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UNEARTHING CHINA'S INFORMAL MUSICIANS: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND TEXTUAL STUDY OFTHE SHANG TO TANG PERIODSAuthor(s): Ingrid FurnissSource: Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 41 (2009), pp. 23-41Published by: {ictm}

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2/20

UNEARTHING CHINA'S INFORMAL

MUSICIANS:

AN

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

AND

TEXTUAL STUDY OF

THE

SHANG TO TANG

PERIODS

by

Ingrid

Furniss

In

the

past

three

decades,

the

study

of

music

in

ancient

China has

expanded

sig

nificantly

with the

discovery

of

numerous

tombs

containing

musical instruments.

These

finds

have revealed substantial informationabout ancient music

theory

and

organology.

One

issue thathas remained

on

the

periphery,

however,

is the

study

of

themusicians

themselves.

From

the

Eastern

Zhou

(770-221

BCE)

to

Tang

(618?

907 CE) periods, musicians fell broadly into threegroups: (1) formalmusicians

who

performed

for

important

ritual occasions

and

state

sacrifices;

(2)

informal

musicians who

provided

entertainment

for

banquets

and other less

formal

occa

sions;

and

(3)

military

musicians

who

performed

in

processions.1

Formal

musicians

generally specialized

in

yayue

(refined

music),

the officialmusic

of

the

royal

Zhou

court.2

Yayue

continued

to be

played

in

formal ritual

settings

at court

long

after

the

Zhou

period.

Informal and

military

musicians

specialized

in less

traditional

forms

of

music,

such

as

suyue

("popular"

or

"folk"

music)

and

foreign

music.3 Formal

1.During theearlyHan period,musicians of all three ypeswere employedby the ffice

of

Music

(Yuefu),

established

by

Han

emperor

Wudi

in 114 BCE. The Yuefu

had

many

responsibilities, including performing

at

court

entertainments

and state

rituals,

as

well

as

the collection and

analysis

of

popular

folkmusic.

It

was

believed

at

the time that hehealth

of

society

could be determined

y

themusic

it

produced.

Yuefu officials acted

like

impe

rial

advisors,

informing

he

emperor

if themusic

of

the

people

did

not

"sound"

right

nd

ensuring

that

correct

music

was

put

in

its

place

to

re-establish

harmony

within

society.

The Yuefu

was

disbanded

in

7

BCE

by

Emperor

Aidi

(ruled

7-1

BCE)

in

order

to

rid the

court

of all

"corrupting"

music,

seen as

the

cause

for

the moral

degeneration

of

society

in

general.

Formal musicians

specializing

in

yayue

were

retained and

reassigned

to

the

Office

of

Ceremonials,

but

those

who

specialized

in

suyue

(popular music)

were

dismissed. Of the

820

or so

virtuosi

employed

within

the

Yuefu,

the

government

retained

only

388

(see

Loewe

1974:208-9).

Informal musicians

presumably

found

new

employment

in

the

private

homes

of elites

and

as

entertainers for Chinese

garrisons

at

the frontier

regions.

Informal

musicians,

especially

those

of

foreign

rigin

or

those

who could

perform oreign

music,

were

quite

the

rage

at

court

nce

again

in

theSix

Dynasties period,

due to the

occupation

of

a

large

part

of

northern hina

by

Turkic-speaking

rulers.

y

the

early eighth

entury,

wo

special

offices

were

established

for

these

entertainers

t court:

the

Liyuan (Pear

Orchard)

and

the

Jiaofang

(Office

of

Entertainment).

oth offices

were

founded

by

Emperor

Xuanzong

(r.

712-756

CE).

2.

Yayue

was

the

onfucian canonical

music

utilizing

bells and chime

stones,

n

ddition

to

strings,

winds,

and drums.

Judging

from Zhou and Han textual

records,

such

as

the Zuo

Zhuan

(The

Zuo

commentary

n

theannals of

spring

nd

autumn),

ushi

chunqiu (Spring

and

autumn

annals

of

Master

Lii),

and Xunzi

(Master Xun),

yayue

was

slow-paced

and

lacked

complexity,

haracteristics

hat

corresponded

ith Confucian ideals

of

humility

nd

simplicity.

Its

sounds

were

pure

and

gentle,

and thus conformed

with

Confucian ideals of

propriety.

In

its

ability

to

calm

the

listener,

sometimes

to

the

point

of

boredom,

it

was

associ

ated with

righteousness.

3. Unlike

yayue, suyue

and

foreign

music

were

associated with

entertainment,

and

Yearbook

for

Traditional

Music

41

(2009)

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/20

24

2009

YEARBOOK

FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC

and

informalmusicians

appear

in

the

archaeological

record

as

early

as

Eastern

Zhou,

while

military

musicians

appear

slightly

later

in the

Han.

Of

these

three

groups,

informalmusicians

appear

to

have been

most

popular

among

elite

audi

ences, especially between theHan (206 BCE-229 CE) and Tang periods. These

musicians

were

often

paired

with

lively

dancers,

acrobats,

sword-swallowers,

and

jesters,

indicating

the

entertainment?rather

than formal?nature of themusic

they

performed.

As

demonstrated

by

sculptural

works and

mural

paintings

excavated

from

Han

through

Tang

tombs,

the

most

common

types

of musicians outside the

more

formalmusic

sectors at court

were

foreigners,

dwarfs,

idealized

women,

and

scholarly

recluses. This

paper

will

focus

on

archaeological

and textual evidence

for

the existence of these informalmusicians

as

early

as

Shang (c.

1570-1070

BCE)

and

Eastern

Zhou,

and

the

rising popularity

of such

performers

in

the

period

from

Han to

Tang.

I

hope

to show that the

very

social

marginality

of informalmusi

cians

is

exactly

what enhanced their exoticism and

popular

appeal

among

their

elite audiences.

Musicians

prior

toHan

Although

there is

little

archaeological

evidence from

the

Shang

period

to

aid

us

in

reconstructing

the

identities

of

musicians,

textual

records

from theZhou and

Han

occasionally

describe

Shang

music and the cultural and social

excesses,

such as

drinking

and sexual

debauchery,

that

accompanied

it.4

he final

Shang king,

Zhou

Xin?who

Han

historians accused of

losing

the "mandate

of heaven" because of

his

excesses?is

described

in the

following

passage

in the Shi Ji

(Records

of

the

grand

historian):

He

loved

wine and licentious

music,

and devoted himself

to

his concubines

...

Thus

he had Shi Zhuan

create

new

and

depraved

sounds,

the "Northern Suburb"

dance,

and

the

"Fluttering

Earthwards" music

...

He assembled

a

large

company

of

musi

cians and actors at the

Shaqiu

Garden,

filling

a

pond

with wine and

hanging

up

meats

to

make

a

forest;

he

caused

men

and

women

to

disrobe and

pursue

each other

through

his

scenery,

s

part

of

a

drinking

east

lasting ong

into the

night. (Major

and So

2000:26)

This

passage,

written

by

a

Han

historian

nearly

a

millennium after the

Shang,

is

probably

reflective

more

of

the biases

of

the

Han

than of real

musical

practice.

