Have you ever wondered how people in ancient times celebrated major festivals and rituals?
Since the ancient Shang Dynasty, music has played a unique role, not only as a quiet artistic expression, but also as a medium of communication with the gods.
When the shocking drum beat sounds, accompanied by the sound of loud bells and drums, the whole sacrificial ceremony enters the climax.
In this atmosphere of devotion and awe, people's hearts are exalted and sublimated, and at the same time, pious prayers are conveyed to the gods.
What are the unfathomable mysteries of these magical music?
The Shang Dynasty was the second hereditary dynastic era on the mainland after the Xia Dynasty. From the destruction of Xia by force by Shang Tang to the fall of Shang tyranny, a total of nearly 600 years have passed. From the Shang Dynasty onwards, the slave society entered a period of development, and at the same time, accurate written records began to appear in history. "The Book of Songs: Xuanniao" said: "The Xuanniao of Destiny descends to give birth to business." It means that according to legend, Qi was the ancestor of the merchants, and Qi was born because his mother, Jian Di, swallowed the eggs of the Xuanniao.
Shang Tang eliminated the Xia Dynasty and learned the lessons of the fall of the Xia Dynasty, abolished the oppression of the people's tyranny of the last king of the Xia Dynasty, Xia Wei, and adopted a relatively lenient policy, the internal relations between the people eased, and the political situation was relatively stable.
"The Book of Poetry, Shang Song, Xuanniao" said: "Banggi is thousands of miles, the people stop, and the four seas are all over the world." "The Shang Dynasty not only established a strong state and a relatively complete feudal system, but also the emergence of oracle bone inscriptions and other chronicling methods provided accurate written record support for the study of music and related content in later archaeological work, which played a crucial role in understanding the development of music in the Shang Dynasty.
The Shang Dynasty continued the musical function of the ancient and Xia dynasties, in which divination activities such as religion and ghosts occupied a large area. The people and the government relied on divination in every detail, and the shamans were proficient in astronomy, calendars, arts, religion, etc., and this culture had a profound impact on music education and musical functions. At the same time, worshipping the gods was still an important activity in the Shang Dynasty, and the development of music-assisted sacrificial activities also brought new changes to the development of music.
Shang Dynasty Music Culture and Functions
With the continuous development of social productive forces, the social system and class components of the Shang Dynasty continued to differentiate, which accelerated the social division of labor, and music professionals began to develop and form exclusive occupations. At the same time, the social activity area of the Shang Dynasty was larger than that of the Xia Dynasty and covered the area of the Xia Dynasty, so it should be said that the music of the Shang Dynasty was the result of continuous development on the basis of inheriting the music of the Xia Dynasty.
Merchants were good at witchcraft and worshiped gods, and the functions of music included rituals and divination. Celebrations such as worshipping gods and honoring ancestors bring new musical themes when people want to get the omen and will of certain things. The five chapters of the Book of Songs, Ode to Shang have been handed down to the Spring and Autumn Period, and the first of them, "That", although it has been revised many times, has also retained the general form of music and dance of the early Shang Dynasty to a certain extent. "That" depicts a combination of music and dance in the worship of ancestors, and the lyrics express the worship of ancestors in order to obtain the protection of the ancestral gods.
"Shang Song Na" said: "Yi and that, put me on the drum." Playing the drums is simple, and I am my ancestors. Tang Sun played fake, Sui Si I succeeded. The drums are in the abyss, and the sound of the pipes is ...... Yong drum has a beating, and ten thousand dances have Yi. I have guests, and I don't disdain. Since ancient times, the ancestors have made achievements. Gentle day and night, deacons have a heart. Gu Yuhao, the general of Tang Sun. ”
According to the meaning of the lyrics, the general picture of the music and dance form of Tangsun to pay tribute to the ancestors is shown: first, praise the ancestors, and then start to beat the drum (sheath drum), the drum is knocking, Tangsun begins to pray to the ancestors, at this time, the drums, wind and wind music sound in unison, the tune is harmonious, the chime and the beauty have ups and downs, and then the bells and drums sound in unison, the scene is grand, and the end is to sing in unison "Since ancient times, the ancestors have made" to show the sincerity and heartfelt to the ancestors, please accept the ancestors' offerings, and assist the descendants of Shang Tang.
