According to the nature and function of music and dance performance, music and dance in Chu can be roughly divided into two categories: one is folk music and dance with the main purpose of offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, which has a very strong witchcraft color, which is vividly described in Nine Songs of Chu; The second is the court music and dance, which is used by rulers to entertain themselves, with the main purpose of "entertaining people". This kind of music and dance recorded in "Evocation of Soul" and "Zhao Da" includes elegant music in Zhou Dynasty, and folk "country music" and "new sound" in Chu and other places. Chu music and dance have the characteristics of great integration, and the complexity of Chu, foreign countries, folk and court is one of the main factors that can form the prosperity of Chu music and dance.
Chu has a vast territory, many nationalities and a wide variety of folk music. There is a first Yue song in Shuo Yuan Shan Shuo. Although we can't know its tune today, judging from the lyrics translated by Chu, it is definitely a sentimental love song, which should be beautiful to sing. "Biography of Xiangyang's Later Years" says: "Song Yu knows the sound and good writing, and loves Fu with joy. He is beautiful and hates him for being like Qu Yuan, so he said,' Why is the son of the Chu people virtuous?' There used to be good songs in Chu. What did Wang Qiwen hear? He said that from the beginning, "Chin Beauty", thousands of middle school students sang peace. According to Song Yu's next story, even when singing "farewell songs" such as Chun Xue, Asahi The Mermaid, there are many junior middle school "peace singers". The record of "the joy of Xiaoxiang Dongting makes listeners forget their new year friends, although" Xianchi "and" Xiao Shao "are not as good as Yan" shows that Chu people have a high musical endowment and the popularity of music is quite high. The development of Chu music is not only recorded by nine songs, but also confirmed by eight kinds of 124 ancient musical instruments unearthed from the world-famous tomb of Zeng Houyi. Its development degree has long been more than "five-tone confusion".
Sacrifice to gods or religious ceremonies has always been the most natural and abundant source of artistic creation. The first artistic product it produced was dance. Primitive dance is the main expression tool of religion, and the earliest singers and dancers are priests-witches. Chu Qicai is particularly wonderful. They have multiple functions, which are unmatched by northern countries. According to the textual research of ancient philologists, the word "witch" is a hieroglyph of dancers holding feathers. The explanation of witchcraft in Shuowen is: "Those who dance with gods are also." The evolution of witch characters shows the relationship between religion and song and dance. Witches hold theocracy and are also doctors. Witches in Chu "actually take singing and dancing as their job" and their purpose is to "entertain the gods". Their role is just as Wang said in Guoyu Chu Yu, that is, "talking about ghosts and gods from top to bottom, and being evil by the way." Of course, they should have some high emotions. What is particularly commendable is that King Chu Ling, who introduced the witch to the court, personally held a feather ribbon and danced with the drums. His greatest contribution was to organically integrate the elegance of the temple with rural customs, court art and folk art.
Chu music and dance pursue exquisite decoration, dazzling scenes and moving images. According to "Nine Songs", the accompaniment of witch dance is mainly drums. As "Ritual Soul" at the end of "Nine Songs" describes: "When you become a ritual, you will know how to beat drums, inherit the ba and dance from generation to generation. Women advocate tolerance. " Up to now, drum is still an indispensable accompaniment instrument in Chu opera, folk art and folk songs. Some folk art activities are directly named after drums, such as "digging mountain drums", "inserting field drums", "weeding gongs and drums", "beating funeral drums", "jumping funeral drums" and "returning gongs and drums" ... In the traditional opera "disturbing Taiwan gongs and drums", drums have the function of conducting various musical instruments. Wu dance in Chu can be divided into "ba" and "feather", that is, the so-called "passing ba to dance" (ba is a flower, which means flower) and "bowing with feather". Every festival, the wizards and witches of Chu put on gorgeous costumes, soak in fragrant spices, hold brilliant flowers and pheasant feathers, and sing and dance with Ji Xu's drums to entertain the gods. The early witch dance was mainly used to worship ghosts, which maintained the dignity of theocracy. This is an ancient religious dance. Duangong Dance and some folk sacrificial dances of Tujia, Miao and Yao in western Hubei and western Hunan, which were later spread in Chu, were the inheritance of the witch dance in Chu in the pre-Qin period.
