The Tang Dynasty was one of the most prosperous periods in Chinese history. Just in terms of dance, there were many works and celebrities at that time.

With their superb dancing skills and superb performances, the dancers are active on the stage of the Tang Dynasty and are well-known outside China.

They have written a glorious chapter in the history of Chinese dance and have had a great impact on the development of dance art in later generations.

The dancer Gongsun Auntie in the Kaiyuan period of Tang Xuanzong is one of them. Aunt Gongsun often performs dances such as "Neighborhood Song", "General Pei", "Full House" and "Ni Dress and Feather Dance Dance".

But the best and most influential is her "Sword Dance". What is a sword weapon? The sword weapon, the martial dance music at that time, that is, the Jian dance song (as opposed to the Jian dance

"Soft Dance"). The dancer dances with a sword (a dance with two swords), showing the momentum of strength and battle, and seems to be a solo dance.

Its clothes and music are also recorded: "Five colors of dance clothes, Lu Palace in the song",

"Female Performers as Male Costumes", accompanied by Western Liang music. It is also a martial dance, and the dance is as spectacular as the sword dance.

The dance of the sword and the mud is called

"The sword is dancing

“。 I don't know what this dance looks like. Fortunately, there are some historical notes, poems and texts, tomb figurines as witnesses, and people can also follow their handwriting and watch from afar. It's also a rare artistic enjoyment. The poet Du Fu watched Gongsun Auntie's "Sword Weapon Muddy Dance" when he was a child, and when he was old, he also saw the dance of the same name by Gongsun Auntie's disciple Li Twelve Niang. He wrote a poem in "Guangongsun Auntie's Disciples Dancing Swords and Weapons".

In the "Preface", the sword dance of Gongsun Auntie is detached, and a true record and vivid description are made. He to

"Dripping with frustration, when the only crown" and

"Gongsun Sword Weapon is the first at the beginning" and other words, giving Gongsun Aunt a very high evaluation.

"In the past, there was a beautiful woman Gongsun, who danced with a sword and moved in all directions. The spectators are depressed like mountains, and the heavens and the earth are low for a long time. Just like the nine sunsets, it is like a group of emperors and dragons. Come like thunder to restrain anger, and let it be like the river and sea condensing the light. This is Du Fu's vivid poem recounting and describing the sword dance of Gongsun Auntie, and it is also his excited feeling after watching it.

From it, people can appreciate the beautiful dancing posture, superb dancing skills, bold style and touching artistic charm of this female dancer.

The outline of his dance is also vividly visible. You see, the sword light on the stage is shining, like the sunset on the earth; the dancing posture is vigorous and light, like a group of immortals flying on a dragon; at the beginning of the dance, the drum beat of the prelude suddenly stops, as if Lei Gong has stopped his anger; at the end of the dance, the sword shadow in his hand is like a calm wave on the surface of the river and sea.

The rough and majestic, thrilling, and desperate dance that tried its best to express the pride of the battle made the audience look like a mountain of color, dizzy, and feel that even the heavens and the earth were spinning.

Reading these poems, it seems that Aunt Gongsun is still dancing for people on stage. Sword dance like Du Fu gave high praise, at that time there were many people, until the late Tang Dynasty, she was praised by many poets.

Zheng Zhen's "Jinyangmen Poems" has

The sentence "Gongsun Sword Warrior Fang is magical" is available in Sikong Tu's "Sword Poem".

The sentence "The grandson downstairs used to be good at the scene, and the empty woman loved the military uniform" is all in praise of the grandson's aunt. Even known as

Zhang Xu, the great calligrapher of the "Grass Sage", its

"Cursive writing grows, bold and grateful", I was also inspired by her agile dance after watching it.

After more than 300 years, in the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a dance drama "Sword Dance", which is said to play the story of the Hongmen banquet, a man and a woman, on the stage to dance.