However,

there is

some

interesting

nformation that

we

can

draw

from

this.

First

is

both relied

largely

on

strings,

inds,

and

drums.

Both

musical

forms

were

regarded

by

Confucianists

as

aesthetically

non-Confucian.

Textual

evidence

suggests

that

suyue

and

for

eign

music

were

fast-paced

and

intricate,

perhaps relying

on

expanded

scales

introduced

from

Central

Asia.

Both

were

also free

of

traditional

rhythms

and

melodies,

whereas

yayue

constantly

re-used

and

recycled

classical

sounds.

4.

Such

records,

usually

written

by

Han scholars

who

were

loyal

to

the

current

government

andwished

to

maintain the status

uo

and

a

revival

of ancient

hou

ethics,

shouldbe

judged

with

some care.

These

texts

may

reveal

more

about

the

contemporary

state-of-mind rather

than

the

past.



4/20

FURNISS INFORMAL

MUSICIANS

IN EARLY

CHINA

25

the

association

between

women

and

licentiousness,

an

issue

I

will

explore

below.

Of

equal importance

is the

reference

to

a

specific

Shang

music

master,

Shi Zhuan.

The

names

of Chinese music

masters

appear

frequently

in the

Zhou and

Han tex

tual tradition,pointing to thehigh prestige ofmusic during this time.As David

Schaberg

notes,

Both because ofmusic's

rhetorical

ossibilities

and because of the status

ccorded

to

musical skills

in

the societies that

produced

the

texts,

fficials

with

musical duties

are

remarkable characters in

historiography.

As

keepers

of

music's

regularities,

these

shi

"masters of musicians"

are

the

human

personae

through

which music's

metaphysical

truths

xpress

themselves.

(Schaberg

2001:117)

The

names

of

several

Eastern Zhou

music

masters

are

also known

to

us

today,

including

Shi

Kuang,

a

blind

qin

player

of

the

State

of

Jinwho served

as

music

master

under Duke

Ping

(r.

557-532

BCE);

Shi

Xiang

(a

music

master

and zither

player

from the

State

of

Wei);

Shi

Mian

(a

blind music

master

who visited with

Confucius);

and

so on.

Although

blind musicians

are

generally

associated

with

formal

performances

of

yayue

in the Zhou textual

tradition,

the

passage

above

suggests

that

they

were

also

involved in

performances

of informal

music for

entertainments.

Judging

from

Eastern

Zhou

funerary

evidence,

musicians

appear

to

have

occa

sionally accompanied theirmasters in death. Hubei Dangyang Caojiagang M5

(figure

l),5

a

medium-sized tomb

dating

to

the

fifth

century

BCE,

contained the

remains

of

a

primary

occupant

and

two

accompanying

burials,

their

sexes

unknown

(Yichang

diqu bowuguan

1988).

Although

looting

and

some

shifting

f

objects

had

occurred,

themusical instruments

n

the

tomb?two

se-zithers,

two

sheng (mouth

organs),

and four

ling-be\\s6?were

found

lying

on

top

of the

two

accompanying

burials,

suggesting

that

they

were

musicians

(Furniss

2008:250).

At

Hubei Suizhou

Leigudun,

the

famous

tomb

of

Marquis

Yi

(d.

433

BCE),

perhaps

himself

a

shi

or

"Master

of

Music"

(So 1994:34;

Rao and

Zeng 1985:56),

contained the

remains

of

twenty

women

aged

between thirteen nd

twenty-five.

More than

a

hundred

musi

cal

instruments,

ncluding

a

set

of

sixty-five

bronze

bells,

a

set

of

thirty-two

hime

stones,

four

or

five

drums,

twelve zithers

(se,

qin,

and

five-stringed),

six

mouth

organs,

two

panpipes,

and

two transverse

flutes,

were

also found

in

the

tomb,

lead

ing

scholars

to

believe that

many

of these

women were

musicians

(Major

and So

2000:14,

17).

Evidence from the

eastern

chamber

of

the

tomb,

where

Marquis

Yi

and

eight

young

women were

buried,

seems

to

support

this conclusion.

This

cham

ber contained

just

enough

musical instruments

for

each?possibly

even

Marquis

Yi himself?to

play

(Furniss 2008:224-25).

Based on the

assumption

that the

5.

English

renderings

f

Chinese

location

ames

typically lace

the

province

first,

ollowed

by

the

municipality

(or

city),

and

village.

I

have followed

this convention

throughout

y

paper.

6.

Ling-bells

are

generally

thought

to

have been

signalling,

rather than

musical,

instru

ments.

However,

as

these bells

were

found

in

association

with musical

instruments,

I

have

postulated

that

they

served

a

musical

function,

perhaps

as

rhythmic

instruments

(Furniss

2008:250).



5/20

26

2009

YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL

MUSIC

Figure

1. Main

Chinese locations mentioned

in

the

text

are

indicated

by

numbers.

Italics

indicate the names of

present-day provinces

inwhich those

places

appear.

tomb

was

like

an

underground

palace,

scholars

argue

that

the

central chamber

rep

resented

a

formal

audience

hall,

while

the

eastern

one

corresponded

to

the

mar

quis's

residential

quarters

(Major

and

So

2000:14).

The

musical ensemble

in

the

central

compartment

would

likely

have

been

used

in

formal

performances,

while

the

ensemble

in

the

eastern

compartment

performed

informal entertainment

music

(ibid.:

18,

21).

While

both

of

the

above finds

suggest

that

music

and

musicians

were

indispen

sable

to

many

elite

members of

Eastern

Zhou

society,Marquis

Yi's

tomb

points

specifically

to

the

importance

of

women

in

informal

musical

practice

of the

time.

This role is further substantiated

by contemporary

textual

evidence,

such

as

the

following

passage

from

the

Zhao hun

(Summons

of

the

soul)

passage

of

the

Chu

Ci

(Elegies

of

Chu):

Before the

dainties

have left

he

tables,

girl

musicians take

up

their

places.

They

set

up

the bells and fasten

the drums and

sing

the latest

songs:

"Crossing the River", "Gathering Caltrops" and "The Sunny Bank".

The

lovelygirls

are

dmnkwith

wine,

their aces

are

flushed.

With

amorous

glances

and

flirting

looks,

their

eyes

like wavelets

sparkle;

Dressed

in

embroideries,

lad in

finest

ilks,

splendid

but

not

showy;

Their

long

hair

falling

from

high

chignons,hangs

low

in

lovely

tresses.

Two

rows

of

eight,

n

perfect

ime,

erform

dance of

Zheng;

Their xi-bi

buckles of Jin

workmanshipglitter

ike

bright

uns.

Bells clash

in

their

swaying

frames;

the

catalpa-wood

zither's

strings

are

swept.



6/20

FURNISS INFORMAL MUSICIANS IN EARLY CHINA

27

Their sleeves

rise

like

crossed bamboo

stems,

then

slowly

shimmer downwards.