Compared with folk witch dances offering sacrifices to gods, the style of court music and dance in Chu State is much larger. Chu Ci "Evocation of Soul" and "Zhao Da" vividly describe the court music and dance of Chu. "Evocation" wrote: "I am ashamed of my food, but I am happier. Chen Zhong makes some new songs according to the drums. " Shejiang, Cailing and Yanghe. ..... two eight seven rong, zheng dance. If you hand over the pole, please close the case. You're crazy. Fill the drum. The court was shocked and made some "shocks". Wu? Cai You, play Luda. ..... His bell rang? Wedges are more awkward. "Big move" wrote: "Fuxi's" Driving Debate "and Chu's" Lao Shang "are just that. The Liu and Yang families only advocate. When the soul returns, it will be empty. 28. Take over martial arts, throw poems, ring the bell and adjust the chin to entertain people. On the fourth day, I was angry and extremely successful. Return of the soul. Listen to songs and write only. " Shejiang, Cailing and Yanghe are full of the charm of water town. According to Wang Yi's Zhang Sentence, "Chu people also sing". Driving Debate and Lao Shang are ancient songs of Chu State. "Xing Chu", according to Zhu's Notes: the name of song and dance, that is, the song and dance of Chu called by Emperor Gaozu. It is said that Confucius once heard of "less fun" and "I don't know the taste of meat in March". Coincidentally, the Chu people also entered the "spectator" when enjoying music and dancing and feeling the beautiful scenery. The realm of "forgetting to return" shows a state of mind immersed in artistic beauty.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chu also had inspiration, literary dance, martial dance and excellent dance. "Encouragement" is a dance that worships and entertains gods with drums as accompaniment. Witches sing while playing drums. On the lacquer-painted Yuanyang pot unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Houyi in Suixian County, Hubei Province, there is a scene of one person drumming and one person dancing, with a strange shape and bold movements. The shape of the drum in the painting is that the animal seat is decorated with feathers, which is similar to the shape of the drum in Nanyang Han painting. However, the scene of encouragement is generally two people playing drums and dancing together, which is highly skilled. The contrast between the two shows the different stages of this encouragement of artistic development. The custom of bowing down and comforting in the hometown has been circulating for a long time. When Liu Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, was demoted to Langzhou (Changde, Hunan), he also saw a scene of "encouragement". It is said that this custom still exists in some places in Hunan and Guizhou today. "Wu Wen", also called "Xia Qiu", is a kind of dance. The dancer holds feathers and feathers in his hand. Huan Tan's "New Theory" said: "King Chu Ling believes in witchcraft and wishes and dances in front of the altar with a feather in his bow. Wu people came to attack other countries, and the spirit king was inspired. " King Chu Ling, who devoted himself to death, loved literature and dance to the point of infatuation. Wen dance is also a witch dance and a religious dance, with a strong ritual color. "Wu dance" is also called "great martial arts", that is, dry dancing. "Zuo Zhuan Zhuang Gong Twenty-eight Years" Note: "Chu made Yin Ziyuan want to seduce Mrs. Wen and was surprised by the museum. When the lady heard this, she sobbed and said,' Mr. Wang used to dance, but he was a leisurely teacher.' Du Note: "Wan, dance also." "Beginner" quoted ""as saying: "Wan, big dance." "Li Jixia Zheng Xiao" says, "Let's dance for those who are willing to do it. Thus, "Zhen Xuan" is another name for Greater Wu Le here. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and Ancient Music", "When I acceded to the throne, the six divisions attacked Yin, but the six divisions did not arrive, and they were pinned down by sharp soldiers at Konoha. Returning to ... is to order Duke Zhou to be a great soldier. "The Great Wu Le of the Zhou Dynasty was arranged with reference to the songs and dances of Ba people on the battlefield. "Hua Yang Guo Zhi Ba Zhi" said: "On behalf of the Zhou Dynasty, Ba Shi was really the teacher of Ba Shu ... Ba Shi was brave and sharp, singing and dancing with Ling Zai, and former disciples of Yin people defected in succession, ..." The bronze wares of the "Hero" found in Jingmen City, Hubei Province came from the tomb of Ba Shu of Chu people in the Warring States