"Hundred operas" originated from miscellaneous dances. As early as ancient times, people began to consciously express their feelings through shouting and actions. By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, music and dance had been fully popularized, and many movements in the Book of Songs were for music and dance. Every vassal state also has its own music and dance. At this time, music and dance are divided into "elegance" and "miscellaneous". The upper class of the vassal States appreciated their so-called elegant music and elegant dance, but turned their noses up at secular music. And the broad masses of working people constantly create new forms of music and dance in the process of labor practice, and constantly impact the rigid temple fair dance with their own vivid characteristics. As a result, innovation overcame conservatism, vividness overcame rigidity, and "folk music mixed dance" finally reached elegance.
Zawuqin is called "corner play". Including all kinds of acrobatic illusions, such as looking for a tripod, looking for a pot, swallowing a knife and spitting fire, as well as music and dance to dress up characters and animals.
In the Han dynasty, "miscellaneous dance" was very popular, and all the princes and nobles competed to enjoy it. At this time, the "miscellaneous dance" is also called "hundred plays", which includes acrobatics, magic, martial arts, competitions, music and dance, wrestling and other forms, which embodies great artistic tolerance.
"The Outline of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty" contains: "Hundreds of operas began to spread during the Qin and Han Dynasties." Hundred plays contains rap skills. Li You's View of Peace records that "singing and dancing are excellent, even the flute is a geisha", and comedy rap is the only folk art program in "Hundred Dramas". The programs dressed as animals, such as Yellow Emperor in the East China Sea and Biography of Fish Dragon, are famous programs in the social drama.
Huang Gong in the East China Sea is based on folk stories. According to "Miscellanies of Xijing", Huang Gong, a native of Donghai, practiced martial arts when he was young and was able to resist snakes and subdue tigers. He often wears a red gold knife and ties his hair with red silk. He can see through the clouds, and his skill is extraordinary. In old age, physical weakness, coupled with excessive drinking, spell failure. At the end of Qin dynasty, a white tiger appeared in the East China Sea. Huang Gong still tried to subdue it with the red gold knife, but the spell didn't work and was killed by the white tiger. People in Guanzhong area make programs and perform according to this story; Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty introduced it to the court as a program of Jiaodui Opera. Zhang Heng's "Xijing Fu" in the Eastern Han Dynasty describes its performance as follows: "The East China Sea Huang Gong, the Red Knife Zhu Yue and the Hebei White Tiger can't be saved, so they don't sell them."
Huang Gong in the East China Sea shows the struggle between man and tiger, but it is different from ordinary wrestling. Two actors compete on the field and win or lose by strength, but perform an emotional festival according to a specific character story. The characters' shapes, conflict situations, winning and losing endings in the play are all predetermined, and there are also dance moves such as raising a knife to pray and fighting between people and tigers. It took the lead in breaking through the excellent improvisation and satire in ancient times, and initially integrated several factors of opera performance, laying a preliminary foundation for the formation of opera.
According to "Han Shu's Biography in the West" and "The Classic of Filial Piety in the World", "The Legend of the Fish Dragon" ... set up a wine pool and a meat forest to entertain the guests of the four foreigners, and make a Balu opera. The fish dragon is scattered in the sea, and the horns arrive at it. Yan Shigu in the Tang Dynasty explained that Bayu Dulu and Haizhong were both song and dance names, while "Fish Dragon" was a giant rare animal from the Western Regions-relic beast, which first played in the court, then stirred the water in the temple, turned into a flounder, jumped into the water, made a fog barrier, and finally turned into an eight-legged Huanglong. In addition to historical materials, we can also find the shadow of "the spread of ichthyosaurs" from the stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty. For example, there is an image of dragon dance on the music and dance stone found in the Red Chamber of Tongshan.
