The Bai people are one of the ethnic groups with a long history and a relatively developed culture on the southwest border of China. About its origin, there is a document-based "Gan, Qingdi-Qiang migration said", according to archaeological excavations, "indigenous said", according to the formation of the process of "migration, indigenous fusion said "Although there is no definite conclusion, they all indicate that the Bai are an ancient nation. The Bai people call themselves "Bai Zi" and "Bai Ni", and there are many other names. Two Han Dynasty "Kunming" and the Three Kingdoms, the two Jin Dynasty after the "old man" have a relationship with the Bai. Tang and Song history of white barbarians", Yuan and Ming called "white people", after the Ming and Qing dynasties called "Minjia". After the establishment of the Chinese people's **** and the country, according to the will of the white people, in November 1956 to formally determine the "white" as a unified national title.
The Bai people, the language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan Tibetan-Burmese language family, the language branch has not been determined. There is no written text, in the folk songs, Da Benqu, opera and folk songs and dances in the lyrics, more borrowed Chinese characters to remember the Bai language.
The Bai mainly live in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. There are also a small number of Bai in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province, Xichang District, Sichuan Province and Huajie District, Guizhou Province.
Dali is one of the earliest cultural birthplaces of Yunnan, and was the capital of Nanzhao in the Tang Dynasty and Dali Kingdom in the Song Dynasty. Legend has it that as early as in the Han Dynasty, Ye Yu (now Dali) people Zhang Shu, Sheng Nian had learned from Sima Xiangru to learn the scriptures and fugue. Tang Kaiyuan 25 years (A.D. 737 years), Nanzhao knocked out the five edicts, captured the city of Dali, in the support of the Tang dynasty, the Dali region established Nanzhao regime. Since then, the Nanzhao to the Tang Dynasty frequently sent friendly envoys and sent their children to Chengdu to learn Chinese culture, a large number of cultural texts imported into the Central Plains. Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty chanted about the history of Nanzhao.
In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, travelers Marco? Polo and Xu Xiake visited and wrote travelogues. In painting, sculpture art, there are jianchuan shibaoshan nanzhao grotto relief, "nanzhao state history scroll" and dali state "zhang sheng wen van image scroll", which, "van image scroll" painted thirty-three flying dancers and seventeen winged beasts dance god.
Tang xuanzong tianbao eight years (749 years), the south imperial king phoenix ga yi from changan to the tang xuanzong gift of hu music and tortoise music two bring back to south imperial. Tang Dezong Zhenyuan sixteen years (A.D. 800), Nanzhao King Iso Mou Xun sent Yang Jiaming with more than two hundred people singing and dancing troupe went to Chang'an dedication of the "Sacred Music", specializing in music and rhythm of the Chengdu festival Wei Gaogao to carry out the processing of "with the yellow bells of the even, dance six into the workers, the zan cite two, the prelude to the song of the twenty-eight stacks, the executive feather and dance 'Nanzhao Feng Sheng Le ' character." The whole "FengShengLe" is divided into four parts: one, the tortoise part, two, big drum part, three, hu part, four, military music part. The "Sacred Music" has high skills and beautiful dances. "Tang Dezong read it in the Scaled Hall of Virtue to authorize the Taichang workers, and since then it has been played standing up for the palace banquet and sitting down in the palace." (See New Tang Book.) The Nanzhao Fengshengle inherited the traditional music and dance of the ancient peoples of the Southwest, and also absorbed the music and dance of the Central Plains, the Northwest as far as Burma and India (Tianzhu) to form a complete art of song and dance. The Tang Dynasty listed it as one of the fourteen parts of music (see Tang Hui Yao). It shows that the art of song and dance in the Dali area had reached a considerable level during the Tang Dynasty.
