all the women learn to be round."
It shows how popular Hule Hu dance was in that era.
During the Xuanzong period, the clothing and customs of the Tang Dynasty were influenced by foreign regions, and it is recorded in the "Old Book of Tang Public Opinion":
"Wu Dezhen looked at the people in the palace at the time, riding on horses, according to the old system of the Qi and Sui dynasties, wearing more square scarves and cloaks to cover their bodies,...... Gradually unveiled for rescue. ”
At the beginning of the New Century, the people accompanying him were all wearing beards and dressed up in fancy clothes, which were not affected in the slightest.
"Russia and bared horseshoe, or pizza shoes."
It can be seen from the women's clothing on horseback riding that from the Tang Dynasty to the Xuanzong period, women's clothing was largely influenced by Western culture, and gradually got rid of the restrictions on women's clothing and developed to freedom and openness.
Although these records are all made in response to the "Hufeng and Huqi" of the Xuanzong period, they do reflect the penetration of the Central Plains into foreign cultures.
In addition, in the Xuanzong era, some works of art that integrated the two civilizations of Hu and Han were also produced.
One of the most famous "Neon Clothes and Plumes" is a fusion of Yicheng music and Taoist music in the Central Plains.
There are many theories in history about the origin of this dance, but none of them are uniform, but almost everyone knows that this dance came from abroad.
There are clouds in Wang Zhuo's "Biji Manga":
"There are many opinions about the "Neon Clothes Song"."
"This poem was written by the Western Liang Emperor and written by the Daming Emperor, and it was also to gain a good reputation, and everything with demons and monsters cannot be trusted."
Wang Zhuo knew very well that this song came from Western Liang.
The New Book of Tang Lile Zhi says:
"The Hexi Festival made Yang Jingzhong sing twelve "Neon Clothes Plume Songs", and each song was sung, but when the "Neon Clothes Plume Song" was sung, the melody would become dull, so this song was different from the songs of the Central Plains."
In "Tang Huiyi", there are:
"In the thirteenth year of Tianbao, the seventy-second year, the Taile Department enshrined the name of the song, and changed the name of the music."
Obviously, the original text of "Neon Bag Yuyi" is "Brahman song", which is also recognized in the Song Dynasty.
Tang Luzhao's "Yi History" says:
"Luo Gongyuan was watching the moon in the Ming Palace, threw a stick into the sky, turned into a silver bridge, competed with the Emperor Ascension Bridge, and went straight to the moon. More than 100 fairies danced in the square. The name of this song is "Neon Clothes and Plumes". ”
Although this statement was denounced by Wang Zhuo as "all fallacies, there is no agreement", it can also be seen that Emperor Xuanzong's preference for this piece of music.
Emperor Xuanzong improved it and incorporated Taoist music theory, and finally adapted it by Yang Guifei, making it reach a very high level in the Tang Dynasty.
epilogue
Emperor Xuanzong was the leading musician of the Tang Dynasty, and he had very clear views on music and dance.
On the one hand, he felt that the indulgence of the voice had a great interference with the politics of the dynasty, and on the other hand, he felt that music and dance had a good soothing effect.
Therefore, in the early days of his accession to the throne, he used music and dance relatively modestly, and used it as a means to buy people's hearts, deter the four people, and stabilize the regime.
Emperor Xuanzong's own musical attainments made him pay more attention to its aesthetic significance and consciously explore and develop it.
However, his obsession with music and dance made him indulge in enjoyment, especially after he became a concubine of the Nayang clan, and the two achieved equal achievements in music.
The two admired each other and created a lot of excellent music, which also made the imperial government weaken day by day, bringing a great threat to the imperial court.
Of course, there are reasons for Emperor Xuanzong's abuse of music and misunderstanding the country in historical documents, but this does not negate Emperor Xuanzong's major achievements in the development of music and dance in the Tang Dynasty.
[References]
1. Yang Ming. On the changes and cultural significance of the music and dance concept of the early Tang emperors[J]Symphony(Journal of Xi'an Conservatory of Music),2013(2):21.)
2. Tang Huaquan. On the Joy of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Its Influence on Politics[J]Journal of Hebei Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 2001(2):103.
3. Wang Fuzhi. Reading through the theory [M].Beijing; Zhonghua Bookstore, 1975:1747.
4. Liu Anyu, Hu Chuanhuai. Wang Zhuoji[M].Chengdu:Bashu Books,1996,53.
5. Duan An Festival. Lefu Miscellaneous Records[M].Beijing:Zhonghua Book Co.1985:37.