Period. Looks like a Bashi brother, casting strange gods. It's supposed to be a prop for Ba people to perform big Wu Le. It seems that Chu people's martial arts dance should be learned from Ba people. The performance of the martial arts dance "Dawu" is described in detail in Zhao Da, a Chu Ci: "On the 28th, I was subjected to" Wuu ",throwing poems, striking bells and tuning tunes, and only entertaining people. "According to research," Wu "is" Da Wu ",and there are both group dances and solo dances during the performance. A short relief weapon unearthed from the Chu Tomb of the Warring States Period in Jiangling is decorated with the image of a "martial dancer": a stalk in the left hand, a halberd in the right hand, and feathers on the head, which is vivid and touching. " Excellent dance "began with Zhuang Wang in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is characterized by kindness and likability. According to Records of Historical Records and Biographies of Huo Zhi, an artist from the State of Chu dreamed that after your son Sun Shuai died, he saw that his son was poor and helpless, so he wore Sun Shuai's clothes, learned to dance like him, and went to Qian for his birthday. King Zhuang was frightened, thinking that Sun Fusheng was born again, so the code name of Dream Clothes was passed down from generation to generation. Chu's "wonderful dance" may start from this. "Seeking people from outside to learn from others, and seeking people from inside to be unique" is the cultural policy adopted by Chu people on the art of music and dance. Chu music and dance originated in the Central Plains and enjoyed Shang and Zhou culture for many years. Its blending with the southern indigenous barbarian culture makes it feel like a duck to water and full of vitality, gradually getting rid of the shackles of the traditional etiquette system in the Central Plains, and increasingly showing its unique local characteristics and romantic style. Chu dance, with its elegant artistic beauty and strong color full of romantic reverie, is very different from the elegant dance of the Central Plains court. It is rigorous and solemn. According to Fei Bingxun's research, the first feature of Chu dance is elegance. One of the important means to embody the elegant style of Chu dance is long sleeves; The second artistic feature is "tenderness". Femininity is mainly caused by slender and flexible waist; In addition, dancers' costumes should be "still gorgeous". It can be seen that long sleeves and thin waist are the basic characteristics of Chu dance, and they are also the regional fashion and aesthetics in Jingchu area. In Chu and Han Fu, beauty is difficult to repair (in ancient times, the word "waist" was important, but the word "waist" was trivial), with rich flesh and thin bones, beautiful waist and thin neck, long face and thin waist, and gentle waist. With "Yi Ruoying" and "Sheng? Different systems "and" hairy man? " "weak face", "? Repair status ","? "light gaze" and "eyes are a little too much" increase the overall image beauty of dancers. It is in order to achieve this beauty that the image of dancers is shaped in unearthed cultural relics. What are the female images in the silk paintings of Chu tombs in the eastern suburbs of Changsha? It is characterized by wide sleeves, long clothes and thin waist. A painted figure unearthed from the Chu Tomb of the Warring States Period in Huangtuling, Changsha is painted with 1 1 dancers, two of whom are rich and magnificent. Women with long sleeves and thin waist are dancing; Three women sat quietly beside them, as if taking a nap between dances. Another woman, apparently the conductor of the band, was holding sleeves and waving a whip. The other five women are smiling and enjoying tasting, and the whole picture is filled with a happy atmosphere. In Zhang Heng's "Xijing Fu", long sleeves are good at dancing, while in Yi Fu's "Dance Fu", sleeves are as plain as neon and green? " "Zhen Fei" in "Seven Religions"? Dancing with long sleeves and so on are all moments that describe long sleeves fluttering. This can be confirmed by the jade carving dancers unearthed in Shouchun, Anhui Province and the symmetrical jade carving dancers unearthed in Zengzhuang, the ancient city of Linquan, Anhui Province during the Warring States Period. Both of them threw their long sleeves over their heads with one arm, forming an "S"-shaped curve on their heads. The images of brick-carved dancers in Korean portraits all capture the climax of plot development and highlight the moment of long-sleeved dancing.