Pipes

and zithers

rise

in

wild

harmonies,

the

sounding

drums

thunderously

oll;

And

the

courts

of the

palace

quake

and

tremble

s

they

throw hemselves into the

Whirling

Chu.

Then

they ing

songs

ofWu and ballads of Cai and

play

the a-ltimusic.

(Hawkes

1985:228-29)

The mention of

drunkenness,

as

well

as

"amorous

glances

and

flirting

looks,"

suggests

that these

women are

courtesans

or

perhaps

concubines

of the

banquet's

host.

Judging

from this

description,

we

can assume

that the host is

a

wealthy

per

son

and

probably

one

of

high

status,

like

Marquis

Yi

or

possibly

a

king

(Hawkes

1985:222-23).

Zhou textual records suggest that exceptionally wealthy elites owned large

orchestras of

musicians,

often

women.

Troupes

of

musicians

were

occasionally

offered

as

gifts

from

one

state

to

another.

The

Lun Yu

(Analects)

describes

one

such

gift,

a

troupe

of female musicians and

dancers,

from the State of

Qi

to

Duke Ai

(r.

494-468

BCE),

ruler of

the

Lu

State,

where Confucius

was

serving

as an

official.

Duke Ai

apparently

loved the

gift

so

much that he

neglected

affairs of

state

for

three

days, resulting

subsequently

in

Confucius's

resignation.

Passages

like this

had

a

strong

impact

on

laterHan

Confucian members

of

court,

who believed that

female musicians

were

disruptive

to

the

proper

running

of

state

affairs.

Eastern Zhou

archaeological

evidence indicates thatmen and women

played

separate

roles

inmusical

practice,

as

suggested by

both

Marquis

Yi's

tomb and

the

contents

of

a

burial

pit

at

Shandong

Zhangqiu

Niilangshan.

This

pit,

an

accompa

nying

burial

to

a

large

fourth-century-BCE

tomb,

contained

one

of

the earliest

sets

of

clay

figures

depicting

musicians and

dancers.

The

archaeological

report

identi

fied

the

five

musicians

playing

instruments?chime

stones,

drums, bells,

and

a

zither?as

men

(Li 1993).

They

accompanied

a

female

singer

and

ten

female

danc

ers,

while

ten

female

audience members looked

on.

Although

one

might

assume

thatbells and chime stoneswere associated exclusively with formal performance,

the

Chu

Ci

passage

above reveals that

they

were

also used

in

elaborate

court

enter

tainments. This

scene

may

very

well

depict

one

of these

entertainments;

in

this

case,

however,

the musicians

are

men,

not

women.

An

interesting

conclusion that

can

be

drawn

from

the

find

is

that

male and female

musicians

did

not

perform

together.

As

I

will discuss

below,

this

generally

seems

to

be the

case

in

Han

times

as

well.

The

Niilangshan figures

also show that dancers

in

the late

Eastern

Zhou

period,

as

in

later

periods,

may

well have been

women.

In

the

following

section,

I

will

use

textual evidence

to

discuss this

distinction

between

genders

in

perform

ance

practice.

Female

musicians

inHan

and

Tang

Among

the

most

common

finds

in

Han

and

Tang

tombs

are

sets

of

ceramic

figures

depicting

all-female

troupes

of musicians

and dancers. These

troupes

appear

to

have become

more

and

more

popular

by

the

Tang

period (figure

2).

In

all known



7/20

28

2009

YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Figure

2. Burial

figures

earthenware),

hina,

660-680

CE

(with

permission

of the

Royal

Ontario

Museum

?

ROM).

cases,

female

performers

are

depicted

as

idealized

beauties,

often

wearing

pleasant

smiles

on

their faces.

All-male

orchestras

also

appear

regularly

in

theHan

archaeological

record,

as

demonstrated

by

a

group

of male

figures playing

three

se

and

two

mouth

organs

from the

second-century-BCE

tomb of

Lady

Dai at Hunan

Changsha Mawangdui

(figure

3).

These

figures

are

less-idealized,

wearing

stern

expressions

on

their

faces,

perhaps pointing

to

the

more

formal

nature

of theirmusic.

By

the Six

Dynasties

and

Tang periods,

all-male ensembles

appear

to

have declined

in

popularity,

with the

exception

of those

depicting foreign

musicians.

Why

are

male

and female musicians

so

clearly

separated

from each

other

in

theseworks? The

separation

of male and

female musicians

probably originated

in

earlier beliefs

about themoral rectitude

of

men versus women.

Many

early

texts,

Figure

3.

Painted musicians from Hunan

Changsha Mawangdui

M1,

Western

Han,

second

century

CE

(after

unan

shengbowuguan

and

Zhongguo kexueyuankaogu

yanjiusuo

1973:203).



8/20

FURNISS

INFORMAL MUSICIANS

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EARLY CHINA

29

such

as

the

Guanzi

of

the fourth

century

BCE,

suggest

that the

presence

of

women

would lead

to

"reckless

abandon" and behaviour like that

of

"animals"

(Rickett

1985:110-11;

Major

and

So

2000:26).

Judging

from

these

texts,

the

presence

of

women inmore solemn occasions was rarely viewed as appropriate.Male musi

cians,

on

the other

hand,

were

regarded

in

a

very

different

way.

The

same

texts

thatdescribe

women

in

derogatory

terms

consider

men,

at

least those of

a

morally

upright disposition,

as

capable

of

producing

music

that

could wash

away

all

impu

rities

from

the

mind.

The

corrupting

effect of feminine charms

are

depicted

in

a

late

Han

stone

engraving

from

Shandong Jiaxiang Suijiazhuang;

this

engraving provides

one

of

the few

examples

of

a

combined male-female orchestra

accompanying

various

entertainments,

like

dancing

and

games

of liubo and

leapfrog.

The male musi

cians?wearing official-looking

caps?are shown to the left,while the female

musicians?attired

in

elaborate

headdresses

with ribbons?face them

on

the

right.

Just below the

musicians is

a woman

performing

a

drum

dance,

characterized

by

dancing

on

top

of small

drums

placed

on

the

ground (figure

4).

As

she

dances,

she

reaches down

to

grasp

playfully

the hand of

a

seated

man

wearing

a

short robe and

billowing

trousers.

The

joviality

of the

scene

is accentuated further

by

two

addi

tional

figures,

both

possibly

male,

who

are

engaged

in

a

leap-frog

game

in

the

top

register

of

the

scene.

One

of the

figures

looks

directly

into the

eyes

of the female

drummer infrontof him as he prepares to jump over his crouchingmale compan

ion,

who is

slumped

down

on

all fours

on

the

ground

with

his buttocks raised

in

the air.

Although

the sexual

suggestions

here

are

not

overt?they

rarely

are

in

early

Chinese

art?the chaotic

composition

seems

to

demonstrate

exactly

what

contem

Figure

4.

Detail

of

stone

engraving

rom

Shandong Suijiazhuang,

Han

dynasty,

third

entury

CE

to

third

entury

E

(drawingby

Kate

Stipp).



9/20

30

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YEARBOOK FOR

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

porary

Han

thinkersbelieved

was

inevitablewhen

men

and

women

joined together

in

celebration: madness and

licentious behaviour.