The earliest Bai folk dance in the literature is the Tang Fanchuo's "book of barbarians". One of the "barbarians customs eighth" contained: "young children in the evening and night parade in the streets, blowing gourd sheng, or blowing leaves, the sound rhyme are sent to the words, with each other call." This custom, in the song dynasty ouyang xiu "new tang book? Nanzhao biography", the Yuan dynasty Li Jing "Yunnan Zhiliao", the Ming dynasty Yang Shen "Dian Zaiji", the Qing dynasty Zhou Zhi Lie "Hongxue Poetry Notes", are recorded.
The Bai folk dance now collected seventy-four kinds. The most representative and most widely circulated is the "king whip dance", it is not only in the "around the three spirits", "haunted spring king in the first month", "Tianjiale" three folk activities. It not only exists in "around the three spirits", "haunted spring in the first month", "Tianjiale" three kinds of folk activities, but also in the building of a house to marry or festivals are performed. Earlier account of the White Whip Dance is the Qing Xianfeng years Dali poet Duan bit written "around the three spirit of the bamboo words", which the White Whip and "octagonal drums" recounted in considerable detail. It shows that in the Qing Dynasty, the whip has been popular in the Dali area.
The white whip has a variety of routines, playing a variety of names, counting a hundred kinds. In addition to the Dali around the three spirit of the whip, Eryuan County, the spring of the King of the first month with the Tianjiale in the whip, as well as Jianchuan stone dragon whip, Yunlong whip and Binchuan whip are distinctive.
In the three Spirit around, with the whip and dance together with the octagonal drums and "double flying swallows" two kinds of dance. These dances are only performed in the vicinity of Dali Old Town, so they are only performed around the Erhai Sea.
"Li Ge Gao" and "playing ah Sasai", the Bai people also called "playing songs". It produces the era, there is no reliable information can be relied on, from the content of the song and dance and artistic characteristics, may be related to the Bai ancestors of nomadic, hunting life. Such as eryuan west mountain mile high, is singing, walking, dancing into one, mainly singing, slow lyrical action. The movement of Jianchuan East Mountain is simple and rustic. More to retain the characteristics of the original song and dance of the Bai people.
The dragon and lion dance is also an ancient Bai folk dance. Ancient Bai region is full of lakes, not only the dragon's myths and legends, and more than a dragon carvings in the pavilions and halls. Today, Dali City, there are still "dragon head off", "dragon tail off" and "black dragon bridge" and other place names. Bai dragon dance from modeling to performance, have unique characteristics. Such as Jianchuan white people seeking rain when the "dragon dance" is made of willow branches. Dali Bai's dragon dance, dragon head, dragon body and dragon tail are not connected to each other, dance up a large turn more comfortable, but from a distance there is a sense of unity. Qing "Dali County" in: "the night of the New Year, home lanterns, but also fish, dragons, horses and aoshan plays ...... travelers singing and dancing up to the day." Visible dragon dance in the Qing Dynasty in Dali is very prevalent. The lion dance in the Bai area has a long history.
The Bai folk dances (including folk activities) are usually performed in three specific situations:
The first is performed in traditional festivals. Bai folk festivals are many, in addition to the same traditional festivals with the Han Chinese, there are unique to the nation's main festival, March Street, Torch Festival, worship February, Shibaoshan song will be more than 20. Almost every month there will be "White Crane Dance", "Deer and Crane with Spring", "Phoenix catching the unicorn", "play the cow", "play horse", "play knife" and other folk dances and folk activities are carried out in these national festivals.
The first month of spring, the white language called "take Zhewa Zhigao". Circulated in eryuan phoenix feather township.
The origin of the first month of spring, according to the village of BaoDaYi old artist LiShaoGu and other people's introduction, is the Ming WanLi years, by the Lake GuangYiZhang county governor of BaoDaYiZhang people ZhangDaGuan, will be there to see "welcome the god will" bring back, blended into the local folk customs and the formation of the. There is also a saying that the parents of babies born in the first month of the year are punished: the babies born in the first month of the year should be projected to be the first year of the rice planting season, and the rural areas require that during the mango season, the young and strong laborers should be fully committed to planting rice seedlings, and do not go against the agricultural time, so we have to punish those who do not abide by the rules of the countryside and folk customs.
