1, Six Dynasties Dance (Six Great Dances)
"Six-generation Dance" is the floorboard of the most famous orthodox music and dance works in the Zhou Dynasty, with profound connotation and solemn style, so it is sometimes called "Six Great Dances". From the form and genre, it can be divided into literary dance and martial dance. Yunmen, Xianchi, Shaoshao and Daxia are all literary dances, while Daman and Dawu are martial dances.
Those who win the world by virtue write dances, and those who win the world by martial arts dance. Hold the bird village when dancing, and hold the cadres when dancing. The main contents and characteristics of music and dance in each dynasty were summarized by the rulers of Zhou Dynasty and properly placed in all aspects of the ritual and music system. Whenever a "Six-Generation Dance" is performed, the corresponding music configuration, the number of dance teams, the sacrificial objects and the performance time are all step by step. This paper combs and summarizes the famous representative music and dance in the past, and gives it a new functional orientation for the first time.
"Six-generation Dance" is mainly used for offering sacrifices to heaven, land and ancestors. Yunmen is used for offering sacrifices to heaven, Xianchi is used for offering sacrifices to land and Daman is used for offering sacrifices to ancestors. "Less" to worship the dead; Daxia and Dawu are used to worship the emperor. Sometimes "Six Generation Dance" is also used for "big entertainment" and "big shooting" at the level of emperor or king.
2. Six small dances
There are six kinds of small dances: Kunwu Dance, Feather Dance, Imperial Dance, Luo Dance, Dry Dance and Renwu Dance. According to Zhou Li's records, small dances are mainly used for training and education, but each small dance has its own functional focus. For example, people dance is used to worship the sun, moon and stars, while dry dance is used to worship mountains and rivers. "Six Little Dances" is a purer dance of Zhou Dynasty than "Six Big Dances". "Six Great Dances" is a complete name of music and dance, from which we can see the culture and history it contains.
The small dance is named after the props held by the dancers, which shows that its dance pays attention to formal factors, which is somewhat similar to the classroom combination or teaching scheme of the current dance school; In other words, "Six Dynasties Dance" is a work, and "Six Dynasties Dance" is a large-scale sacrificial music and dance that integrates poetry, music and dance. Each small dance is a pure dance paragraph, which can be used in various sacrificial music and dance activities according to its own functions.
3. Wax sacrifice
"Wax Festival" is a festival to celebrate agricultural harvest and thank the gods. It is usually held in1February every year. The gods of wax sacrifice are listed as eight, and every concrete and intangible aspect from origin and history to farming operations is included in the worship of these gods. Wax sacrifice, like other primitive witchcraft beliefs, has rituals and songs and dances. Its more important song and dance feature lies in its "drums and musical instruments sing together".
"Drum" is closely related to people's movements, and the distinctive rhythm of "drum music". Drums inevitably accompany the shaking of the human body, and the scene of "encouragement" arises spontaneously.
Step 4 sacrifice
Rain dance is clearly recorded in Oracle Bone Inscriptions who sacrificed to Shang Dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, the "rain dance" was called "harmony", and the rain activity was more ceremonial. The explanation of "Yi" in Er Ya Shi Xun is: "Yi Festival, dancers call the wind and rain." It shows that witches can not only dance, but also cry and beg. If dancing and begging have no effect, the last resort will sometimes be "beauty" or "burning witches" or "exposing witches".
This primitive ritual custom was popular as early as the Shang Dynasty, while the Zhou Dynasty inherited many customs of the Shang Dynasty, and the custom of dancing and even burning witches remained until the Spring and Autumn Period. The rain dance of later generations was gradually replaced by the noise and enthusiasm of "Dragon Dance", and the witch "Wei Dance" gradually withdrew from the historical stage. Although there is still a tradition of worshipping witchcraft and dancing rain in modern northwest China, it will not form a big landscape in the end.
5. Nuo sacrifice
Nuo Sacrifice: Nuo Sacrifice in Zhou Dynasty was established and institutionalized by orthodox spiritual and cultural activities. In the imperial court, there was an official in charge of Nuo opera named Fang, who played the leading role in the actual Nuo opera. Nuo Festival is held in the court three times a year. When the Zhou royal family and princes represent the country, they are called "national Nuo", and when the whole country participates together, they are called "great Nuo". Its artistic style tends to be rough and bold, full of primitive barbarism.
Its main utilitarian purpose is to expel epidemic ghosts, clear graves and clean houses. Because of evil spirits and ghosts, the ceremony created a fierce atmosphere. When Nuo Festival developed to Han Dynasty, there appeared the "Twelve Animals Dance" marked by wild animals. In the Song Dynasty, it developed into a "Nuo Opera" for musicians, with strong folk culture and entertainment functions.