Despite

the

efforts of

Confucianists

to

rid

society

of "licentious"

music,

most

Han and Tang elites seemed toprefer the corrupting effects of the female orches

tras

over

the

staid,

ceremonial music

(yayue)

of

the

male

ensembles.

As

in the

Zhou

period,

Han

and

Tang

texts

mention

that

mperors,

princes,

and

high

officials

owned

troupes

of female

musicians,

who

would

perform

for theirmaster's

personal

pleasure

and for

state

occasions. The Han

Shu

(History

of

Han)

biography

of

Yang

Yun,

a

Han

court

official who had fallen

into

disgrace

and retired from

court,

men

tions

one

such

troupe:

As

a

relaxation from

my

labours

as

a

landowner,

on

the

Fu

[sixth]

month and

La

[twelfth month] feast-days, I have a sheep simmered, a lamb roasted and I draw a

dou of

wine.

I

come

from

in

and

so

I

can

play

themusic

of

Qin;

my

wife

comes

from hao and

plays

the

e

zither

ery

skillfully;

any

of

my

slaves

sing.

When the

wine

has

warmed

my

ears,

I

turn

my

head

skywards

and beat time

on

the

clay

drum

as

I

cry

wuwul

...

On these

occasions

I

am

extremely happy;

I

shake

my

garments,

flick

p my

cuffs

s

I

bend and

stand

up

again;

I

beat

time

with

my

foot and

begin

to

dance.

Certainly

it

is licentious and

unseemly,

but

I

do

not want to

be told

so.

(Pirazzoli-t'

Serstevens

1982:140)

Although Yang Yun's ensemble of musicians was modest, imperial princes and

officials

of

high

rank sometimes owned

very

large

ensembles

of

musicians and

dancers, many

of

whom

were

slaves.

In

contrast

to

formal

musicians

who

performed

for

ritual

ceremonies,

these informalentertainers

often

performed

at

large banquets

and

in

private

concerts

for their

owners

and

guests.

One

Tang

official,

Li

Yuan

(d.

825),

owned "more than

one

hundred

extraordinarily

talented and

extremely

beau

tiful

singing

girls"

(Wagner

1984:82).

Likely

in

response

to

such

cases,

the

Tang

court

issued

imperial

decrees

limiting

the

size

of

musical

troupes

by

rank

(ibid.).

Owning

a

troupe

of

entertainers

was

clearly

a

sign

of

wealth and

status.

People

who could not afford theirown female orchestras had

many

opportuni

ties

to

enjoy

theirmusic.

Many

Han

and

Tang

merchants and officials of

poorer

means

frequented public

brothels,

known

as

changjia

or

changlou

"houses of

sing

ing girls." During

the

Tang,

these brothels?known

also

as

qinglou

"blue mansions

or

"green

bowers,"

because of their

characteristic

green-blue

tiled

rooftops?were

located

in

red-light

districts that

were

operated

by

the

government

(Des

Rotours

1968).

These districts

were

situated close

to

elite

residential

areas

and

fashionable

markets

to

allow for

easy

access

by

officials

who lived

nearby

(ibid.).

Outside of the capital were two types of professional entertainers,known as

guanji (official

entertainers)

and

yingji (army

entertainers)

(Des

Rotours

1968;

Xiong

1999:150).

Beginning

with Han

Wudi's

reign

(141-86

BCE),

guanji

and

yingji

were

employed by

the

government

to

serve

respectively

the

provincial

offi

cials outside

the

capitals

and

the

military

camps

at

the frontier

(Xiong 1999:151).

According

to

Victor

Xiong,

The

term

-ji

usually

indicates

"prostitute"

in

modern

usage,

but

prostitution

was

not

the

only?or

even

the

primary?occupation

of

these

women

(ibid.:

149).

Xiong

suggests

that

-ji

were

like

Japanese

geisha,

who

were



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FURNISS

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31

"trained

in

a

variety

of

entertainment

skills,

including singing,

dancing,

playing

musical

instruments,

rinking, companionship,

and

reciting

poetry"

(ibid.).

Although

most

female musicians held

very

low social

positions,

there

are a

few notable women who used their talent for social advancement. Han exam

ples

include

Lady

Li

(also

known

as

Queen

Xiaowu

or

Queen

Hanwu)7

and

Wei

Zifu8?both of whom

were

consort-musicians

of

Han

emperor

Wudi?and

Wang

Wengxu,9

the

wife

of

Wudi's

grandson,

Shi.

Liu

Jingui,

a

singer

of

modest

birth,

became the

wife

of

Later

Tang

emperor

Zhuangzong

(r.

923-926).10

Nonetheless,

as

Marsha

Wagner

has

noted,

the female

entertainer

was

"ultimately dependent

on

her attachment

to

a man

for

her social

status

and

welfare,

and

consequently

even

the

most

accomplished

musician

potentially

had the

same

helpless vulnerability

as

a

palace lady

confined

to

the

emperor's

harem

or

a

peasant

woman

abandoned

by

her husband"

(Wagner 1984:89).

A low-class female musician had the

potential

to

rise within the

ranks of

society, especially

if

she

were

physically

attractive,

but

she could

equally

well be discarded

by

her

master

once

her

beauty

or

magnetism

faded.

Male musicians

Although

archaeological

evidence

suggests

that

men

served

as

informal

musicians,

textual

accounts

more

frequently

discuss their role

in

association with formal

music

oxyayue.

Like theirfemale

counterparts

discussed

above,

formal

male

musi

7.

Lady

Li

was one

of the favourite wives of Han

emperor

Wu,

or

Wudi. Born

to

a

family

of

professional singers

and

dancers,

Li

was

herself

a

talented entertainer. She

was

the

sister

of

Li

Yannian,

the

most

famous seniorofficial

f

the uefu

(Music

Bureau)

under

Emperor

Wu.

Emperor

Wu's will

posthumously

granted

Lady

Li

the title of

Queen

Xiaowu.

See

Peterson

(2000:63-65).

8. Wei Zifu

was

born

to

a

poor

family;

her

father died

at

a

young

age,

and her

mother

was

a servant to Princess Pingyang, the elder sister of Emperor Wudi. Zifu was accomplished in

the entertainment

arts,

having

studied

music,

chess,

painting,

and

calligraphy.

Having

seen

Zifu

perform

one

night

at

his

sister's

palace,

Emperor

Wudi became

so

enamoured with

her that

he

offered

his

sister

1000 catties of

gold

(c.

500

kg)

forher

purchase.

Zifu?one

of

Wudi's favourite concubines and

later,

his

queen?was

the mother of

Liuju,

the Crown

Prince. See Peterson

(2000:61-63)

and Birrell

(1993:26).

9.

Wang

Wengxu

(c.

110-91

BCE)

was

born

to

a

very

poor

family

in

Hebei

province.

