I have always liked the pottery maids, costumes and murals of Datang, especially like the dance records left in the murals, like the graceful style of the Tang dances left on the Dunhuang murals, the beautiful fluttering and feminine, imprinted in the heart and always touching myself, allowing myself to find the mysteries and thick roots of these dances little by little.
After the Tang Dynasty experienced the great migration and integration of the nationalities of the two Jin dynasties and the southern and northern dynasties, there was a peak period of ethnic integration in China's history, coupled with a series of ethnic open policies implemented during the Zhenguan period, thus forming a multi-ethnic Mutual Respect and Mutual Integration of the Tang Empire. This made the music and dance of what period have a leap in national integration.
The musical and dance works of this period can be described as colorful and varied. On the basis of traditional music and dance culture, it also integrates the dance elements of various neighboring countries and tribes on the Silk Road to create many Tang Dynasty dances with different styles and different charms.
The following article introduces the classification of Datang dance, which is mainly divided into two categories. The first type is Jian dance, the second type is soft dance, in fact, continue to refine the classification, there is a third type of garnet dance, the fourth type of scarf dance, because the latter two types of discoveries are not as many as the first two types of discoveries, so it is not common in research, especially the scarf dance, only found in a Mural in the tomb of a Yanfei in the Tang Dynasty, the style of dance is actually similar to the water sleeve dance in modern classical dance, this dance has been passed down to the Qing Dynasty, that is, we see the beginning of the amazing dance in the TV series "Zhen Huan", although the history of the scarf dance is not much, But what has been circulating is long-
While the garnet dance seems to belong to the soft dance category, a dance holding a willow branch, I have not seen the remaining portrait of the garnet dance, so I cannot describe it.
Jian dance is mainly Yang Guifei's Hu Xuan dance, An Lushan's Hu Teng dance, this Kind of Hu Xuan Dance is also divided into detailed categories, An Lushan and Shi Siming are both Sogdians, not Hu people. However, at that time, the Tang Dynasty women's Hu Xuan Dance and the men's Hu Teng Dance were very popular, and many liquor stores had many Hu Ji dancers, so the Hu Xuan Dance left many mural records for the Tang Dynasty, especially the Dunhuang mural Datang part, leaving many treasures for our future generations. Of course, the sword dance like Gongsun Da Niang in the Jian Dance is also the style and culture of the Tang Dynasty and then passed on to the world.
There is no specific introduction in the soft dance article, but I have inquired from other sources, mainly from the Han Dynasty dance and Sogdian dance left over or circulated, Yang Guifei choreographed the famous feather dance in history, And Tang Ming Emperor and Yang Guifei personally rehearsed and modified it, becoming a classic of court dance. Sogdian dance is a similar belly dance transmitted by the Sogdians in Arabic, Chang'an liquor store is also a night and night song interpretation of their own different styles of dance, you can imagine the prosperous scene of Chang'an at that time, singing and dancing, prosperous and prosperous, these are finally engraved with gorgeous brushstrokes in the tomb murals of the emperors and princes of the Tang Dynasty, the queens and noble concubines, and the humerus ministers. It is these rescue excavations of the mausoleums that have left us with rare treasures and immortal culture and art, as if we are in the palace of the Tang Dynasty Chang'an, the liquor store, the night and night song with the dancers dancing, crazy rotation, just like this in the time and space tunnel of the years, constantly turning and turning, turning to today a thousand years later. Datang's dance is so beautiful!
Happy Weekend Friends!
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<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Tang Dynasty dances - "Jian Dance" and "Soft Dance"</h1>
The Tang Dynasty people divided the performative dances that were spread in the court, the magnates and the folk into two categories according to their style characteristics: "Jian Dance" and "Soft Dance". Generally speaking, the healthy dance movements are vigorous and the rhythm is bright; the soft dance is graceful and gentle, and the rhythm is soothing.
Music and dance figurines (excavated from the tomb of Zheng Rentai in Liquan County, Shaanxi Province in 1970)
In the Tang Dynasty, the healthy dance and soft dance were mostly solo or double dances.
Among the Jian dances of the Tang Dynasty, the most famous are "Hu Xuan", "Hu Teng", "Garnet Branches" and so on from the Western Regions. These dances are quick, bright, lively and beautiful, showing the bold and cheerful national character of the western ethnic groups, which coincides with the open and upward era style of the Tang Empire, which is very in line with the appreciation and interest of the people at that time, so it can prevail in the court and the folk.