"Shang Song Na" not only shows the music and dance scenes of the Shang Dynasty, but also highlights the richness of the materials and types of musical instruments with the development of the handicraft industry. The frequency and complexity of witchcraft and other activities in the Shang Dynasty was far greater than that of the Xia Dynasty, and historians also called the Yin Shang culture "witch culture", and the theme of the sacrificial activities must first highlight the "ceremony", and at the same time accompanied by music combined with the form of dance to present.
This tradition, which dates from ancient times and the Xia Dynasty, was called by the ancients that "rituals cannot be performed without musical accompaniment." The words of Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period: "Yin is due to the summer ceremony, and the profit and loss can be known; Zhou is due to Yin Li, and the profit and loss can be known! Among them, "Yin Li" refers to the ritual and music system of Yin Shang, and "the profit and loss can be known" means that the past dynasties did not copy and apply the ritual and music system, but removed its dross and took its essence.
It is precisely because of the existence of this method that a complete ideological system of ritual music was established during the Shang Dynasty. According to the "Spring and Autumn Zuo Biography": "The Song Gong enjoys the Jin Marquis in Chuqiu, please use "Mulberry Forest" to ...... The Marquis of Jin was afraid and retreated into the room. Roughly speaking, it means that the Song Xianggong held a grand event for the Jin princes, and the Jin princes wanted to watch the traditional music and dance "Mulberry Forest" from the Shang Dynasty, the ancestor of the Song Dynasty, which depicts the specific process of the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty who gave birth to the mother Jian Di because of his mother Jian Di's devouring the eggs of the Xuanniao, and the Jin marquis, who watched and paid attention to etiquette, hid in the room in fear after watching it. It can be seen that the primitive and rough image style of music and dance in the Shang Dynasty is obscene and absurd.
Another work, "濩", is also a representative of the music and dance of this period, which is to praise the music and dance of Shang Tang's crusade against Xia Wei. "Lü's Spring and Autumn Ancient Music" records that "Yin Tang ascended the throne, Xia was unreasonable, tyrannical to the people." Invade the princes, don't use the track, the world will suffer. Tang then led the six states to seek revenge, and became famous, and the head of Qiantou was peaceful. ”
There are also records of "濩" in the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from Yin Ruins, for example: in the "Oracle Bone Inscription Collection": "Yi Hai Bu, Zhen: Wang Tang Da Yi "濩". Death. There is also a record of "dancing "Da Baptism" to enjoy the first approval" in "Zhou Li: Da Si Le", so it seems that "Da Hui" has a deep influence on future generations. In "Spring and Autumn Left Biography", Sun Yingda's "Shu" quoted Huangfu Mi and said: "Yin Le of "Dahui", a "Mulberry Forest". Therefore, it is possible that "Dahui" is an epic large-scale music and dance in the Yin Shang period, and "Mulberry Forest" should be a part of the music and dance.
Musical intent in Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions
In order to understand the musical content and ideas of the Shang Dynasty, it is necessary to combine cultural elements and musical connotations, the Shang Dynasty has entered the period of civilization recorded in writing, and a lot of important information can be obtained from the oracle bone inscriptions, and these long but authentic records are credible. The oracle bone inscriptions that have been discovered are at least 4,500 words in a single word, and about 1,500 words have been verified and recognized in the professional academic field.
In addition to the sacrificial worship embodied in primitive religions and totems, there are also oracle bone inscriptions, which are the basis for the study of religious thought and musical culture in the Shang period. The economy of the Shang Dynasty was dominated by agriculture, and there are many records in the oracle bone inscriptions that reflect the dance of praying for rain. For example, the "Oracle Bone Collection" records: "Bingchen Bu, Zhen: Today's dance, there is rain." "Dancing is dancing with music. The Oracle Collection records: "...... Rain, Yong Dance. "Yong dance" is to play Yong and dance for rain.
