Jurchen music and dance culture

 

Jurchen music and dance culture

 

On a meadow on the bank of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar, Burmese musician Dorje and his Naypyitaw Song and Dance Troupe Mongolian Dance Team temporarily built two yurts on the meadow. Here he met Agu Demba, A Zhuo, Chu Sanxing and other friends. His daughters Yadan, Dawa, and Xiang Qima started busy making dinner.

Dorje, Agudengba, Azhuo, and Chu Sanxing stood outside the yurt and chatted about the historical stories of the Mongolian people and the Jurchens.

His daughter Yadan said to Dorji at this time: Dawa, Xiang Qima and I hope to hear you talk about the singing and dancing music of the Jurchen tribe in the Jin Dynasty. I heard that their court musicians and singers can perform Liu Yong's "Looking". For music like "Hai Chao", their commonly used instruments include flute, pipa, sheng, drum and so on.

Duoji smiled and said: I know you don't like to talk about war. This is my negligence, so let me talk about some singing and dancing music.

Dorje said:

You must know the "Errenzhuan" dance in northern China, but you may not know that this dance originated from Jurchen music and dance in the Jin Dynasty. Jurchen music and dance culture originated from its own national culture and gradually prospered under the influence of Central Plains culture and Bohai culture. The Jurchen music and dance culture of the Jin Dynasty has strong cultural characteristics of the northern fishing and hunting people, and it has cultivated and condensed the Jurchens' national psychology and character of being unrestrained, open-minded, simple and loving life.

The Jurchen people's national culture of being tough, brave, and good at riding and shooting, as well as their character traits, have created their unique music and dance art style, and their national cultural tradition of being good at singing and dancing. In the process of development, any culture constantly absorbs traditions and then develops further by introducing new ones. This of course also includes the music and dance culture of the Jurchens.

I just talked about the Mohe tribe. The Mohe tribe is a primitive hunting nation in Northeast China that developed during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Most of their folk songs show the color of primitive religion and hunting content.

After the founding of the Bohae Kingdom, palace performance music and dance gradually prospered and developed into "Bohae Music". After the destruction of the Bohai Kingdom, Bohai music was distributed throughout the Northeast during the process of ethnic diffusion and migration. The cultural exchanges between different ethnic groups made the Jurchen music of the Jin Dynasty also influenced by Bohai music. More than three hundred years after the destruction of the Bohai Kingdom, the Jin Dynasty required all teaching schools across the country to learn Bohai music. It can be seen from this that the Jurchen music and dance culture of the Jin Dynasty was greatly influenced by the Bohai music culture.

Dorje said:

Before the founding of the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchen music and dance, which was still in the slave society and primitive society, was relatively simple, mainly produced in daily labor, and was a way for workers to express their emotions during entertainment. For rulers, although music was used for pleasure, there was no ritual hierarchy in music at this time.

In the early days of the Jin Kingdom, the Jurchen feudal system gradually formed. In order to improve the feudal system, the rulers of the Jin Dynasty tried to create a ritual and music system that was compatible with it. In terms of music, the Liao Kingdom realized the import of music and dance culture from the Central Plains earlier than the Jin Kingdom, and the music was relatively developed. Therefore, the Jin Dynasty adopted an attitude of copying the feudal music of the Liao Kingdom. It was also during this period that the Jin Kingdom obtained handmade musical instruments from the Liao Kingdom, which enabled the Jin Kingdom to gradually develop and establish a more formal music organization.

In 1125, the Jin Dynasty conquered the Liao Dynasty and entered the Central Plains. Not only did they take away all the musical instruments of the Northern Song Dynasty, they also took a large number of dancers and musicians hostage to perform and play Han nationality music, dance and musical instruments, which fully demonstrated the Jin people's admiration for the Han culture in the Central Plains. . The Jin people sent these musical instruments to remote areas in the Northeast. After the Bohai Period, music from the Central Plains once again spread to the Northeast on a large scale, which had a profound impact on the development of the music and dance culture of the Northeast and the Jurchen people.

In the subsequent development, the music and dance culture of the Jurchens in the Jin Dynasty inherited the dance of the Liao Dynasty and merged with the dance of the Song Dynasty, and gradually prospered. In the Central Plains region ruled by the Jin Dynasty, the urban music and dance culture of the Song Dynasty developed rapidly, and the folk music and dance of the Jurchens fully demonstrated rich, colorful and vibrant scenes. These achievements in music and dance culture are the continuation of the Han culture in the Central Plains among the Jurchens of the Jin Dynasty. Starting from the Xizong period, a large number of Jurchens began to move south. In the process of ethnic integration, the rough style of the northern Jurchens was integrated into the music and dance of the Central Plains, further promoting the development of the music and dance culture of the Jin Dynasty.