Dance is the art of "moving", and "waist" is the hub of human movement, and its movements are related to the artistic effect of dance. The court dances of Chu State, whether feather dance, long-sleeved dance, hunting dance or Sang Wu, obviously rely on waist skills. The so-called "King Chu Ling's waist is thin" and "Chu's waist is slender" all indicate that Chu people have realized the important position of waist skills in dance. It can be seen that long sleeves and thin waist are not only the dance characteristics of witches, but also the basic requirements for court prostitutes. The "three bends" dance form pursued by Chu people fully shows the curvaceous beauty of human body. The beauties of Chu are willing to starve in order to slim their waists. According to "Nine Songs", the important features of Chu female dance are "squatting" (leaning up and down, landing on one foot, and flying gracefully with sleeves repaired) and "curling" (curving). It is said that Chu women are good at "bow and waist dance". The dancer in "Huai Nan Zi Xiu Wu Xun" said that he "circled around the body, once rubbed the ground, helped Ana, and turned the song to make it look like a god. If the body was blown by the wind, it would be surprised." He attached great importance to the beauty of curve rhythm, which is indispensable for slim waist. Carve an oval portrait of Yan Le from the collection of Shanghai Museum? Judging from the image of dancers in the world, Chu dancers do have two characteristics: long sleeves and curvy body, which can be said to be "squatting" and "warping". The dance form appreciated by Chu people is "rich in flesh and thin in bones" and "beautiful in waist and neck", which combines thinness and fullness. What is this posture and dance? No wonder "viewers"? I forgot to come back. "Hubei Song and Dance Troupe created and performed chime music choreography, and made" Three Bends "to simulate Chu dance, which once caused a sensation in Beijing.
Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, also liked Chu Sheng: "Enjoy it, enjoy it, and never forget the roots." Gao Zule and Chu Sheng, so "Music in the Room" is also Chu Sheng. " Therefore, "phonation" prevailed for a long time in the Han Dynasty. Song of the Wind and Song of Sacrifice to the Suburb written by Gaozu himself, Song of Autumn Wind and Song of Zi Xuan handed down by Liang Wudi are all Chu songs. When Gaozu performed Chu dance, he sang Chu songs for his favorite concubines, Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Tangshan. In the early Han Dynasty, several emperors used to "recruit the world as a poet". According to "Miscellanies of Xijing", Mrs. Qi is "good at dancing with sleeves and waist". Judging from its characteristics of "stretching sleeves" and "bending over", it should be a Chu dance. Unless the sleeves are long and strong, it is difficult to "stretch" and unless the waist is thin, it is difficult to "fold". Her "arm-in-arm waist dance" can be found in Han stone reliefs in Nanyang, Henan and Qufu, Shandong. There are two slender-waist dancers on the Nanyang stone relief. Their long sleeves bend and dance, but not backward, but to the right, and their sleeves swing to the left, showing a posture of upturned sleeves. On the stone relief in Qufu, Shandong Province, it is also a women's duet. The dancer has a high bun, long sleeves and a thin waist. One of them bends to the right and swings his sleeves to the right, which is slightly different from Nanyang stone relief.