"Hu Xuan Dance" was introduced to the Central Plains from the Kang kingdom of Central Asia during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and became a popular dance genre throughout the country by the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, has a poem "Hu Xuannu":
Hu Xuannu, the heart should be stringed, the hand should be drummed.
The strings and drums are lifted with two sleeves, and the snow flutters back to the fluffy dance.
Turn left and right tirelessly, and there is no time for a thousand turns.
The human creatures are incomparable, and the wheels are slow to whirlwind late... Bai Juyi's friend Yuan Shu and others also have poems describing the "Hu Xuan Dance". From their descriptions, we know that Hu Xuannu generally performs on small round carpets. They wore thin, soft, close-fitting dance suits, lightly fluttering scarves and sparkling ornaments. To the sound of plucked instruments and drums, the bearded women dance. The sleeves are raised, and with the change of action, it is like flying snow fluttering, like a fluffy grass flying. They turn left and right, seemingly tirelessly. The rotation was faster than the running wheel, faster than the whirlwind, so that the audience could not distinguish her back from her face. This kind of moving dance fascinated the Tianzi of the Tang Dynasty, causing "everyone in the concubines to learn to circle", and the concubines and concubines and military generals had to learn to circle. Yang Yuhuan, a noble concubine favored by Tang Xuanzong, and An Lushan, who launched the "An Shi Rebellion", were both masters of dancing huxuan. From the mural paintings of Cave 220 of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, we can roughly see the dance of Hu Xuan.
Dunhuang Mogao Caves Cave 220 Dance Mural (Partial)
The Huteng Dance is a folk dance from Shiguo (in present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan). The Tang Dynasty poet Li Duan has "Hu Teng'er" describing the scene of Hu Teng's dance:
Hu Teng's body is Liangzhou'er, and his skin is like a jade nose like a cone.
The tong cloth light shirt is rolled back and forth, and the grapes are long and hanging on one side.
Kneel in front of the tent to make the pronunciation, pick up the sleeves and stir the sleeves for the king's dance.
Raise your eyebrows and step on the felt, and the red sweat exchange bead hat is biased.
Drunk but leaning east and west, his boots were weak in front of the lamp.
The circle should be rushed, and the backhand forked waist is like a moon.
Silk Tong suddenly played a song at the end, like a whine painting the hair of The Horn City.
The tomb of Su Sixun in the Tang Dynasty in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, unearthed music and dance murals
Another poet, Liu Yanshi, has a poem "Wang Zhongcheng Mansion Night Watching the Dance of Hu Teng":
Shi GuoHu'er people are rare, and they are anxious like birds in front of the squatting dance.
Woven into a hat with a false tip, a fine felt-bearded shirt with small sleeves.
Throwing down the grape cup in his hand, he looked far away from homesickness.
Jump around and turn the hub treasure belt sound, make the colorful brocade boots soft.
The four seats are speechless, and the horizontal flute and pipa are more frequent.
The new blanket of snow vermilion hair fluttered around, as if lightly flowering under a red candle.
From this we know that the performers of "Hu Teng Dance" in the Tang Dynasty were mostly men of the western ethnic groups. They wear pointed embroidered beaded hats on their heads and light shirts of woolen or tung cloth. The placket is rolled up front and back, and a long belt with grape pattern is tied around the waist. Wear soft brocade boots under your feet. "Hu Teng Dance" is also performed on flower felt. Instruments accompanied by the transverse flute and lute. Hu Teng's footwork is dominated by jumping and rapid squatting and kicking. Intense movements often cause dancers to "sweat and communicate". Sometimes it is like a bird flying, and sometimes it is like a wheel spinning in the air. Dancers sometimes hold wine glasses and dance while drinking. Sometimes I get drunk and throw away my wine glass when I'm happy. Sometimes the backhand is crossed at the waist, and the body is leaned back, like a hook bending the moon. There is a picture of music and dance in the mural of tang Su Sixun's tomb in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, which seems to be a Hu Teng dance.