Xiang Qima asked: Teacher Duoji, you just said that Jin Mie Liao took away all the musical instruments of the Northern Song Dynasty after entering the Central Plains. So what were the Jurchen musical instruments of the Jin Dynasty at that time?

Dorje replied:

There were many types of musical instruments back then. Most of the instruments used in Jurchen music and dance come from daily life, such as bronze mirrors, deer and deer whistles, festivals, etc. The "deer and roe whistle" is made of birch bark, 1.5 cm long, with a thin opening on the left and right sides. It can make a sound in the mouth. It is a sound-imitating device used to trap deer and roe during hunting. It was used during the development process. Song and dance accompaniment.

"Jie" is a unique percussion instrument used to accompany Jurchen singing and dancing, and refers to their daily necessities dustpan. The instrument is made of wicker. During the performance, the left hand holds the joint, and the thumb and index finger of the right hand stroke, pluck and beat to produce sounds with different rhythms. This kind of musical instrument was not only inherited and used by the Manchu people, but also continued to be used in the Qing Dynasty court.

"Bronze mirror" is also a daily necessities of the Jurchens, and the Jurchens cleverly used it in the performance of songs. During the performance, there were about five women standing on the side of the stage holding bronze mirrors. The stage was shining with the luster of the bronze mirrors to create a gorgeous stage effect. Later, it gradually developed into a percussion instrument that made sounds by tapping.

The song and dance music of the Jurchen people in the Jin Dynasty was influenced by the Central Plains, and their commonly used instruments also used flutes, pipas, shengs, drums and the like.

Xiang Qima asked again: I heard that among the unearthed cultural relics there is a relief stone building with eight-sided dance music from the Jin Dynasty. The instruments held by the musicians in the picture have the image of Central Plains instruments such as sanxian and flute.

Dorje replied:

Yes, that is an unearthed cultural relic from Heilongjiang Province.

Among the relevant physical remains is the Dasheng Nanlu Chime Bell. Chime bells are ancient Chinese palace instruments and are the earliest tempered instruments with the widest range found in the world. The new music "Dasheng Music" produced by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was transported to the hinterland of Jinyuan after the Jurchens settled in the Central Plains.

The eight-sided dance music stone building among the physical remains fully demonstrates the influence of the Central Plains culture of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty on the Jurchen culture, and is proof of the prosperous history of music culture in the Jin Dynasty.

The big bell unearthed in the capital of Heilongjiang Province was made in the Song Dynasty. It was an instrument used by the palace ceremonial band before the emperor of the Song Dynasty traveled. This bell has two dragons playing with the pearl and hexagram nose. The bell body has five layers of yang carvings on the top and bottom.

Speaking of products from the Jin Dynasty, there is also a magical bronze mirror. On the back of the bronze mirror are two characters from the traditional opera "Pipa Ji", one of whom is playing the pipa. The Jurchen people engraved the pinnacle works of the Central Plains opera culture on the bronze mirrors, showing the influence of the Central Plains culture on the Jurchen culture and the Jurchen people's worship of the Central Plains culture.

Dawa asked Duoji: "Sir's explanation has helped us learn a lot of knowledge. I am very grateful. I also want to know about the artistic characteristics of Jurchen music and dance. I don't know what types of Jurchen music and dance there are?"

Dorje replied:

There are many types of Jurchen music and dance, including ballads, love songs, partridge dance, hunting dance, and the most famous one is shaman dance.

Jurchen folk songs have a long history, have strong national characteristics, and are widely loved by the people. Before the founding of the Jin Kingdom, due to the restriction of the lack of writing, improvisation and singing of songs were the main means of dissemination of Jurchen music culture, such as "Witch Songs", "Songs of Resolving Disputes", "Songs of Marriage", etc. Before the founding of the Jin Kingdom, some folk songs were religiously mysterious and unpretentious in terms of language style.

Love songs are popular folk songs and dances of the Jurchen people. Because the Jurchen people are very attached to this kind of singing and dancing, love songs are widely spread among the Jurchens in Heilongjiang. Its tunes are beautiful, the rhythm is bright, and the movements have a certain appeal. This art form was widely spread in the Southern Song Dynasty and was loved and imitated by local people. For example, "Zhenpengpengge" has a relatively unique artistic charm and style in Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and in the Southern Song Dynasty. It may be related to the "Taiping Gu" of later generations.