Because of

her

beauty

and

intelligence,

she

was

entrusted

as

a

young

girl

to

an

imperial

clansman,

Liu

Zhongqiu,

who

had

her trained

as a

dancer and

singer. Despite

resistance

from

Wengxu

and her

parents,

Liu

sold her

for

a

large profit

to

a

business

man

seeking

enter

tainers for the

imperial

court. She

was

hired

as

an

imperial dancer,

and

eventually

became

the

wife

of

Emperor

Wudi's

grandson,

Shi.

Wengxu

was

the mother

of

Emperor

Xuandi.

See Peterson

(2000:75-78).

10. At

the

age

of

six,

Liu

Jin'gui

c.

890-926

CE)

was

abducted

by

an

imperialguards

man

from

the home

of her

father,

ho made his

living

by

selling

medicinal

herbs

gath

ered

in

the mountains.

Jin'gui

was

taken

to

the

imperial palace,

where she served Madame

Cao?Emperor

Jin's

second

concubine.

Jin'gui

later became the concubine of

Emperor

Zhuangzong,

the

son

of

Emperor

Jin and Madame Cao.

Having provided

a

son

to the

emperor,

Jin'gui

was

eventually

elevated

to the

position

of

Madame

and later

to

Empress.

See

Peterson

2000:235^12).



11/20

32

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YEARBOOK

FOR

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

cians

generally

held

relatively

low social

status;

especially

well-connected musi

cians, however,

occasionally

succeeded

in

gaining prestigious positions

at court.

Li

Yannian,

for

example,

was

from

a

professional

family

of

singers

and dancers

in

earlyHan. Although he initiallyserved inmenial positions at court,hewas able to

work

his

way up

through

the official

ranks

with

the

help

of his

sister,

Lady

Li,

the

fourth

nd

favouritewife

of

Emperor

Wudi

(Peterson 2000:64).

Li

soon

gained

the

favour

of

Wudi,

a

lover

of the

arts

and

music,

who

appointed

him

to

the

position

of

taiyue

ling

(Grand

Director of

Music). During

Wudi's

reign,

the

position

of Grand

Director

was

the

highest-ranking

music

office,

in

charge

of

directing

the

Yuefu

(Music Bureau).11

After

theYuefu

was

disbanded

in

7

BCE,

the

staff

of formal musicians

con

tinued

to

be

supervised

by

a

Grand Director

ofMusic

on

the staff

of

the

taichang

(Chamberlain

for

Ceremonials),

which was in

charge

of

imperial

sacrifices at the

ancestral

temples

and

imperial

mausolea

(Hucker

1985:6137,

8262).

From

the

Northern

Qi (550-577 CE)

to

the

Yuan

dynasties,

the

Taiyue

shu

(Imperial

Music

Office)?a

major

unit of

the

Court of

Imperial

Sacrifices

(taichang

si)?provided

music and

dancing

for

state

sacrifices

and

other ceremonies.

The

Grand

Director

of

Music,

who continued

to

head

this

office,

was

"responsible

for

supervising

Erudites

(boshi)

who

selected and

trained

professional performers,

usually

hered

itary,

for

palace

service,

and Music Masters

(yuezheng),

who

directed

perform

ances" (Hucker 1985:6269). The names and duties of these offices clearly indicate

the

prestige

of ritual

and

formal

music

(yayue)

at

the

imperial

court,

but

it

was

only

a

chosen few who

were

lucky enough

to rise

in the

official ranks

to

these

more

prestigious positions.

Amateur

musicians,

on

the other

hand,

were more

likely

to

come

from

elite,

and

even

imperial,

families. Han and

Tang

textual records

suggest

that

princes

and

emperors,

such

as

Han

emperor

Wudi

and

Tang

emperor

Xuanzong

(r.

712-756

CE),

were

talented

musicians themselves.

Unfortunately,

no

archaeological

evi

dence exists

to

corroborate

the role of

princes

and

emperors

as

musicians

until the

Song

dynasty

(960-1279 CE).

Imperial

portraiture

itself is

extremely

scarce before

that

time.

Representations

of

male officials

as

amateur

musicians,

on

the

other

hand,

are

more

common,

and

we

can

occasionally

match themwith

specific

historical

(or

semi-legendary)

figures.

Inmost

cases,

these

figures

are

depicted

playing

the

qin,

a

seven-

to

ten-stringed

ither.

This

is demonstrated

by

a

Western

Han

bronze mirror

depicting

Yu

Boya

playing

his

qin,

while

his

teacher,

Zheng

Lian,

and best

friend,

Zhong

Ziqi,

listen

to

his

performance

(figure

5).12

In

theChinese textual

tradition,

theqin has long been associated with scholarly refinementand moral acumen. It

11.

For

a

detailed

account

of

the

Yuefu,

see n.

1.

12. The

legendary in

player

u

Boya

and his friend

Zhong Ziqi

lived

during

astern

Zhou.

Their

friendship

as

immortalized

by

late

Han

texts,

ike

the

Fengsu

Tongyi (A

compre

hensive discussion of

customs),

as

well

as

later

texts,

songs,

and

works of

art

that

depict

them.

According

to

Fengsu

Tongyi,

Boya

was

deeply

saddenedwhen his friend

Ziqi

died.

Believing

that

o one

else

could

appreciate

his

music,

Boya

smashedhis

qin

into

pieces

and

never

played

again.



12/20

FURNISS

INFORMAL MUSICIANS

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33

Figure

5. Bronze

mirror,

detail of Bo

Ya

playing

a

qin

underneath

a

tree,

Western

Han,

second

century

CE

(courtesy

f theFreer

Gallery

of

Art,

Smithsonian Institution, F1935.13).

was

believed that themoral

man

cultivated himself

and

brought

harmony

to

the

world around

him

by

simply

playing

the

strings

of his

qin.

The

spiritual

and

moral

properties

of

the

instrument,

s

well

as

themusicians who

played

it,

ed

to

its

place

ment

in

the

formalmusical tradition

of

yayue.

Although

the

qin

was

never

strictly

limited

to

men,

the

instrument

may very

well have been

accepted

as a

masculine instrument

ery

early

in its

history

(Furniss

2008:83-87).13

As

early

as

the fifth

century

BCE,

tombs

containing

qin

belong

almost exclusively to elitemen.14 The earliest example, discussed briefly above,

belongs

to

Marquis

Yi

(d.

433

BCE),

while additional Eastern Zhou

examples

were

excavated

fromHubei

Jingmen

Guodian

M1

(Hubei

sheng

Jingmenshi

bowu

guan

1997)

and

Hubei

Zaoyang

Jiuliandun

Ml

(Hubei

sheng

wenwu

kaogu

yan

13.

Han

and

Tang

texts

occasionally

mention

women as

players

of

the

qin (Lam

2003:101

3).

In

most

cases,

these unusual

women

were

from

liberal-minded

elite families

with

the

wherewithal

to

educate their

daughters

in

the

scholarly

arts.

Zhuo

Wenjun

(c.

179-118

BCE),

the

daughter

of

a

wealthy

iron mine

owner,

was

such

a woman

(Peterson

2000:58

61).

After her first husband

died, leaving

her

a

widow

at

the

age

of

seventeen,

she returned

to

her

father's home and

soon

after

developed

a

lifelong

love-affair

with

the famous

scholar

writer,

Sima

Xiangru

(c.

