At that time, most of these areas believed in Buddhism, and many Buddhist music and dances were introduced into the Tang Dynasty. For example, during the Zhenyuan period in Tang Dezong (785-804), the music of Guo Si (located in today's Myanmar) was introduced to Chang 'an (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi). Music works 12, including music and dance works and instrumental works. Among them, songs such as Fo Yin, Meditation and King of Sugarcane (meaning "Buddhists are as sweet as sugar cane") are all Buddhist music and dance, and all of them "explain the meaning of scripture". (Biography of the Old Tang Dynasty)
In this regard, the Tang Dynasty poets left many poems. Bai Juyi's poem "Regret for National Music" says: "The jade snail blows the ridge, while the bronze advocates tattoos. Zhu Yingxuan stars, and Hua Man fights dragons and snakes. " Yuan Zhen's "Prose on Chinese Music" said: "It is difficult to promote dance, complicated words are confusing, and the name is not correct. Thousands of bullets are swallowed, and the left and right hands are empty. " These poems vividly describe their dance style: dancers wearing vertebral bun and beaded embroidery, dancing like snakes accompanied by jade snails and bronze drums (this kind of dance has been circulating in southern Buddhism spreading areas).
Buddhist music and dance on the ancient Silk Road injected new elements into the traditional Buddhist music and dance in China. When Buddhism was first introduced to China, Sanskrit was used to recite Buddhist songs. However, the Buddhist songs introduced at that time could not adapt to Chinese lyrics in syllables; However, singing Sanskrit with China music can't achieve the harmony between voice and music, so the form of rap is adopted. (See Hui Jue's Biography of a Monk: On Classics) The Buddhist music and dance introduced from the ancient Silk Road provided a new solution for this, so it was widely accepted. Therefore, Bai Juyi wrote in his poem "Lured into National Music": "Wen Jun's politics is very holy and bright, and he wants to touch people's hearts and bring peace. It is not far from touching people, and it is not sound. "
Second, the Taoist immortal world is an important manifestation of poetry and music and dance in the Tang Dynasty.
The magnificent imagination in poetry and the gorgeous art in music and dance show the imagination and yearning for the Taoist immortal world. For example, Li He's "Li Ping's Quotations": "Wu Si, Shu and Zhang Tong are in high autumn, and the empty mountains are not flowing. Jiang Yue wept for Motome's sadness, while Ping Li was playing China. Kunshan jade broken Fengming, hibiscus crying, Xianglan laughing. The cold light melts in front of the twelve gates, and the twenty-three silk moves the purple emperor. Nu Wa makes up the sky by refining stones, and the stones break the ground to stir up the autumn rain. Dream into the holy mountain to teach the gods, and the old fish dance with the waves. Wu sleeps in osmanthus trees and flies barefoot to wet cold rabbits. " This music and dance poem vividly records the superb skills of music and dance performance with strange and wonderful associations, and at the same time vividly reproduces the immortal world expressed in music and dance with literary language: the poem begins with words, the time and place of performance, and then begins to describe the beauty of music: the clouds are stagnant, and it is said that Jiang E and Motome, who are good at drumming, are also moved; Not only was the world intoxicated by the wonderful string songs, but the music even spread to Xianfu and Shengshan. The purple emperor (the Emperor of Heaven) was moved, and the son-in-law was fascinated. God was moved. Wu Zhi (WU GANG) of Yuegong leans against the osmanthus tree and forgets to sleep. Jade rabbit curled up and refused to leave ... this poem combines external images with internal feelings and is rich in imagination.
Thirdly, in the Tang Dynasty, music and dance were used in many religious activities, such as offering sacrifices to gods and praying for rain. , formed a unique ritual music and dance.
Many poems describe folk sacrificial music and dances used to entertain gods. Wang Wei's poem "Looking at the suburbs of Liangzhou" said: "There are three wild old people, and there are few neighbors in the border village. Dance in accordance with the club, flute and drum with Tian Shen. Sprinkle wine on dogs, burn incense and worship firewood. The witch dances many times and the stockings themselves produce dust. " The poem describes the scene of comparing gods in Liangzhou (now Wuwei, Gansu) in the Tang Dynasty, and shows the cultural landscape of frontier villages at that time. The poem not only describes the process of "Tian Shen", but also describes the situation of sacrificial music and dance in Tian Shen's activities: accompanied by flutes and drums, dancers are agile and socks float like fog. The poem "Grass in a coconut skirt, clouds dancing under a palm tree" in Wang Rui's "Song of the Goddess of the Temple Fishing Mountain" describes the scene of meeting God: dancers wearing grass and coconut skirts are dancing under a palm tree, and their dances are beautiful and strange. In Liu Yuxi's "Yangshan Temple Watching the Competition God", "Jason Wu is full of words, and the wild old woman is drunk. The poem "Outside the Temple Gate, Several People Even Blow Bamboo Songs" depicts the music and dance of Langzhou (now Changde, Hunan).
In the Tang Dynasty, Nuo Festival was held on New Year's Eve to drive away ghosts and plagues. The music and dance in this activity is called "Nuo dance", with fixed dance and accompaniment. Usually, the Nuo dance in the court uses drums and cymbals as the main musical instruments, and there are hundreds of participants, which are called "Da Nuo". Folk Nuo dance is much simpler and more casual, and there are many descriptions of this scene in Tang poetry. Meng Jiao's poem "Xian Ge Xing" said: "If you drive the flute, the thin ghost will dye his face and his teeth will be white. I am secretly pulling the whip, full of sorrow. Watching the other party rush to the stadium with a smile, Tao Arc shouted alone when shooting arrows. " The poem depicts the scene of Nuo opera in the countryside along the Laishui River (now Liyang, Jiangsu Province), and naturally and vividly depicts Nuo dance: dancers wear all kinds of strange clothes, headdresses and masks, holding whips and mahogany bows in their hands, and dancing with drums and flutes.