Haunted spring king of the first month is generally held in the first month of the lunar calendar from 14 to 18 days. The location is often chosen in the village square. Before the event, by the village people report themselves to play the role of roles, the role of the hall officer, deputy officer, carrying a bow and arrow, there are pass cards, yamen, a long, fishermen, woodcutters, plowing, reading, workers, merchants, mute, mute women, playing Lotus Flower Drops, teachers, fortune-tellers, God, Jaeger, Jaeger, and the first month of the road - "offending the Spring King", counting about 300 people. Among them, the female role, mostly by men dressed as women, each role has some simple dance movements. Before the show starts, a person dressed as a wacky and comical card-carrying person, striking a gong in his hand, walks or rides a horse to the nearby countryside and calls out, "Haunted Spring King on the first day of the month!" to attract audiences. The order of the performance, in addition to the "meet the official", "interrogation of the prisoner", "read the imperial decree" and so on a few scenes, centralized in a venue for the performance, the rest of the content and form according to the different, each occupies The whole village is divided into several venues for performances. The whole village is divided into several venues for performances or alternating performances in the same venue. The performances were interspersed with dances such as the "King's Whip" and the "Jumping God". Most of the sayings and lyrics are said in the opposite direction, or the white language harmonized words are used to make fun of the situation. When the passer will be the "prisoner" from the punished person's home to the front of the hall for interrogation, the "prisoner" confessed to the punishment, the show will enter a climax.
Haosunwang is now rare in the first month of the lunar calendar and is gradually being replaced by Tianjiale.
Lanping County, the White Na Ma people held on the eighth to fifteenth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, "Cup Day to", also known as "jump February", the Chinese said February will be". Is a large collective song and dance ritual activities. Jump cups to the past, the performers should have six priests, on behalf of the six families, there are warriors (called "production of capital告")，male disguised as a woman of the Golden Palace, there are "jumping heavenly palace, break the heavenly prison" of the sky dry, there are wearing a red mask of Wu Sangui, black masks of the Ma Sanbao and fairies, fairy, fairy, and so on. The content of the program is very complicated. Program content is very complex, showing the local Bai people on the Lord, heroes, ancestor worship.
The second kind is carried out in the agricultural labor, planting or harvesting season. For example, Tianjiale, also known as "Yangsaihui", is called "Saizhi" in Baihua. It has been passed down in the rural areas of Dali, Eryuan, Jianchuan, Yunlong and Binchuan counties where rice is planted.
Tianjiale performances are generally held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, after planting rice seedlings, held in the village square. Sometimes also invited to neighboring villages to perform. Its organizers, generally by the production of skilled workers, called "rice-planting officer" and "deputy rice-planting officer". The rice-planting officer is responsible for arranging all kinds of work in the rice-planting competition, and the deputy rice-planting officer is responsible for the life of the rice-planting competition, keeping track of the work, and accounting for the income and expenditure.
The performance of Tianjiale is used to assigning roles within the team that organizes the event. Each county's Tianjiale has its own characteristics, but the performance program is more or less the same. The whole activity, the scene is large, many roles, up to eighty, ninety people. In addition to the rice-planting officials and deputy rice-planting officials, there are those who dress up as fishermen, woodcutters, old couples plowing the fields, mutes, mute girls, those who dress up as buffaloes, yellow cows, lazy people, farmers digging fields, teachers, people engaged in small handicrafts, as well as picking up loads of goods and so on; and there are also the girls who play the whip of the king. Before the show began, the rice-planting official wore a cap made of rice seedlings, wearing a long coat and a long shirt, riding a high horse, wearing a straw shoe on the left foot and a cloth shoe on the right foot, and was led by a horseman. A large group of people walking through the townships and villages, singing while walking, has been marching to the central square to concentrate on the performance.