179-118

BCE).

Having eloped

without

her

family's

consent,

they

fled

together

o

Sichuan

Chengdu

and

spent

their

ays writing

poetry

nd

playing

the

qin

together.

14.

I

know of

only

one

possible exception:

the

second-century-BCE

tomb of Dou

Wan,

the

wife

of the

Han

imperial prince,

Liu

Sheng.

This

tomb,

located

at

Hebei

Mancheng,

con

tained

two

bronze

objects

that bear

a

strong

resemblance

to

qin

tuning

keys.

The

archaeolog

ical

report

simply

identifies the

objects

as

"inlaid

gold

accessories." See

Zhongguo

shehui

kexueyuankaogu yanjiusuo

and

Hebeisheng

wenwu

guanli

chu

(1980:277).



13/20

34

2009

YEARBOOK FOR

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

jiusuo

2003:12)?both

thought

to

be

tombs

of

male

scholar-officials.

Qin

were

also excavated fromWestern Han

tombs,

including

that of the

King

of

Nanyue

at

Guandong Guangzhou,

in which

tuning

pegs

of

multiple

qin

were

discov

ered (Furniss 2008:265-68), and that of a civil official's son (Tomb 3) atHunan

Changsha Mawangdui (ibid.:269-70).

The

playing

surface

on

the

Mawangdui

qin

shows

signs

of

wear;

the

tomb

occupant

may very

well

have

played

the

instrument

while he

was

alive.

During

the Six

Dynasties

period

(220-589 CE),

the ideal for

many

disenchanted

scholar-officials

at

court

was

to

escape

from the

corruptions

of

courtly

life

and

retreat to

the

countryside

to

enjoy scholarly

pursuits,

like

poetry-writing, playing

the

qin,

and

drinking.

The

poet

Tao

Yuanming

(365-427

CE)

expresses

his

joy

with

the reclusive

way

of life

in

his

poem,

"Homeward

Ho ":

Homeward ho Let

me

cut

off ll social

ties Since

worldly

wisdom

disagrees

with

me,

why

seek the

society

fmen?

I

relish

chatting

way

with

my

kin.

To

free

myself

from

ares,

on

books

and

the ither

rely.

Tan

1992:159)

The famous

qin

master,

Ji

Kang

(223-262

CE),

was

also

a

prominent

scholar

recluse

of the

early

Six

Dynasties

period

(Gulik

1941).

Ji

Kang

is

depicted

playing

his

qin

in

a

series of

stamped-brick

murals

excavated from

fifth-century

tombs

near

Nanjing (Jiangsu province)

(see

Watt

and

Harper

2004:pl. 113).15

The sub

ject

matter of thesemurals is the Seven

Sages

of

the Bamboo

Grove,

a

group

of

Daoist

(Taoist)

practitioners

who

criticized the

growing

Confucian-leaning

of the

Chinese

court.

These

learned

men,

who

purportedly

gave

up

their

official

appoint

ments,

like

Tao

Yuanming,

to

drink

wine and

play

music

together,

"shared

a

repu

tation for

unconventional

behaviour and

an

attitude

of

detachment fromConfucian

decorum

that led

succeeding generations

to

canonize

them

as

embodiments

of the

Neo-Daoist ideal

of

transcendence

in

an

age

of

political

and social

chaos"

(Watt

and

Harper 2004:206).

Beginning

with

the

Six

Dynasties

period,

therefore,

we see

a shift in the role ofmany amateurmale musicians, qin players inparticular,who

divorced

themselves

entirely

from the

Confucian-leaning

court.

Leaving

theiroffi

cial

positions

behind,

these

scholar-recluses

began

to

perform

music for

their

own

and

occasionally

for their

friends'

personal

pleasure.

The

qin

player

as

scholar-rec

luse

arguably

became

an

informal

musician

at

this

time.

Male

musicians with

physical

deformities

Textual records fromas early as theZhou period suggest thatmany male musicians

suffered

from

two

types

of

physical

disabilities:

blindness

or

dwarfism.16

The

role

of blind

musicians

in

formal

court

music

is

demonstrated

by

the

following

passage

from the

Shijing

(Classic

of

poetry):

15.

Two

additional musicians

are

featured

in

these

murals:

Ruan

Xian,

Ji

Kang's

close

friend,

who is

shown

playing

a

ruan-lute;

and

Rong

Qiqi?a

contemporary

of

Confucius

(551?479

BCE)

and

considered

to

be

an

immortal?shown

playing

a

qin.

16. As far

as

I

know,

female

musicians

are

never

described with

these disabilities.



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35

Blind

men,

blind

men

In

the

courtyard

of Zhou

...

The little nd

big

drums

re

hung

for

beating;

The

tambourines

and

stone-chimes,

the mallet-box and

scraper.

All is

ready,

nd

they

lay.

Pan-pipes

and flute

re

ready

nd

begin.

(Waley

1996:297)

Blind

musicians,

such

as

the

sixth-century-BCE

Music

Master

Shi

Kuang,

appear

to

have

enjoyed

rather

high

status

at court

during

theZhou

period.

Many

cultures

of

Asia, Africa,

and

Europe

share the

early

Chinese belief

that

blind

people

have

finer

listening

skills

and,

therefore,

make

better

musicians than those with

sight.

Many

tombmurals in

ancient

Egypt,

in

particular, depict

blind male

musicians,

most playing harps (Manniche 1991:97-107).

Despite

their

popularity

in

theChinese textual

record, however,

blind musicians

are

not

represented

in the

visual

arts

until later in

Chinese

history.17

Reasons

for

this

are

unclear. Unlike

Egyptian

artists

who

effectively depicted

the blank-star

ing

eyes

of the

blind,

early

Chinese

artists

may

not

have known how?or

they

simply

did

not

wish?to render this

deformity.

It

may

also be thatblind

musicians,

who

usually performed

for

ritual sacrifices and other

solemn

occasions,

were seen

as

vestiges

of outdated and

conservative

courtly

traditions

dating

back

to

Zhou

times.

Informalmusicians who entertained their

audiences,

rather than

putting

them

to

sleep

with

slow-paced

yayue

(refined

music),

seem

to

have

enjoyed

far

more

popularity

in theHan

to

Tang

visual

record.

The best

example

of this

is

a

balladeer,

a

painted

earthenware

figure

unearthed from

a

late

Han

cliffside tomb

in

Sichuan

Xindu

(figure

6).

The

figure,

who

depicts

the

joy

and excitement

characteristic

of

popular performances

of

the

time,

is

engaged mid-performance

in

an

art

form called

shuochang,

or

"talking

and

singing"

(Caroselli

1987:117).

The

figure's

wide-open

mouth and wrinkled

brow show

his

deep

concentration

and

enjoyment,

and

his

raised leg indicates his animatedmovement. The absence of clothing on his upper

body

seems

to

be

emphasized

and

exaggerated

by

his

belly,

which

hangs

over

his

trousers.