The songs and dances of offering sacrifices to the gods in Chu were directly used by the court in the Han Dynasty. In Han Shu ballroom dancing, there is a saying that "a thousand disciples dance into eight Shu, which is a combination of fun and entertainment." The performance of "Nine Songs" is wonderful. "Can play the piano, can play the piano, can reveal Zhu". Ode to Tokyo depicts the scene of sacrificial music and dance, "Beat Hong Zhong, chop the spirit drum, shake it slightly ...", in "Bell and Drum? In the voice, the "witches" "wore gorgeous crowns and danced eight times, and ... danced in full swing". In fact, Bashu, Wanwu and so on are all learned from the Central Plains. Ling Ziyuan once built a pavilion next to Mrs. Wang Wen's pavilion, which could do thousands of dances. Changyang Fu also depicts this atmosphere with vivid brushstrokes. Palace music and dances aimed at entertaining people are also very popular. In "Han Fu", four words are used to describe the splendid scenes of songs and dances in Chu Ying's capital city, namely, "colorful, stirring Chu, winding wind ……", and "stirring Chu, winding wind and raising Jia". The view of poor talents is the best in the world. These dance names in the Warring States Period developed into important tracks of Xianghe Daqu in the Han Dynasty, and they were also important dance names of Chu State. In Nanyang, the hometown of the emperor at that time, Chu songs and dances were more popular. Zhang Heng's "Nan Fu" once described the song and dance banquet of wealthy businessmen in Nanyang, saying: "Sitting in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zheng danced and white cranes flew cocoons. ..... The injury in September, blaming Xijing for breaking the plate. Playing the Zheng blowing sheng is even more innovative. " Gao Yue said, "Brother Nan, take Nanyin as the song." "Xijing, that is, Chu dance, folding dance." From the Han stone reliefs in Nanyang, Henan, we can still see the charm of Chu dance, which reproduces the scene of light singing and dancing and the changeable Chu dance. Dancers on the Han Dynasty stone reliefs in Nanyang danced with long sleeves, cut shoulders and thin waist, and their dancing forms a streamline of clouds and echoes, and the lightness of vibrating feathers and raising snow constitutes the "if you come down, if you go" and "fiber" described in Dance Fu. A moth to a fire, an argument? If absolutely. Beyond the bird collection, relax vertically? Go to hell. ? Snakes? Clouds become erratic. Body like Youlong, sleeves like neon. "The unpredictable dynamic beauty, in which a series of metaphors such as moths, birds, Yun Fei and Longyou are used, makes it full of vitality and vividly depicts the graceful waist movements, fluttering long sleeves, graceful posture and looking back in Chu dance, giving people a natural and unrestrained beauty and the charm of Youlong climbing clouds.
It can be seen that ancient dancers, especially dancers, valued thin waist and long sleeves as beauty. Because it can not only reveal the beauty of the dancer's body, but also make the dance light, enhance the expressive force of the dance and show the elegant style of the dance. Moreover, this kind of goodness also dominates the fashion trend of a certain era and becomes an aesthetic expression of a region and a nation. Later scholars often use "thin waist and long sleeves" to describe Chu dance. In the Tang Dynasty, Xue Neng wrote a poem: "Dancing with a thin waist is like a spring willow", Liu Yuxi wrote a poem: "There are many thin waists so far", and Du Mu wrote a poem: "Chu people have a thin waist and a light palm". Chu people are proud to live in such a country with developed music and dance. With their romantic temperament and unrestrained talent, Chu people not only created a unique music culture, but also contributed a unique dance art. Chu songs and dances were not only dazzling at that time, but also had a far-reaching impact on later generations. Their popularity and development are as follows: Jiang Hushui in the spring, Wan Li in the waves, and the dance scene of the Han Dynasty that has been covered with clothes for more than 400 years. In the music scene of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the voice of Chu can still be heard. "Old Tang Shu Le" records: "Since the Zhou and Sui Dynasties ... the pianist has still inherited the original sound of Chu and Han Dynasties. Chu music and dance wrote a brilliant page in the history of ancient music and dance in China. At the same time, from the changes in the content and form of Chu music and dance, we can have a new understanding of Chu music and dance and Chu culture. In the past, people often thought that Chu was located in southern Chu and belonged to a remote place, so many remnants left over from national society formed a closed "witch" culture. In fact, Chu culture is not closed, but a cultural system with a strong sense of openness. Throughout the glorious history and great achievements of Chu culture, the essence of Chu culture can be summarized in three sentences, that is, not afraid of other aspects of progress, pioneering in different fields, and tirelessly pursuing new and unique creations. This can be seen from the content and form of Chu music dance recorded in Chu Ci.