Tang Wuwen remnant stele side lion vine pattern dance portrait rubbing
"Garnet Dance" is also a folk dance in Central Asia, which flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Many Tang Dynasty poets such as Liu Yuxi, Du Mu, Zhang Hu, Xu Hu, etc. all wrote poems describing the "Garnet Dance". From their descriptions, we know that the Tang Dynasty dancing garnet branches of the woman, slender figure wearing a thin and soft embroidered robe. The shirt clings tightly to the body, and the sleeves are narrow and long. He wears beaded flower hats on his head, and some of them are decorated with small bells. Some have buns on their heads and soft boots made of red brocade at their feet. The accompaniment is dominated by a tambourine and singing in between. The drum beats vary a lot.
Poets of the Tang Dynasty said: "Three consecutive strokes of the painting drum urging" (Bai Juyi's "Garnet Branch Whore"), "Garnet Branch Initial DrumMing Move" (Zhang Xiaobiao's "Garnet Branch"), "Big Drum Dance Garnet Branch" (Yang Juyuan's "Sending Shenzhou Lu Gong Envoy"), "Garnet Branch Wild Drum Yin Qinglei" (Du Mu's "Four Songs of Huaizhongling Old Tour") ... It shows that the garnet dance is played in the sound of drums, and the whole set of dance moves is also controlled and coordinated by the sound of drums. There is a lot of kung fu on the sleeves of the garnet dance. Sometimes the sleeves are upturned, "the sleeves are thick and bulging"; sometimes the sleeves are whisked to the ground, "long sleeves into the Chinese clothes". Foot kung fu is not simple, in addition to the general stepping knots, there are also shabu crotch, kneeling and squatting actions, the so-called "violet shirt is like squatting, red brocade boots soft stepping festival" (Zhang Hu "Guan Yang Zhen Zhi"), "Red Painting Shirt wrapped around the wrist, Bi Tao Square crotch back waist" (Zhang Hu "Guan Hangzhou Garnet Branch").
The dance will be over, the drums will be tight, the climax will come, "the sharp break is swaying, and the luo shirt is half off the shoulders" (Xue Neng's "Three Songs of Garnet Words"). At this time, the dancer's physical efforts also reached a climax, "the drum urges the waist to be soft, and the sweat penetrates the rain and flowers" (Liu Yuxi's "And Lotte Garnet Branches"). After the song is finished, it is also necessary to send hope to the audience, leaving a feminine glimpse, "The song is back to the place, Zeng Bo is still paying attention to people." When exiting the stage, it is necessary to "lean and light" to bow to the audience.
Painted female dancing figurines excavated from the Tang tomb in Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi Province
"Garnet Dance" also has a double dance, called "Double Garnet Dance". There is also a kind of "Qu Zhi Zhi", which is performed by two girls. They first hide in the "lotus", and when the petals slowly open, the girls emerge from the lotus, relatively dancing, the style is "elegant". "QuZhu Branch" does not belong to the healthy dance, but belongs to the soft dance. Five generations later, the Tang poet and Ning "Xie HongGe" said that "two Yaochi little immortals, at this time to seize the name of the garnet branch", referring to the performance of "Qu Zhaozhi".
The Garnet Dance was popular throughout the Tang Dynasty and remained a popular dance until the Song Dynasty. The famous northern Song Dynasty minister Kou Zhun had to arrange a garnet dance program for each banquet, so he got the nickname of "garnet topsy".
Among the Jian dances of the Tang Dynasty, the "Sword Dance" is also very famous. It was developed from the various postures of ancient fencing. Gongsun Da Niang was once the best performer of the Tang Dynasty's "Sword Dance". Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, saw Gongsun Da Niang dancing sword weapons in Henan when he was a child. In the second year of the Gregorian calendar (767 AD), Du Fu saw the sword instrument performance of Li Twelve Niang, a disciple of Gongsun Da Niang, in Fuzhou, Sichuan, so he wrote a poem "Guan Gongsun Da Niang Disciple Dancing Sword Instrument Line". The poem says that the sword dance of Gongsun Da Niang is famous in all directions, and every time it is performed, the viewer is like a mountain. As she danced, the sword shone brightly, as if the mythical Houyi had shot down nine suns. With her swift footwork, the sword spun around, and the cold light flashed, like a group of immortals flying on a dragon. The rumble of the drums, like thunder and fury, often makes the audience change color, and sometimes makes people feel that the sky is low and uncertain. The dance collected the sword, and like the waves of the rivers and seas, condensed the clear light.