He also

wears

an

unusual armlet

set

high

on

his

arm,

indicating

perhaps

a

folk

or

foreign

tradition.The

physical

characteristics

of

the

balladeer,

including

his short

legs

and

arms,

seem

tomatch

a

description

of

dwarf-musicians

given

in

a

passage

from

the Yue

Ji

(Record

of

music),

a

text

of

questionable

Han

authorship:

In

the

new

music

the dancers

enter

and retire

stooped

without

any

order. The music

is

noisy

and deafens the

ear

unceasingly.

Buffoons and dwarfs who have the

appear

ance ofmonkeys enter.(Kaufmann 1976:42)

An

additional

explanation

for the

strange

appearance

of the

figure

is that he

rep

resents

someone

of

foreign

origin.

Like the

balladeer,

who is

portrayed

with

large

17. One of the arliest

hinese

representations

f

a

blind

musician

is

a

woodblock

print

n

the ulu

jingyi,

an

illustrated anual aboutmusic

printed

n

1596.

The male musician and

his

attendant

re

there hown

carrying

zither

Moule

1914:fig.

13).



15/20

36

2009 YEARBOOK

FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Figure

6. Balladeer

(earthenware),

Eastern Han

dynasty

(25-220

CE).

Unearthed from

Xindu

County,

Sichuan Province

(drawingby

Kate

Stipp).

eyes,

mouth,

and

nose,

later

depictions

of

foreigners

often

emphasize

the

same

features,

to

the

point

of

grotesqueness.

Foreign musicians

Exactly

when

foreign

musicians first

appeared

in

China

is

not

entirely

clear.

However,

their

impact

on

Chinese music is demonstrated

by archaeological

evi

dence

as

early

as

Eastern

Zhou. The decoration

on

the

qin's

bronze

tuning keys?

consisting

of

human-headed

rams,

goats, raptors,

and

so

on?show

clear influence

from the Northern

Steppe region, perhaps pointing

to

a

northern

origin

for the

instrument

(So

and Bunker

1995:148-50;

Lawergren

2000:77).

Non-Chinese

musi

cal

instruments,

such

as

fretted

lutes, harps,

and various wind instrument

types,

appear

in

theChinese visual record

during

the

Han

period,

but

they

may

well have

entered China earlier.

Foreign

musicians

likely

taught

theChinese

people

how

to

play

their

instruments,

thus

introducing

not

only

new

techniques

but

new

types

of

music.

Although unambiguous representations

of

foreign

musicians do

not

appear

in

the

archaeological

record until the

Six

Dynasties period,

some

Han

works,

like

the

balladeer,

may

point

to

their earlier

presence.

One

late

Han

stone

relief from

Sichuan

province

depicts

a man

playing

a

pole-drum

on

top

of

a

camel

(see

Lim

1987:colorplate 18).While thepole-drum is an instrument f Chinese origin, the

camel

is native

to

Central Asian

regions.

(Scenes

of

music-making

on

top

of

cam

els

appear

frequently

in

the

Tang

period,

as

Iwill

discuss

below,

and in

most

cases

themusicians

are

clearly

foreign.)

This entertainment

form

probably originated

outside

China,

and

it

was

introduced

in the

late

Han

by foreign

musicians

visiting

the

Chinese

capital.

Although foreign goods

(and music)

were

quite popular

during

theHan

period,

the

foreigners

themselves

had

long

been feared. Nomadic raids of the homeland



16/20

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INFORMAL

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IN

EARLY CHINA

37

Figure

7.

Burial

figure

of

a

foreign

musician

(earthenware),

Tang,

mid

to

late

eighth

entury

E

(with

permission

of the

Royal

OntarioMuseum ?

ROM).

were

a

constant

threat,

s

documented

by

oracle bones

and

inscriptions

dating

as

early

as

the

Shang

and Zhou

periods.

In

order

to

protect

themselves from

these

reg

ular onslaughts, theHan governmentwaged regular campaigns against the border

regions

to

thenorth.

The

Chinese

peoples

who

were

dispatched

to

theborder

regions

appear

to

have

intermingled

with the

nomadic

peoples,

adopting

theirmusical

styles

and then

transmitting

hem

to

theHan

court

(Lai

and

Mok

1985:124).

A

Sui

dynasty

figure

of

a

pipa

player wearing

full

armour,

now

at

theMusee

Cernuschi

in

Paris,

attests to

the role

that

soldiers

may

have

played

in

transmitting

non-Chinese

music and

musical instruments.

Foreign

musicians

may

also have been

captured

as

prisoners during

the

borderland

battles,

after

which

they

were

brought

back

to

the

capitals

and

purchased

as

slaves

by

Han elites.

The Silk Road was one of the

primary

conduits

by

which

foreign

musicians

came

to

China. Trade

along

the

Silk

Road

reached its

height

in the

Six

Dynasties

to

Tang

periods.

With this

rapidly growing

trade network

came

a

steady

stream

of

for

eign

music intoChina.

Caravans

of

foreigners

and their

goods

were

regularly

seen

in

the

capitals, especially

the

Tang

capital

of

Chang'an

(modern

Xi'an,

Shaanxi

province)?a

cosmopolitan metropolis

of

its time.

Foreign

merchants,

as

well

as

musicians,

figure prominently

in the visual record

of this time.

Many

elite tombs

of these

periods

contained

earthenware

figures depicting

informalmusic

perform

ances by foreigners.An excellent example is a ceramic figure of a seated, bearded

foreign

man

with

a

top

knot

(figure

7).

The

position

of his

hands,

raised

to

just

below

the

right

side of his

chin,

suggests

that he

once

held

a

horizontal

flute.An

additional

example depicts

a

group

of

foreign

men?distinguished by

their

large,

curly

beards

and

curling

felt hats?who

are

dancing

and

playing

Central

Asian

and

Chinese

musical instruments

while

riding

on

the

back of

a

camel

(see

Watt and

Harper

2004:fig.

201).

Such

sundry performances

by

foreign

musicians

and

enter

tainers

were

probably

a

common

spectacle

in

the

Tang

capital.



17/20

38

2009 YEARBOOK FOR

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Textual

records,

most

dating

to

the

Tang period,

indicate that

orchestras of

foreign

musicians

were

occasionally given

as

tribute

by

Central Asian

rulers

to

Chinese

emperors.

Some

records

merely

mention

that"music"

was

sent.

However,

Edward Schafer interprets music"

as

not only themusical forms and composi

tions but

also themusicians

and

their

musical instruments

1963:51).

The

reper

toire

of

music

available

at

the

Sui

and

Tang

courts attests

to

the broad

geographi

cal

area

from which

music,

and

probably

musicians,

were

drawn.

During

these

periods,

court

musicians

were

divided intoNine

Classes,

seven

of

which

were

responsible

for

performing

music

from

the

following foreign

and

border

regions:

Gansu,

Champa (part

of

Vietnam),

Korea,

Kucha,

Buchara/Parthia,

Kashgar,

and

Samarkand

(Picken

and

Wolpert

1987:33).

A

Tenth

Class,

the

performers

ofmusic

from

Gaochang?an

oasis

state

that

was

subjugated

during

the

Tang dynasty?was

added in the seventh

century

(ibid.).