It is well explained in the change of formula.
Chu people are good at being unconventional, and their attitude towards foreign cultures has always been eclectic and innovative. So we don't exclude foreign music and dance, but take a positive attitude and integrate them. The grand occasion of music and dance described in Chu Ci can be fully proved. Such as "Evocation" and "Long Hair Man"? , gorgeous. On the 28th, let's dance more, pay attention to the pole, and then calm down. Among them, "Zheng dance" is obviously a Chu dance in performance, which incorporates the characteristics of Chu dance. Chu dancers have beautiful waist and neck, long sleeves fluttering, suddenly like smoke, and suddenly like rainbows dancing, graceful and slender, with low waist. The characteristic dances of "thin waist" and "long sleeves" in Chu dance are fully displayed here. Another example is "Nine Songs and Ritual Soul", which was used in the sacrificial ceremony of Yin Shang Dynasty, and changed from "spreading oxtail" to "spreading flowers" in the sacrificial ceremony of Southern Chu, and was adapted according to the customs of Chu. And the dance of the Yin Dynasty and the dance of the Chu Dynasty are combined into one. At the same time, Chu music boldly adopted the rare scales and forms in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. As Zhao Da described it, when the Chu Palace played martial arts, it was a "four-way competition, and the extreme sound only changed". The so-called "extreme tone change", that is, "extreme tone change", is a new scale organization form in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Zhao Da's "Chaos" is also one of the novel fashion forms in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the aforementioned "Evocation of Soul", we saw the grand occasion of the practice of Chu music and dance: the bells and drums rang harmoniously and the Zheng dance was colorful. Cai Yi is unique, which is undoubtedly a large-scale music and dance concert that shocked the court. Its vitality stems from the exchange and integration of music and dance in different local styles such as Wu, Cai, Zheng and Chu. His achievements are reflected in the fact that "Chen Zhong beat the drum" created "outstanding" and was able to play "new songs" with unique local styles of Jianghan South China, such as Shejiang, Cailing and Yanghe. Only Qin, Zheng, Wei,, are the "great names" in the "big move". Fu's play "Driving Discrimination" is just Chu's "Lao Shang". The Liu and Yang families only advocate. ..... "It is also a large-scale music and dance picture in which Jin-ok Kim sings and dances, and the generations of Qin, Zheng, Wei, Zhao and Chu complement each other. According to "Zuo Zhuan Cheng Gong Twelve Years", "Jin? If you are hired by Chu, and you are in the league, enjoy it, and the son is in opposition, and you are in the county for housing. ? As soon as I got to the top, I hit the gold and came out in shock. " It is a very grand courtesy to ring bells and play music, but the Chu people were ingenious and set up underground concert halls, so they did it? "Shocked to go out" Chu people are unconventional, full of whimsy, based on tradition and abandoning the past. Generally speaking, there are many examples in this respect, so I won't repeat them here. All these show that Chu music and dance boldly adopted novel music and dance contents and forms, and achieved great success, which fully reflected the Chu people's awareness of innovation and change and the strong penetration of Chu culture into foreign cultures.
