When night falls, the lights of the Shang court are bright, the musicians play mysterious melodies, and the dancers are graceful, as if telling ancient stories.
This gorgeous music and dance was once a symbol of the strength of the great merchants, but it also hid the undercurrent of the decline of the dynasty.
Is it a song of prosperity or an elegy for the end?
An overview of the development of music and dance in ancient China and the Shang Dynasty
Music and dance are the most commonly used ways for human beings to express emotions and release emotions, and their origins are very early, dating back to primitive societies and even before the emergence of human language.
Ancient Chinese began to make musical instruments very early, and archaeologists have found bone flutes more than 8,000 years ago at the Jiahu site in Wuyang, Henan, which have a seven-tone scale structure, accurate pronunciation, and beautiful sound quality.
The dance pattern in the faience pot decoration of the new era is the earliest portrayal of the primitive song and dance, a group of five, hand in hand, light and neat, coordinated, full of business, showing the life of the ancestors when they danced collectively.
Music and dance have played a pivotal role in the development of human society, and with the development of society, their functions and aesthetic standards are also changing.
In the early days, music and dance were not only a way for people to entertain, but also had an important function of communicating with the gods. Engels said: "Dance, in particular, is the main component of all religious festivals". "The songs, dances, plays, paintings, myths, and incantation......s of later generations were completely integrated in this chaotic unity of undifferentiated witchcraft ritual activities in ancient times, like fire, drunk, pious and savage, fervent and strict. …… They are all part of the fiery fiery witchcraft ritual or symbolic markers.
They are the embodiment of dances, songs, and incantations with divine magic. They condense and accumulate the strong emotions, thoughts, beliefs and expectations of primitive people. So, the early musicians and dancers were also shamans, and these shamans blessed the gods and ancestors by playing musical instruments, chanting, and dancing. With the progress of civilization and the emergence of the country, music and dance have also become an important part of political life, legend has it that Shun appointed Kui as the classic music, in charge of music and dance, Kui produced the music of "Xiao Shao", and music and dance became a part of the country's political activities.
When Yu, the music of "Da Xia" was produced, and the martial arts dance in the army was also formalized. After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the sacrificial and political functions of music and dance were enhanced, and legend has it that the king of Xia Qi obtained the nine debates and nine songs from the heavens, and developed the music and dance called "Nine Shao", and showed the music of "Nine Shao" to the princes during the hunting tour, and the "Book of Xia" clearly contained the provisions of "persuading the subjects to use nine songs". Music and dance in the Shang Dynasty were more developed and played an important role in all aspects of social life.
The musical instruments of the Shang Dynasty are rich in kinds, the musical instruments found in archaeology include pottery xun, stone chimes and bronze cymbals, cymbals, drums, bells and many other kinds, and many musical instruments recorded in the oracle bone inscriptions, including more than ten kinds of musical instruments such as drums, moles, yong, zhu, chimes, and gongs, including percussion, blowing and other musical instruments. The court of the Shang Dynasty had a special music and dance team, there were special musicians, the leader was called Taishi, Shaoshi, and there were many positions.
It can be seen that the musicians of the Shang Dynasty were composed of Taishi, Shaoshi, Yafan, Sanfan, Sifan, Si Gu, Si Qi, etc. "Zhou Li, Da Si Le": "Wang Da eats three meals, and all order bells and drums to play", which means that the Son of Heaven should play music to persuade food when he eats, and the musicians who play music are Ya Fan, San Fan, and Si Fan. The professional musicians and dancers of the Shang Dynasty were called Wan.
Wan is a major player in music and dance. There are also "dancers", who may be dancers of lower status. It is said that the Shang Dynasty also saw the emergence of a special institution for the management of music and dance, called "Rongtai".
Types of music and dance in the Shang Dynasty
The music and dance of the Shang Dynasty were diverse. Merchants have the habit of attaching importance to music and dance, and it is said in the Book of Rites and Sacrifices that "Yin Ren Shangsheng", that is, merchants attach great importance to music when they are sacrificial. Some of the music names of the Shang Dynasty are recorded in the literature, such as "Huainanzi Qi Folk Training": "Yin people...... Its joy is 'Dahui' and 'Morning Dew'. "Lü's Spring and Autumn Ancient Music" also said:
The big pool, morning dew, nine strokes, and six columns here are all names for music and dance, and they were made by the minister Yi Yin on the order of the Shang King Chengtang.
The function of music and dance in the Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty music and dance used in all aspects of political and social life, according to the purpose of the music and dance, can be roughly divided into religious witch dance, political sacrificial dance, martial dance, and entertainment song and dance, because the Shang Dynasty blood and politics are combined, so each type of music and dance has a variety of functions and attributes at the same time.