This list confirms the

popularity

that infor

mal,

non-traditional music and musicians

enjoyed

during

the Sui and

early

Tang

periods.

Archaeological

evidence

of

the

Six

Dynasties

and

Tang

periods

seems

to

con

firm

that

imperial

princes,

as

well

as

perhaps wealthy

officials

or

merchants,

owned

troupes

of

foreign

musicians.

During

the Six

Dynasties

period,

China

was

occupied

for several centuries

by

Turkic-speaking

people,

who

established

dynasties

of their

own

in

northernChina.

Many

of

these

rulers

brought

with

them

their

wn

musicians,

and theymay well have rewarded their loyal Chinese subjects with ensembles of

foreign

musicians. Several

groups

of ceramic

figures

depicting

female musicians

with

caftans

and

non-Chinese headdresses have

been excavated

from tombs

dat

ing

to

Northern Wei

(386-534

CE),

ruled

by

the

non-Chinese

Tuoba clan. One of

these

tombs,

located

at

Shanxi

Datong, belonged

to

an

imperial

prince

named Sima

Jinlong

(d. 484)

and

his

wife.18

Although

the

tomb

had been

badly

looted,

twelve of

these

figures

still remained

(see

Watt and

Harper

2004:cat.

nos.

154-56).

Foreign

musicians

also

figured prominently

in the

archaeological

record

of the

Chinese

border

regions.

Beginning

in the

Six

Dynasties

period,

the

Chinese

gov

ernment set

up

many

trade

outposts,

where

foreign

merchants resided

permanently.

Due

to

the

growing

foreign

merchant

populations

in

these

areas,

the

government

appointed foreign

officials,

usually

Sogdians,

as

sabao

(administrators). Although

many

of

these officials

adopted

Chinese

customs,

they

also maintained

many

of

their

own

traditions,

as

demonstrated

by

the tombs

in

which

they

were

buried.

At

Shanxi

Taiyuan,

the Sui

dynasty

tomb of

a

sixth

century

sabao

named

Yu

Hong

contained

a

marble

sarcophagus

decorated

with

relief

carving

and

painting

(Watt

and

Harper 2004:pl.

175.5).

The

top

register

of

one

panel depicts

Yu

Hong

and his

wife, seated on a canopied platform, enjoying amusical and dance performance by

foreign

entertainers

wearing

short,

belted caftans. The musicians

perform

on

vari

ous

instruments?many

of Central Asian

descent?including

a

pipa,

a

large

harp,

an

hour-glass

drum,

cymbals,

a

vertical oboe

or

flute,

and

a

transverse

flute.

In

the

central

position

is

a

dancing

male

figure

performing

the

"Sogdian

whirl,"

a

dance

18.

Although

a

descendentof

a

native

Chinese

royal

clan,

Sima

Jinlong

ecame

a

favourite

at

the

orthern

Wei

court

towhich he

had

pledged

his

allegiance.

In rewardforhis

loyalty,

his

Tuoba

rulers

granted

him

the

hereditary

itle

f

Prince

of

Langya.



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INFORMAL MUSICIANS IN EARLY CHINA

39

style

that

became

very

popular

at

the

Chinese

court

in

the Sui and

Tang

dynasties.

Although

Yu

Hong

is

thought

to

have

been

of

Turkic,

not

Sogdian,

descent,

his

sarcophagus displays

many

Sogdian

features?demonstrating

his

affiliation

for

the

Sogdian merchants who served under him and likely entertainedhim aswell.

Conclusion

During

the

Han

period,

conservative members of theChinese

court

regarded

musi

cians

who

did

not

play

the traditional

yayue

(refined

music)

with

some

level of dis

dain.

They

believed that thesemusicians

contributed

to

themoral decline of

society

with

their

fast-paced, complicated

music and

licentious

ways.

These

reformists

made many attempts to rid the court of "corrupting"musical forms andmusicians,

ultimately

leading

to the

disbandment of

the

Yuefu

(Music

Bureau)

in

7 BCE

and

the retention of

only

yayue

performers. Archaeological

records

show,

however,

that their efforts

to

purge

society

of

non-traditional music and musicians failed

miserably.

Female

musician-courtesans?enticing

men

with

their

beauty,

charms,

and sensual

music

and dance?continued

to

thrive

both

in the

capital

and

at

the

border

regions.

What

began

as

perhaps

a

trickle

of

foreign

musicians intoChina

during

the Zhou and

Han

periods

became

a

torrent

by

the

Six

Dynasties

to

Tang

periods,

revealing

a

growing preference

for theirmusic

at

the time.

During

the

Six

Dynasties

period,

scholar-recluse-musicians also

captured

popular

attention,

espe

cially

among

scholars

and

discontented officials

at

court.

The

popularity

of

each

of

these entertainers shows

that the

Chinese elite

were

increasingly

discontented

with

the

status

quo.

Foreign

musicians,

dissolute female

entertainers,

and

drunken

recluse

musicians became

popular

because

they represented

that

which Confucian

thought rejected:

freshness, excitement,

entertainment,

sensuality,

exoticism,

and

a

do-as-I-please

attitude.

Living

on

the

fringe

of

Chinese

society

was

ironically

what

catapulted

these

musicians

directly

to

centre

stage.

REFERENCES CITED

Birrell,

Anne

1993

Popular

Songs

and

Ballads

of

Han

China. Honolulu:

University

ofHawaii

Press.

(Orig.

pub.

1988)

Caroselli,

Susan

L

1987 The

Questfor

Eternity:

Chinese Ceramic

Sculptures rom

the

People's

Republic

of

China.

Los

Angeles:

Los

Angeles

County

Museum

ofArt.

Des

Rotours,

Robert

1968 Trans. Courtisanes

Chinoises

a

la

fin

des

T'ang.

Paris:

Presses

universitaires

tfe

France.

Furniss,

Ingrid

2008 Music

in

AncientChina:

An

Archaeological

and

ArtHistorical

Studyof

Strings,

Winds,

and

Drums

during

the astern

Zhou andHan Periods

(770

BCE

220

CE).

Amherst,

NY:

Cambria

Press.

Gulik,

Robert

van

1941 Hsi

K'ang

and his

Poetical

Essay

on

the ute.

Tokyo:

Sophia University.



19/20

40

2009

YEARBOOK

FOR TRADITIONAL

MUSIC

Hawkes,

David

1985

Trans.

The

Songs of

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South. Harmonds worth:

Penguin.

Hubei

sheng

Jingmenshi

owuguan

1997

"Jingmen

Guodian

yihao

Chu

mu,"

Wenwu 7: 35-48.

Hubei

sheng

wenwu

kaogu yanjiusuo

2003 "Hubei

Zaoyangshi

Jiuliandun

Chu mu."

Kaogu

7: 10-14.

Hucker,

Charles O.

1985

A

Dictionary

ofOfficial

Titles

in

Imperial

China. Stanford: tanford

University

Press.

Hunan

sheng

bowuguan

china's informal musician (1)

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