Dance suddenly made a historic breakthrough in the Tang Dynasty. Why is it so different from previous dances?

Compared with the previous generation, the music and dance in the Tang Dynasty was indeed a kind of transcendence: first, the categories of music and dance were further refined, resulting in "left geisha" and "inner geisha". At first, the two were just different categories, and later they evolved into the difference between high and low. High-level musicians and dancers were selected as the left geisha, while low-level geisha were classified as the inner geisha, and the lowest-level geisha could only play elegant music. This difference is the result of higher requirements for music and dance, which further stimulates the emergence and development of high-level music and dance.

Secondly, there are "music and dance schools", such as Jiao Fang and Liyuan. Such a music and dance organization not only produces a large number of dance talents and improves the performance level steadily, but also communicates inside and outside the court, making the whole society present an atmosphere of advocating music and dance. Poetry, calligraphy, painting and other arts are all influenced by music and dance, among which the most famous creation is Du Fu's "Watching Gong Sundaniang Disciples Dance Sword".

Thirdly, from the perspective of the development of dance itself, Yan Yue, a teaching workshop in the Tang Dynasty, also experienced various differentiation, with the emergence of healthy dance and gentle dance. The representative of Jianwu is Hu Xuan and Jian, whose style is vigorous and lively, bold and vivid; Soft dance is more gentle and soothing, representing Liangzhou and green waist. This differentiation reflects the great development of dance.

Looking at the development of music and dance in the Tang Dynasty, compared with the previous generation, it can really be called a historic breakthrough. So, how did this breakthrough come about? First of all, this breakthrough is based on the inheritance of dance in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the northern part of China was ruled by ethnic minorities in turn for a long time, so the music and dance in the north included many artistic achievements of various ethnic groups (including the western regions and neighboring countries), showing a prosperous scene.

After Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty unified the whole country, he incorporated the old music of Qing merchants in the Southern Dynasties into the court music and dance system, bringing together the music of the North and the South, thus forming seven pieces of music such as "National Geisha" and "Qing merchants Geisha". During the great cause of Yang Di in the Sui Dynasty, the "seven songs" were changed to "nine songs", and these rich large-scale music and dances were completely inherited after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, from which ten pieces of music such as Yan Yue Ji, Qing Shang Ji, Xi Liang Ji Ji and Gao Chang Ji Ji were derived.

Apart from inheriting and developing the previous generation, the difference between the Tang Dynasty and the previous generation lies in the unprecedented economic and cultural development of the Tang Dynasty, and the whole society is very open-minded and can tolerate foreign cultures without hindrance. Therefore, historians believe that Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty was not only the Chang 'an in China, but also the Chang 'an in the world. In such a cultural environment, the dance art of all ethnic groups has been respected and valued.

As for the supreme rulers, the passionate and energetic minority dances and music are what they really like. In particular, Tang Xuanzong personally served as the director of music and dance in Liyuan, and vigorously advocated the diversification of music and dance. On the other hand, an important result of social and economic development is the need of entertainment performance, so all kinds of songs and dances have been widely spread at all levels of society, which has promoted the great progress of dance.

Summary: It is conceivable that the comprehensive effects of historical tradition, social economy, rulers' attention and foreign cultural influence have made a historic breakthrough in Tang Dynasty dance.