The most important music and dance of the Shang Dynasty recorded in the literature are "Mulberry Forest" and "Dahui". The legend of "Mulberry Forest" was created because Cheng Tang successfully prayed for rain at the Mulberry Forest Society, which was originally a music and dance to worship the Mulberry Forest Society, and the main object of worship was the god of the land, and at the same time it had the function of promoting good yield and fertility, and became one of the main music and dances of the Shang Dynasty.
The Mulberry Forest was later inherited by the Song Kingdom, a descendant of Shang, and became the signature music and dance of the Song Kingdom, sometimes displayed to visiting princes and envoys. "Zuo Chuan: Ten Years of Xianggong" records that the Song State once showed the joy of mulberry forest to the visiting Jin mourning duke: "The Song prince enjoys the Jin marquis in Chuqiu, please use "Mulberry Forest"". Because the music and dance of "Mulberry Forest" is related to love and childbirth, so it is widely spread, and it has become synonymous with music and dance in the Warring States Period.
There are a large number of records of praying for rain with music and dancing in oracle bone inscriptions:
The content recorded in the above divination is to pray for rain with music and dance, and the music and dance used in various forms reflect the witch dance on the religious occasions of the merchants. There are also records of witches in the oracle bone inscriptions:
Wu Yinbu: Wu and V. Rain tonight.
癸卯布, Zhen: Wine begging.
Yi Si from 癸巳: Wu Ning soil, river, Yue.
Regarding Wu, the Shuowen explains that "Wu, Zhu Ye" refers to the use of dance to communicate with the gods. Not only witches, but other people can also use dance to communicate with the gods on special religious occasions, such as:
There was heavy rain and dance.
Wang Qi called for a bowl, and there was rain.
Sumada Dance.
戍 refers to armed personnel guarding a certain place; Fields, i.e., those who cultivate and cultivate the fields, also participate in religious activities in the form of dances on occasions such as praying for rain. "Da Hui", also known as "Shao Hao", is a dance compiled to commemorate the destruction of Xia by Cheng Tang, and it is a kind of martial arts dance that reproduces the course of Cheng Tang's conquest.
When the merchant worships his ancestors, he will play the "Da Hui", it is said that the "Book of Songs, Shang Song, Na" is the chapter of the sacrifice into the soup, and the poem may depict the "Da Hui" music and dance, and the poem says:
Yi and that with! Put me on the drum. Playing the drums is simple and simple, and I am a martyr. Tang Sun played fake, and I thought about it.
The drums are deep, and the pipes are clicking. Both harmonious and peaceful, according to my chime. Yu He Tang Sun! Mu Mu swooped.
Yong drum has a beating, and ten thousand dances have Yi. I have a guest, 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.
This is a song preserved by the ruling class of the Song Kingdom, a descendant of the Yin Shang, to worship their ancestors, including Chengtang, and depicts the scene of the merchants performing drums, bells, pipes, chimes and other musical instruments with dancing and sacrificing. After the Zhou people destroyed the Shang Dynasty, in order to show their legitimacy, they inherited the "Da Hui", and Shun's "Shao Hui", Yu's "Da Xia" and the Zhou people's own "Dawu" and other music and dances, together as a symbol of the Zhou Dynasty's co-dominant status in the world.
It is said that Ji Za of Wu had watched "Da Hui" after arriving in Lu State, and he exclaimed after watching it: "The sage is also Hong, and there is still shame." The difficulty of the saints is also. ("Zuo Chuan: The Twenty-Ninth Year of Xianggong") means that "the saint is already great, but he still lacks self-examination. It's not easy to be a saint. "There are many records of ancestors sacrificed with music and dance in oracle bone inscriptions:
Its general worship, drums, its ...... Bless.
Five drums, if God is a king, there is a blessing.
This is the use of drums to play music as a sacrifice to God or ancestors. Also in the oracle are:
Socho Yang Kanade.
This divination records the use of bells to worship Zuding. Also in the oracle are:
Zhen: Don't dance the river.
Jia Zibu, Zhengzhen: I dance Yue.
Hui Zu Ding Shu danced with it, and it was positive.
These divination records the use of music and dance to worship natural gods and ancestral gods such as He, Yue, and Zuding. It can be seen that music and dance were common sacrificial methods used by merchants.
In addition to witch dances, martial dances, and sacrificial dances, merchants also used dances as an important form of ritual and entertainment in their daily lives, and Shang kings and nobles at all levels often participated in dances. For example, in the oracle bone inscriptions, there are "Wang Qi Dance", "Zi Dance", "Hu Shu Dance", "Hu Duo Lao Dance", etc., which means that Wang, Zi, Shu, Duo Lao and so on participate in the dance. Because dance is an important part of the daily life of the Shang Dynasty nobles, so it is very concerned, the Shang Dynasty even specially formulated relevant laws to regulate and restrict the music and dance activities of the nobles, the ancient text "Shangshu Yixun" records that Yi Yin formulated the rules for the management of officials, which stipulates that "dare to have a constant dance in the palace, sing in the room, when it is called witch wind", that is, uncontrolled singing and dancing will be regarded as "witch wind", to be severely punished.