The music and dance of the Yin Shang period, as can be seen from the oracle bone inscriptions, the people worship heaven and earth, the gods dominate everything, and the ancestors classify natural phenomena such as wind, clouds, rain, and electricity as the rule of the gods, and become a kind of spiritual pillar. Religious culture became the ideological shackles of politics, economy, and culture during this period. "The Sixth Year of Huan Gong" said: "First become a people, and then devote yourself to God." The strong elements of the Yin Shang emperors in the divination text created an ideological and cultural system of religion and worship, which had a far-reaching influence on the culture of later generations and was oriented.
A musical instrument from the Shang Dynasty
During the Yin Shang period, the handicraft industry was developed, and the production process was more mature and exquisite than that of Xia. Percussion is still very popular, and wind instruments have made great progress compared to ancient times, as reflected in the above-mentioned "Book of Songs, Shang Song, Na", in which wind instruments are wind instruments, and percussion instruments are yongsa, drums, and chimes. Percussion is also diverse, with drums, chimes, and bronze bells made of various shapes (mainly including cymbals, chimes, and bells).
From the ancient era of terracotta musical instruments to the Shang Dynasty using more bronze to build, and the prehistoric grinding technology gradually evolved to the Shang period of fine grinding, accompanied by carved ornamental shapes. Among them, the tiger pattern chime made of marble unearthed from Wuguan Village in Anyang, Henan Province is a fine musical instrument in the late Shang Dynasty, the pronunciation of the chime is slightly higher than #C1, the vibration number is 280.7, and the timbre is rich, similar to the sound of copper. In addition, the chime contains the interval relationship of major second, minor third and pure fourth.
Wind instruments include xun, hedge, and, speech, etc. Among them, hedges and wind instruments are only found in oracle bone inscriptions, and no physical objects have been unearthed. Among them, the ——— Kongxun unearthed from the Banpo site in Xi'an can blow out minor thirds, which shows that the foundation of the pentatonic scale and the seventh-tone scale gradually formed in the Shang and Zhou dynasties originated from this. The melody of these wind instruments increases the richness and beauty of the music, which is represented by the use of chimes and chimes.
The stringed instruments of the Shang Dynasty have not yet had any archaeological objects, although some clues can be found through oracle bone inscriptions, Li Chunyi's "History of Pre-Qin Music" mentions: "The bow appeared in ancient times, and it is very likely that the Shang Dynasty had stringed instruments." "But for now, we have to wait for archaeological excavations to confirm it. These instruments were not all the instruments of the time, but at that time they already reflected that the music culture of the Shang Dynasty had developed to a considerable height, and a variety of tonality, intervals and tonal concepts appeared, and the emergence of chromatic intervals also laid the foundation and created the necessary conditions for the establishment of the twelve rhythms.
To sum up, the Shang Dynasty once used music to govern the country, revere the ancestors, and thus consolidate the supremacy and dominance of the Shang Dynasty, the relationship between divination, sacrifice, witch dance and music culture in the Shang Dynasty is closely linked, as mentioned above, the Shang Dynasty practiced divination, witchcraft, and sacrifice as a tool to rule the people such as removing disasters, praying for rain, and seeking blessings, and used a combination of qin and music instruments and witchcraft to ask the gods for rain.
"Lü's Spring and Autumn Period, Midsummer Chronicles, Ancient Music" said: "The three of them the oxtail, and they are enough to sing Baque - called "Carrying the People"; the second is "Xuanniao"; the third is "Sui Grass and Trees"; Fourth, it is said that "Fen Wu Gu"; Fifth, it is called "Respecting Heaven"; Sixth, it is said that "Emperor Jiangong"; Seventh, it is called "Yide"; Eight said "The Extreme of Total Beasts". "These eight songs are generally about the music and dance of prayer ceremonies such as farming, productivity, and spring sowing. It can be seen that the music of the Shang Dynasty at this time has been detached from the chaotic state and has its own unique musical story or ritual characteristics.
In particular, the "Lutai" built during the period of the Shang Dynasty set up a "meat forest" and "wine pool" as a "new sound", and it has reached a carnival all night. It shows that music has developed to a relatively mature stage in the Shang Dynasty, and at the same time, the music form is rich, combining the artistic characteristics of poetry, music and dance. With the development of handicrafts, the merchants at this time were able to grasp the pronunciation principle of musical instruments and the physical properties of materials to a certain extent, and the musical instruments they manufactured laid a solid foundation for the development of music in the Zhou Dynasty.