Chu song and dance has a long history, especially the early witch song and dance has been handed down from generation to generation in Chu with its strong vitality in the long history. This is really an interesting and worth discussing. Liu Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, described in Zhuzhi Ci: "The songs of the four directions are different in sound but the same in music. On the first day of the first month, Yu came to Jianping, where children sang "bamboo sticks", played piccolo and beat drums to celebrate the festival. Singers are eager to try and many songs are wise. Listen to the sound, yellow bell's feather. Although the pawn chapter is as wonderful as Wu Sheng? Both of them are indispensable, but they are full of thoughts and have the beauty of strange Olympics. Once upon a time, Qu Yuan lived between Yuan and Xiang, and the people welcomed God, so he wrote nine songs. So far Jingchu has inspired. So I also wrote nine bamboo sticks for people who are good at singing. " And his "Treading Lyrics" depicts the wonderful scenes of young men and women singing and dancing all night, which is extremely vivid and touching. This word reveals some forms and charms of Nuo dance of witch songs in Bachu at that time. Wen Tianxiang, an outstanding politician and writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote "On the Yuan Dynasty in Hengzhou", which gave a vivid description of the witch songs and Nuo dances prevailing in southern Chu at that time. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Nuo songs and witchcraft dances appeared constantly in some local chronicles and literati poems in Hubei and Hunan. Tujia and Miao people who once lived in Chu are also good at singing and dancing, and their ways and forms of tap dance and swing dance are recorded in detail in the literature. According to the Records of Tunxi Fiber, "On the Miao people's festivals, the men in blowing sheng beat drums, and the women danced back and forth with the men, raising their hands and stamping their feet, which is called kick dancing. "Chu dong lue" says: "Miao people grow trees empty. After the booze, those beautiful women will beat them. Those who are good at singing will sing and dance drums according to the festival. "Investigation on Matters Needing Attention under Miao Customs" wrote: "There is a wave hall in Tujia Village. Every year from the third day of the first month to the evening of the fifth and sixth day, gongs and drums are loud, and men and women gather together, shouting and waving unsteadily. "When Mr. Wen Yiduo was traveling in Xiangxi, he watched the dances of young men and women of local ethnic minorities with great interest and studied the relationship between Chu Ci and local folk customs. Today, in the Miao areas of Guizhou, Hunan and other provinces, "Encouragement" is still popular, also known as "drumming", and the accompaniment music is "drumming". In western Hubei and western Hunan, there is a very special phenomenon worthy of attention, that is, illiterate farmers can sing nine songs, and their nation has adopted and integrated the tunes of Chu songs. Duangong Dance, a folk dance in the mountainous area of northwest Hubei, can be said to be a trickle of Chu culture and art, and it is still popular in this area, such as Duangong Dance in Gucheng County and Duangong Dance in Xueping Town of Nanzhang County. According to experts, Duangong Dance is a representation of the typical witch dance left by Chu people, and there are many performances of Duangong Dance, which vary from place to place. However, most of them include scenes such as "welcoming the phoenix and driving", "paving the altar", "inviting the gods", "calming the nerves", "XiShen", "building bridges and roads", "shrinking wine and budding", "dancing with knives and flowers" and "sending the gods away", which are full of songs and dances with different styles and quite Chu flavor. This kind of dance is a witch worship song and dance handed down from Chu, which obviously contains the charm and style of Chu witches, and seems to retain the traces of the mutual influence of ancient neighboring nationalities. Moreover, this kind of dance is very popular among the people in the mountainous areas of northwest Hubei.
From the primitive music and dance activities in the ancient south, to the Chu music and dance art system in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to the Chu song and dance in the Han Dynasty after the founding of Liu Bang, to the Bayu bamboo branch song in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and even to the legacy of Jingchu, the music and dance in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River runs through a common artistic style and cultural spirit. In particular, the "living fossils" existing among the people are the cultural background and valuable cultural frame of reference for the study of Chu Ci, as well as precious wealth with important and rich folk customs and cultural values. Some experts pointed out that in the study of Chu culture, there has always been a tradition of valuing elegance over vulgarity. Today, if we can work hard in the elegant fields such as traditional materials and methods, and at the same time work hard in the vulgar fields such as folk customs and minority cultures, there will be a big breakthrough in the study of Chu culture. Therefore, the study of Chu song and dance should not only take literature and archaeology as examples, but also combine reading, archaeology and collecting folk songs, among which collecting folk songs is the most important. This is of great significance and role for us to comprehensively explore the art of Chu music and dance and grasp this artistic style and cultural spirit.
Author: Hubei Academy of Social Sciences
(Excerpted from Jianghan Forum,No. 12, 2002)