Partridge dance is a kind of bird dance that imitates the dance of partridges. It is accompanied by drums and flutes. It has the characteristics of rich sounds and vivid rhythm. It is deeply loved by people in Lin'an and other places in the Northern Song Dynasty. This kind of song and dance in which one person sings and dances, and everyone caters to it, fully demonstrates the charm of Jurchen music and dance in the process of artistic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.

The "Book of Sui" records the dance of the Jurchen ancestors: "It has twists and turns, with a lot of fighting appearance." It can be seen that the Jurchens fully displayed their nation's vigorous, bold, honest and enterprising, and courageous national spirit, as well as the scenes of life and production, customs and etiquette, in the original Jurchen music and dance through singing and dancing.

The hunting dance of the Jurchen people is to transform the movements of hunting, catching bears, stabbing tigers, calling deer and fighting wild beasts in life scenes into the form of music and dance, showing the heroic and fighting national spirit and character of the Jurchens.

When Dorje said this, he stood up and called everyone out of the yurt. He called several members of the Mongolian dance team from the Naypyitaw Song and Dance Troupe.

Duoji told everyone: Shaman dance is the most famous dance among Jurchen music and dances.

Dorje asked the members of the Mongolian dance team to dance "Shaman Dance".

Dorje explained to everyone on the side:

Shamanic dance is the dance of shamanism. The Jurchens believe in shamanism, so "Shaman Dance" was also spread among the Jurchens in the Jin Dynasty, which has been recorded in many history books. "Bei Meng Lu" says: The Jurchens in the Jin Dynasty regarded witches as shamans. The Jurchens were of the same clan as Bohai. The shamans were also called Chama, and most of the worshipers were women.

Shaman dance, commonly known as "God Dance", is a dance performed by shamans in activities such as sacrifice, exorcism, and disease relief. The magical instrument is a drum.

Dancing God is a way of communication between the living and the dead. Generally speaking, two people need to work together to perform the dance, one is the one god, and the other is the two gods. The first god is the object possessed by the soul, and the second god is the assistant. During the dance of the Great God, one of the gods is mostly "rotating" and the two gods are playing drums. There are fixed tunes and words to invite the gods. After the gods are invited, the two gods are responsible for communicating with the gods and answering people's questions. Sometimes the people invited are so-called immortals, and sometimes they are the souls of dead people.

The original meaning of the word shaman is to dance wildly due to excitement, and later evolved into the title of shamanist wizard. Shaman dance shows the connotation of primitive religion's belief in animism and totem worship. During the dance, the shaman costumes are decorated with animal bones and teeth, and the drum they hold is both a magic weapon and an accompaniment. The head hat may be decorated with eagle feathers. The movements also generally simulate wild beasts or eagles.

Shamanic dance uses a unique art form to depict a cultural landscape that blends history and reality, gods and humans, mythology and the secular world. It inherits the original dance from ancient times, fills the gaps in the history of dance, and vividly records the spiritual and emotional development process of the northern ancestors in their childhood, revealing their understanding of the world.

The "Shaman Dance" of the Jurchens in the Jin Dynasty is almost the same as the "Shaman Dance" of the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty. This dance form also had an influence on the later drums. Nowadays, Dancing God is more and more preserved as a national art.

At this time, the members of the Mongolian dance team sang the "Dance Song" while dancing the shaman dance:

 

We danced a shamanic dance,

The shaman has a long bell tied around his waist.

Holding a sacred drum to pray to the gods,

Holding a magic weapon, a magic whip and a staff.

Amidst the sound of drums and bells,

We dance the house gods happily,

We burn flags and incense religiously,

We invite gods from all walks of life.

 

We imitate eagles flying and pecking,

We invite the falcon to descend;

We jump and grab like this,

We invite the Tiger God to protect us.

Light incense in the dark,

We invite the god of gold and blue;

Dance, play drums and spin,

In my confusion, I saw God.

 

Beautiful and clever bird god,

The mount of love is given to you,

Please ride on Feilin quickly,

I met you in a dream.

I dreamed that you entered my body and mind,

Either running or jumping possessed by spirits.

God is woven into my soul,

I already feel connected to the world.

 

Legs spread apart, hands on hips,

The blue sky above your head and the earth under your feet,

Tie a copper bell around your waist to beat the drum and dance while squatting.

There are gods protecting us.

I use my wild dance to attract gods and demons,

Exorcise evil spirits and cure diseases for people,

We can conquer the devil,

Solve problems for the tribesmen.