It is said that Zhang Xu, a calligrapher famous for cursive writing in the Tang Dynasty, was inspired by the sword dance of Gongsun Da Niang after seeing the sword dance of Gongsun Da Niang, and cursive writing has made great progress.
Gongsun Da Niang was a dancer in the pear garden and workshop during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Her sword weapon dance skills were unmatched at that time, so Du Fu said: "There are eight thousand handmaidens of the first emperor, and gongsun sword weapons are the first."
Gongsun Da Niang wore a beautified military uniform, so the military attire of "Jade Beauty Brocade" became a favorite fashion for women in the world. The Tang Dynasty poet Sikong Tu has a poem "Sword Weapon" that says: "Downstairs Gongsun used to be good at the field, and the empty teaching women loved military uniforms." ”
"Sword Dance" is a female solo dance. As for what kind of dance equipment the "sword weapon" is, people have different opinions. Some say it's silk, some say it's dancing with bare hands, some say it's a "shooting star," but we prefer to believe what the Tang poets said was a sword.
The Sword Dance was later adapted into a group dance for men, with dancers carrying torches, flags, etc., as a parade of battle performances. The Tang Dynasty poet Yao He has three "Sword Words", which can show the theme content, props, costumes, and majestic atmosphere of this dance.
(i)
The Holy Pilgrimage can use troops and break the enemy as fast as a god.
The stegosaurus wrapped around its arms, and the flag opened fire all over its body.
The corpse river has no shore, and the blood is bloody and dustless.
Dancing on the spot today, you must know that it is a warrior.
(ii)
Crossing the Yellow River at night, the general dangerously used the division.
The snow light is biased towards the armor, and the wind can't help but flag.
The dragon snake is alive, and the military drum horn knows.
Dance again today, remember the time of the war.
(iii)
The three armies have traveled thousands of miles, and the three armies are arrogant.
The flag is displayed to cover the sun and darkness, and the horses are driven to drink the river dry.
Neighbors ask for military strategy, Emperor Enso formation map.
Yuan and Taiping dance, since ancient times, I am afraid that there should be none.
Among the Jian dances of the Tang Dynasty, "Yellow Roe deer", "Dharma Branch", "DaweiZhou", "A Liao", "Yang Liuzhi" and so on, are also more famous.
Dances that belong to soft dance are the most influential with "Green Waist" and "Spring Warbler".
Tang Yanfei tomb dance picture mural
"Green Waist" also wrote "Six Elements" and "Record". During the first year of Emperor Dezong of Tang, the musicians presented a piece of music to the emperor, and the emperor listened to it very satisfactorily, and taught people to excerpt the most wonderful parts of it, so this section was called "recording". This "record" was once compiled as a pipa song and became a popular song of the time, with the saying "six water tune family singing". Soft Dance's "Green Waist" is based on this song.
The Tang Dynasty poet Li Qunyu has a poem "Changsha Nine Days to Climb the East Tower to Watch the Dance":
The southern country has a beautiful person, dancing lightly and green waist.
Autumn twilight, flying clouds and rain.
Fei Ruo Lan Fei, Wan Ruo Long Ju.
Yue Yan dismissed Qianxi, and Wu Ji stopped Bai Qi.
The slow state cannot be poor, and the complex posture is to the end.
Low back to the lotus breaking waves, messy snow haunting the wind.
When falling, I look forward to it, and I want to go back to the sky.
I couldn't catch it and flew away to chase the horror.
From the poem, it can be known that "Green Waist" is a female solo dance. Dancers wear long-sleeved dance dresses and long skirts that can be "flying". The dance is light and changes rapidly. Sometimes it's like emerald playing in the orchid, sometimes it's like a dragon dancing. When the dance sleeves are low, like a lotus flower out of the waves, the rhythm is accelerated, the dance sleeves fly up, like the wind stirring snowflakes, and the dancers seem to fly in the air to chase the shock. The performance of "Green Waist" makes "Qianxi Dance" and "White Silk Dance" look inferior.
Gu Hongzhong, a painter of the Fifth Dynasty, painted a painting of Han Xizai's Night Feast, which shows the scene of Wang Wushan's dance "Green Waist".