Regarding the sanction of "witch wind", "Mozi Feile Shang" has: "Tang Zhi's "Official Punishment" has, 'its constant dance in the palace is called witch wind. The punishment is that the gentleman has two guards of silk, and the villain has no '", and the nobles who have committed the crime of "witch wind" must "produce two guards of silk", that is, they must pay one hundred and sixty bundles of silk, while ordinary people can be exempted from punishment. It can be seen that the "witch style" is mainly aimed at the norms of nobles and officials.
Education and training in music and dance in the Shang Dynasty
Because music and dance are held from time to time and have such an important function and role, merchants pay special attention to the training of music and dance. In addition to the Rongtai management and training of music and dance, the Shang Dynasty also set up the Zongzong, which was not only an educational institution, but also had the function of training music and dance.
Blind, refers to the eye defective people, the ancients took advantage of the blinded people's better hearing conditions, let them act as music officials, "Poetry, Zhou Song, Youyi" Zheng's note cloud: "Blind, Mengye, thought that the music official." "The Sect is a school in the Shang Dynasty, and the "Book of Rites: Ming Tang Position" cloud: "The Sect, Yin Xueye", is a place to teach etiquette and music. There are also records of dancers learning in the oracle bones:
Ding Youbu, today's ten thousand. "The Oracle Bone of Xiaotun Nandi"
More than 10,000 ...... If. The Collection of Oracle Bones in Britain
Wanhe Wanhe is a dancer, and they are also in education and training. The music and dance education of the Shang Dynasty was very developed, after the Zhou people destroyed the Shang, they used a lot of music and dance personnel of the Shang Dynasty, and the third volume of the "Han Poetry Biography" recorded: "The poem says: There is a blind eye, in the court of the Zhou; The remnants of the people are also. It shows that there were many blind people in the Zhou court who were proficient in musical instruments, and they were Yin relics, and they were continued to be appointed as music officials by the Zhou people.
The development of music and dance in the Shang Dynasty is a revelation for us
Because music and dance occupy an important position in politics and sacrifice, musical instruments and dances have been given special meaning along with sacrificial vessels and rituals, and have become symbols of state power in the Shang Dynasty. In the early Shang Dynasty, music and dance were mainly used for formal political and religious occasions, and the situation of entertainment in life was not prominent. However, in the later period of the Shang Dynasty, the rule became more and more corrupt, life became more and more extravagant, music and dance became more and more important entertainment, and its original serious and solemn function was ignored and abandoned.
"Historical Records of Yin Benji" records that when the king of Shang was king, "good wine and lewd music, so that the teacher Juan made a new lewd sound, the dance of the north, the joy of millet mi, and the big gathering of music in the sand dunes." The corruption and extravagance of the Shang Dynasty aroused the dissatisfaction of the Shang nobles, and many people fled from the Shang Dynasty and took refuge in the Zhou Kingdom, and even the officials in charge of musical instruments and music and dance in the Shang Dynasty defected to the Zhou Wu King.
"Historical Records of Zhou Benji" recorded this incident: "(Yin) Master Pi and Young Master Bi carried their musical instruments and ran to Zhou, so King Wu told the princes all over the place: 'Yin has a serious crime, and he can't be killed. This account shows that the Shang Dynasty's musicians Taishi Pi and Shaoshi Yi fled to the Zhou State with the Shang Dynasty's musical instruments, because the music, dance and musical instruments are a symbol of the rationality of the regime, so the Zhou Dynasty musicians and musical instruments have a sufficient basis to crusade against the Shang Dynasty's king, so they told the princes everywhere: "The Shang Dynasty king is guilty of a great crime, and he must be completely defeated." "The music, dance, and musical instruments that originally provided support for the rule of the Shang Dynasty became evidence of the Shang Dynasty's crimes in the Zhou Dynasty, providing opportunities and support for the Zhou people to represent the Shang, and the Shang Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty.
epilogue
To sum up, the development of music and dance in the Shang Dynasty not only gives us a deeper understanding of music and dance at that time, and feels the existence of music and dance as a "meaningful form", but also provides a more profound thinking and a good perspective on how we can promote the healthy development of contemporary music and dance.
We see that when the rulers of the Shang Dynasty took music and dance seriously and used it rationally, the Shang Dynasty maintained its prosperity, and when the merchants only wanted to enjoy indulging in singing and dancing, the merchants went into decline. Therefore, the development of modern music and dance should also have a correct development direction and scientific positioning, whether from the level of national management, or scientific research institutions and even experts and scholars, we should actively promote the development of healthy and progressive music and dance, constantly meet the people's growing needs for a better life, and provide a strong source of power for China's economic, social and cultural development.