Tianjiale's performance adopts the language, music, costumes and props of the Bai people. During the performance, the drums and music play [the big swinging procession], [planting rice seedlings], [the dragon swinging its tail], [the dragon going up to the sky], [bees crossing the river] and other Zona songs. Folk dances such as the whip of the king, the crane dance, the running horse, the dry boat, the clam dance and other folk dances are interspersed and performed around the square. Playing a variety of agricultural activities and performers from all walks of life, singing with the Bai "Blow Blow cavity", singing humor and vivid, the performance is exquisite, the atmosphere seems warm and cheerful. "Plowing" is one of the main content, plowing the old man's wife (male disguised as a woman), it is hilarious to see. The whole Tianjiale activities include the whole process of rice planting and insertion of labor, showing the rich connotation of the Bai farming culture, but also fully reflects the bright and optimistic character of the Bai people and the hope for a bumper crop, six animals prosper.
There is another kind of field music, which runs directly through the production of labor, such as Dali rural "open rice-planting door" activities. The opening of the rice planting door is also called "rice planting race", before the race rice planting flag inserted in the field, suona drums and music played. After the race starts, the laggards are easily trapped in the rice field by the rice planting experts who insert seedlings in front and behind. At this time there are people who play suona, down to the field, with suona blowing at his back, to show urging.
Dali Tianjiale integrates labor and production with recreational activities, and as a kind of folklore activity, it is increasingly popular among the Bai people.
The third kind is performed in rituals and religious ceremonies. The Bai people believe in sorcerers, the Lord, Taoism and Buddhism, so there are many sacrificial ceremonies and religious ceremonies. The largest scale is the worship of the Lord. The worship of the Lord is the traditional ideology of the Bai people, and to this day, Bai villages and hamlets still have the Lord's sacrificial activities. In the welcome or worship of the Lord, some of the Temple of the Lord with praying for good weather "stamping horse" and crop harvest "play cattle" combined with dancing and singing, accompanied by oboe crude gongs, quite lively.
Dali's witch dance is linked to the Lord's rituals and the customary activities of "receiving the golden nuns", usually sung by more than two witches and more than ten people can dance together. In the dance process, the crowd of onlookers can join the same singing and dancing, and there are certain procedures, in the past, there is a relationship between the sorcerer, dance is also by the sorcerer with apprentices, holding a single flat drum (locally known as the sheepskin drums), the male sorcerer action is simple, rugged, a single; witches are swinging their hips, GuanYan, or bent or tilted. The witch dance of Jianchuan is usually performed in the temple of the Lord, and is performed by the witch goddess. The dance has a lot of programmed actions, such as "chest fork incense", "double fling incense", "inside and outside around the flower", "double fling flower "and so on. The witch dance of Eryuan is roughly divided into two kinds of situations: one is a sacrificial occasion organized by the village and township; the other is a family festival. The home rituals have steps such as receiving the soul, touching the bottom, asking the soul, answering the questions, and sending the soul. Nowadays, witches still have individual activities only in remote villages.
Buddhism in Dali is divided into Mahayana and Hinayana, and Mahayana differs from Tantric Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism became popular in Dali during the Tang Dynasty under the Nanzhao Kingdom, while Zen Buddhism was introduced to Dali at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. The Buddhist music and dance performed during Buddhist ceremonies is now only spread in a small number of townships such as Fengyu and Liantie in Eryuan, and Diannan, Shaxi and Jinhua in Jianchuan. There are "around the altar", "bottle flower dance", "flower flower dance", "lotus lamp dance", "Sword Dance" and so on several kinds, most of them are performed in the temple's main hall or the practice of the religious family.
There is also a totem worship and primitive nature worship rituals in the mountains. For example, in Dada Township, Changxin District, Yunlong, the Chinese translation is "Funeral Dance" or "Coffin Dance". The dancers, all male youths, hold hands and form a circle in which the coffin is parked, with candles burning on the front and top. Under the light of the candles, the dancers rotate counterclockwise at a medium-speed tempo, creating a sad and melancholic atmosphere. This kind of dance contains "soul immortality" religious color.
The Bai folk dance has been passed down from generation to generation, and its roots are strong and worthy of being the treasure of Bai traditional culture.