The male character plays the Xiang Bo of the Han Dynasty, but the female character plays the Gongsun Aunt of the Tang Dynasty. There is a saying: "Uncle Xiang has meritorious service to support the emperor's industry, and the eldest lady is well-known in the literary field." The two wonders are very peculiar, and they want to make the guests have a look. "The Han and Tang dynasties were on the scene, but they acted in Han affairs, which was naturally a lie and obedient, but the literati arranged it like this and praised it

"The eldest lady is well-known in the literary field", but it also shows the lofty status of Gongsun Auntie in the minds of literati and her far-reaching influence on later generations.

Aunt Gongsun is not only with her own unique dancing skills

"The crown is unparalleled", and he has taught by word and deed, and has cultivated many proud protégés, Li Twelve Niang is one of them.

She inherited the skills of her grandson and came out of the blue, and she was also praised by the times. Du Fu exclaimed: "Lin Ying's beauty is in the White Emperor, and the wonderful dance of this song is magnificent." This is not only a compliment to Li Shiniang, but also a tribute to her teacher's teaching achievements.

It is difficult to say, the "Sword Dance" danced for single and double people on the stage today is the same as the "Sword Weapon Escape" danced by Gongsun Auntie more than 1,000 years ago, but its inheritance relationship should not be doubted.

Many traditional Chinese repertoire and modern dance dramas (such as Diao Chan and Red Lantern Zhao) are interspersed with a wide range of sword dancers, which may also be due to the influence of the sword art tradition.

The sword dance is thanks to great poets such as Du Fu, who sang praises for the female dancers of the lower class with a realistic attitude, and sang the praises of the princesses and grandmothers of the lower classes, so that people can use poetry to watch the dance and enjoy the possibility of its beauty.

At the same time, people hate

The "Gang of Four" is a national scum, and they even want to deprive everyone of the right to enjoy such art.

Under their coercive rule, classical dance was outlawed, and the national dance team was broken up and left behind

The miserable scene of "the disciples of the pear garden scattered into the smoke, and the female music reflected the cold day". smash

"Gang of Four", ancient dance has been reborn. How can the surging river of art be stopped by a handful of ugly people.

Looking at today's stage, the sword is shining, and the young generation of Chinese actors and actresses, dressed in military uniforms and holding double swords, are creatively performing the "Sword Weapon Turbulence" that shows the courage and tenacity of the Chinese nation, invincible, and heroic.

Du Fu lamented

The tragic era of "the tortoise feast is over, the joy is sad and the moon rises in the east, the old man does not know where he is going, and the barren mountains turn into sorrows" is gone, but what is ushered in is the artistic spring of a hundred flowers in full bloom.

"A dance of swords moves in all directions". Aunt Gongsun, dance skills last forever. Aunt Gongsun, there is a successor. From the dazzling array of modern sword dance techniques, I saw the glorious prospects of Chinese socialist dance creation under the influence of the excellent ancient national dance heritage.

In modern Chinese opera and dance, Mei Lanfang borrowed from the Tai Chi sword to create the sword dance in "Farewell My Concubine"; The sword dance in the Chinese dance drama "Little Knife Club" and "Thief of Fairy Grass" has solo dances and group dances, and the dance choreography is rich and varied.

The swords in the sword dance are divided into single swords, double swords, and sword-shaped short swords. Single swords generally have sword spikes, and the sword spikes are divided into long and short, up to 1 meter long.

Dancing up, the sword and spike are rigid and soft, and there are many changes, which makes the sword dance a lot of color. The sword dance is chic and heroic, the form is gorgeous and colorful, and it can be roughly divided into from the perspective of action changes

"Standing Sword" and

There are two categories of "walking swords".

The "Standing Sword" moves quickly and agilely, and the posture is calm and crisp when stationary, full of sculpture;

The action of "Xingjian" is continuous, such as Changhong and swimming dragon, beginning and end one after another, and like flowing clouds and water, uniform and tough.