In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, "Three Music" and "Hundred Drama" were collectively called "Three Music and Hundred Drama", covering a wider range. Nuo tour, folk dance and acrobatics were the main items in the "Sanqu Performing Arts" at that time. The Music Record of Sui Shu contains: the four-year palace banquet program supervised by Liang Chaotian. The sixteenth item is "setting a Nuo tour", which is arranged between songs and dances, and various acrobatics are set up from the twenty-first item. In the Northern Qi Dynasty, there were "Pew Short" and "Pew Corner" in the Western Wei Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a teaching workshop in Chang 'an called "Spreading Music, Advocating Excellence and Spreading Drama", which focused on the existing skills. "Advocating Excellence" emphasizes rap skills, and spreading drama refers to acrobatic performances. There are famous teachers in the Tang Dynasty in the teaching workshop, such as Huang Chuchuo and Tang Chong.
In Song Dynasty, it was customary to use "hundred operas" to refer to all folk skills, but it has shown a trend of differentiation. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu attributed the singing-oriented skills to "Geisha Music", including popular lip-synching and chestnut singing, various palace tunes and singing styles. As for Sanle, zaju is regarded as "positive color", and Sanle has gradually become a special term for drama, song and dance. And "hundred operas" mostly refer to acrobatics and competitive performances in the Song Dynasty. Zhou Mi's "Legend of the Wulin" has recorded many times that "the shooting range is a place where martial arts archery is specially practiced in the court, and the performance of" Hundred Dramas "is likely to be gladiatorial or martial arts. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was called "Three Music". During the Tang Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty, hundreds of dramas were very popular. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the "Hundred Drama" Festival was held in the capital of song dynasty (now Kaifeng, Henan) every festival. After the Yuan Dynasty, the "Hundred Dramas" program developed and its content became more colorful. After that, the word "hundred plays" became less and less used.
Painted acrobatic figurines unearthed from Wuyingshan Tomb in Jinan City, Shandong Province were buried with them. Artists in the Han Dynasty reappeared the popular "Hundred Dramas" through acrobatic figurines. The lively and cheerful scenes during the performance constitute a complete stage performance scene. The stage is Long Tao Pan. 2 1 pottery figurine is fixed on the Tao Pan for performance or viewing. In the center of the stage, there is a clay figurine wearing a crown and a scarlet robe. He seems to be a master of ceremonies. He is introducing the program to the audience. There are two women in red and white dancing clothes next to the master of ceremonies. They are dancing with long sleeves, and the man wearing a pointed hat is performing handstand. Then two people performed soft skills. Behind the stage, there is a band of seven. Performers in blowing sheng, drums, gongs, bells, drums, all look focused. There are seven spectators or entertainers on both sides of the stage, wearing crowns and ties, standing hand in hand. The whole group is childish and clumsy, only shaping the outline of the human body, and its posture is slightly dull, but it is rich in colors and many people, rendering the market interesting. It combines dance, music and acrobatics, with orderly layout, warm and cheerful atmosphere and vivid characters. It has become a miniature fossil of social life in the Han Dynasty, with high cultural value.
The rulers of the Han dynasty accepted the concept of "death is like life", and thick burial prevailed, especially after the economic recovery of the Western Han Dynasty, which became increasingly effective. With the changes of politics and economy, the pottery figurines in the late Western Han Dynasty were not as dull as those in the early funeral period, and there began to be "hundred plays", rap and other scene pottery sculptures with rich world feelings, especially the acrobatic pottery figurines with music and dance. This group of painted acrobatic dancing pottery figurines is the earliest group of similar works of art in ancient China.
The pottery figurines of the Western Han Dynasty can be divided into three periods:
The first period is the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, that is, from the establishment of the Han Dynasty to the last years of Emperor Han Jing. Pottery figurines in this period include Yangling pottery figurines, Yangjiawan pottery figurines, pottery figurines in the tombs of Anling and Baling, and pottery figurines in Beidongshan and Shizishan in Xuzhou.
Yangling pottery figurines are all made of red pottery, which is hard and hard, generally 60 cm high, equivalent to one-third of the real person. The terracotta figures have no arms, originally wooden arms, with a red "Mo forehead" on their heads, a pocket (móu) and robes and armor. The maid wore her hair in a bun, rode a horse and wore scarlet armor. The most prominent features of Yangling pottery figurines are rich expressions, concise and generalized shapes and appropriate proportions.