"Spring Warbler" is a soft dance with songs and dances. The performers are women. One morning, Emperor Gaozong of Tang heard the warblers in the garden and taught the court musician Bai Mingda to write a song called "Spring Warblers". The dance "Spring Warbler" was composed based on this song. When performing in the palace, there are female vocals to accompany the singing.
Tang Hanxiu tomb music and dance diagram mural
Zhang Hu's poem "Spring Warbler" says: "The insiders have sung the spring warbler, and the flowers have come to dance softly." ”
This dance spread to Korea and also to Japan.
The performative dances of the Tang Dynasty, as well as some famous dances, such as "Ling Bo Qu", "Bodhisattva Man", "He Manzi", "Fire Phoenix" and so on.
Most of the performative dances of the Tang Dynasty were emotional dances, but some of them showed a certain storyline and showed the songs and dances of the characters, which were actually small song and dance plays. "Bowl Head", "Dai Mian" and "Ta Shaking Niang" are the famous Tang Dynasty song and dance plays.
"Bowl Head" is also written "Plucked Head" and "Pulling Head", which is a mask dance from the Western Regions. The performance shows a Hu man being eaten by a tiger, and his son goes up the mountain to find his body and hunts and kills the tiger. That mountain has eight folds, and the song has eight pieces. The performers wear plain clothes, masks, shawls and tears on their faces. It is obviously a kind of makeup based on the identity and situation of the character.
This program spread to Japan, and in the Japanese book "Ancient Music Noodles", there are imitations of the masks of "Pulling Heads". The mask was red-faced, hair-draped, eyebrow-raising, and a big nose, which could be known to be a Hu person. Grinning widely, as if crying, also in line with the scene specified by the subject matter. The Japanese "Dance Music Diagram" also draws a "Head Up" dance figure, indicating that it is a Tianzhu Music Dance. Performed by one person. He wore a red robe, a grinning mask, and a stick in his hand.
Japanese "Head Up" dance diagram
"Dai Mian" is also written "Big Face", originally known as "Lanling King Entry Song", referred to as "Lanling King".
It is said that during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the King of Northern Qilan Ling was brave and good at war, but his face was too handsome, like a woman. He felt that his appearance could not deter the enemy, so he carved a false mask out of wood and put it on when he was about to fight. When fighting the Northern Zhou Under Jin Yong Castle, he used this makeup to fight, and he really played a miraculous feat. The samurai sang and cheered for this, and it became the "Lanling King's Entry Song". Developed from this song into Masquerade. The performer wears purple clothes, gold belts around his waist, and holds whips in his hands. The main action is "command stabbing". King Lanling was a general loved by the people and supported by his subordinates, but the outcome was tragic, and he was poisoned by Gao Wei, the lord of Qi Hou. Perhaps it was because of the sympathy of the people for him that this dance program was passed down to future generations.
The tomb of Astana Tang in Turpan, Xinjiang, was excavated
During the first year of the Tang Dynasty, this dance program, which was originally a strong style, was changed to be soft, so the "Jiaofang Ji" classified it into the category of "soft dance". This dance was also introduced to Japan. In a section of Japan, the people next to me helped in unison: "Step on the shaking lady and come!" Step on the mother bitter and come! Then, her husband Su Mou entered and performed the action of drunkenly beating his wife. It is a comical song and dance program, and the form of performance has been constantly changing since the Tang Dynasty. Later, Su's wife was played by a woman, and in addition to the drunk Su, a "pawn" was added to the "classic library" that specialized in laughter performances.
The Tang Dynasty people often feiyue had a poem "Yong Tan Rong Niang" that said: "The horse is surrounded by a turn, and the people press to see the circle." It can be seen that this show is also often performed in the square.
These small songs and dances actually have the characteristics of Chinese opera art combining speaking, singing, dancing and other performing arts. Therefore, when people study the origin of Chinese opera, they also pay great attention to these song and dance programs.
The performative dances of the Tang Dynasty, whether they are jian dances, soft dances, or dances under other names, are the most important components of Tang Dynasty dance. With their rich and varied styles and genres, they won the love of people from all walks of life at that time. They embody the creative spirit of art of the peoples of all nationalities and have had a wide international impact. These dances have been passed down for a long time, and their traces can still be seen in the national folk dances of our country.