Painted pottery figurines, all warriors, were unearthed in Anling, Han Hui. The figurines are 44-46 cm high, wearing purple hair bands, with wind bands attached to the chin on both sides, black and red stripes on the hairline on the forehead, and a bun tied at the back of the head. Wearing a light green or red short tan, a right shirt, armor, a red belt around her waist, light green or purple knees on her legs, tight knots up and down, and sandals. Slim figure, eyes staring at the front.
In Renjiapo, northeast of Bailuyuan in the eastern suburb of Xi, 37 tombs of Ba Ling and Dou Taihou of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty were excavated, and 42 pottery figurines were unearthed. These painted figurines are all molded, with holes in the soles, which are easy to fire. Its temperature is high, its texture is solid and blue, and its surface is painted with white "fetal clothes", and then painted with dark brown, crimson, khaki and scarlet. How red the underwear is. The figurines are 53-57 cm high, with their hands half raised, fists up and down, and placed on their chests, as if standing with objects. Sitting figurines are 33-35 cm high, dignified and elegant, and beautifully made. They are the images of ladies in the palace, buried with Dou Taihou's tomb.
Influenced by Qin figurines, most of the pottery figurines in the early Western Han Dynasty appeared in the form of troops, but they were different. The terracotta warriors and horses here are more enjoyable. Judging from the expression of the figurines, there was no pre-war tension, but they were relaxed and happy, as if they were traveling with the tomb owner.
At the same time, the pottery figurines in the early Western Han Dynasty had superb modeling skills and colorful styles. While inheriting the tradition of Qin figurines, it also absorbed the production methods of Chu wooden figurines since the Warring States Period. In order to express the characters' personality, outstanding craftsmen make the characters' age, expression and personality different according to their own life experience and through different treatments of the muscles in the facial skeleton structure. These people are thin or slightly fat, angular and powerful, which can be called the Han Dynasty figure sculpture museum.
In the early Western Han Dynasty, except for the Terracotta Warriors, maid figurines were very common, and other figurines were rare. In the middle and late period, with the change of funeral customs, people pay more attention to moving the scenes of daily real life into the ground truthfully. The residence consists of gate, warehouse, pavilion, main house, kitchen, toilet and pigsty. The tomb structure is the real residence of the tomb owner. The burial plane of the Han Dynasty is basically composed of the east and west wing, the east and west wing and the main room. The east wing and the west wing are stables and warehouses. The east and west rooms are the dining room where pots, pots, basins and bowls are placed, and the living room where singers and dancers are entertained. The back room is the room of the grave owner's coffin bed. It completely imitates the real life in the world, and various figurines adapted to this need came into being. Among these figurines, musical dance and acrobatic figurines are the most common and noticeable. After the mid-Western Han Dynasty, influenced by the minority cultures in the western regions, music, dance and "hundred operas" prevailed in the Central Plains and became popular art forms. When Yuan Feng performed "Hundred Dramas" in Chang 'an in the second year, all the villagers three hundred miles away went to Beijing to watch it. This situation is increasing among dignitaries, and almost all banquets are accompanied by songs and dances and acrobatics, which has become an indispensable part of people's daily life.
The figurines of the Western Han Dynasty pursued the creation of verve. The pottery figurines of this period are not as realistic in facial features and body proportions as in the early days, and conform to the anatomical structure of the human body, but they pay attention to the grasp and depiction of the characters' expressions. For example, the movements and postures of acrobats in long-sleeved coats and baggy bell bottoms are extremely exaggerated. In order to highlight the rhythm of inspiration, sculptors can arbitrarily increase the length of characters' lower limbs, which is beyond people's usual imagination. Loose trouser legs are like long skirts, which are moved by legs, just like the wind. In order to show the thrills of acrobatics, the length of legs is shortened appropriately to increase the stability of their movements. Perhaps in order to adapt to the characteristics of music and dance and acrobatic figurines, the figurines of this period always give people a strong sense of movement. As far as the five senses are concerned, they gradually broke away from the shackles of the serious facial expressions of the terracotta warriors and horses, and their expressions began to be lively.