"What on earth is it? It's blocked like this?"
Yue Erpao stretched his head, trying to see clearly what was crowding in front of him. He was not short himself, but the people from southern Xinjiang were of Hu origin, and they were all tall. After surrounding the front, he The child is completely out of sight, and I can't even see ahead.
"Come on, let's go to the street building to take a look. From a high place, you can see what's downstairs."
As he spoke, Yue Guanchao led them onto the nearby street corridor and up the stairs to the crossing building.
The so-called cross-street buildings are actually pavilions that span the street. They are not on the left and right sides of the street. Instead, they directly connect the buildings on both sides of the street with the help of structures such as bridges and sheds. With the buildings on both sides as endpoints, the bridge principle is used. An arch bridge is formed, and bungalows and pavilions are built on top of this arch bridge, and then combined with a street corridor and decorative window lattice, it becomes a street crossing building.
Such a building is suspended on the road, and pedestrians and merchants can continue to pass underneath. If there is a windy and sandy day or if you want to take a temporary rest, you can also walk up to the cross-street building and rest in it.
The cross-street building in front of them is as wide as the street and about ten meters long. An arch bridge connects the buildings on both sides, forming a pavilion with white walls and flower windows.
After stepping out of the stairs, they were already standing on the building across the street. There were four or five arched windows on both sides of the pavilion, and there were many tables, chairs and benches. Many pedestrians gathered around the windows and stretched their heads to look out.
Yue Guanchao and the others walked to a window. Taking advantage of the high elevation of the building across the street, they could easily see what was going on downstairs.
Surrounded by the crowd, they saw at a glance two buskers dancing the Hu Xuan Dance in the open space among the sea of people!
The oldest of this pair of buskers is only eighteen or nineteen years old. They are a boy and a girl, a brother and a sister. They are about the same age as Kelinayi. Even their appearance is somewhat similar to that of people from the border area. The girl looks better than Na Yi is also lively, with the delicate beauty of a woman from the Western Regions, thick eyebrows and big eyes.
However, this woman is obviously a dancer, and her dress is completely different from Na Yi's simplicity and youthfulness. She is dressed in colorful silk, revealing her skin, her eyebrows are vivid, and her manners are graceful. Facing the crowds of countless onlookers, her face shows neither nervousness nor timidity. , and even took the initiative to wink at the well-dressed nobles, looking forward to their appearance, and everyone present could not help but look sideways.
It can only be said that this woman from the frontier looks only seventeen or eighteen years old, but her mentality may be close to her thirties. She does not have Shao Ai's youthful shyness at all, plus the charming makeup on her face, the gorgeous lines on her clothes, and her waist. The gemstones in her neck and the bracelets on her arms and wrists are like the flying gods in Dunhuang murals. She looks like a dancing girl who makes a living by performing in the market.
At this moment, the young man on the side, seeing more and more spectators around him, began to pick up the huqin in his hand and strum the strings, and from time to time he beat the snare drum on his waist. In the sound of footsteps, the silver bells on his ankles were tinkling.
For a time, the Huqin, waist drums and bells were intertwined with the young man's ups and downs to create Hu music with a strong flavor from the Western Regions. People who listened to it were quickly attracted to the music, as if they had returned to the prosperous and open Khotan era thousands of years ago.
At this moment, this Western Region dancer also started waving and twirling. In the continuous circular dance, her figure was like a lark, crane, or a flock of birds soaring. The colored silk around her waist and arms flowed into the water. There was an indescribable feeling. It is agile and fast, and even the waving movements secretly match the drum beats, causing the onlookers around to cheer and feel magical.
"What kind of dance is this? It's a little too fast!"
As the drumbeats intensified, the woman's speed also increased. Just now, she could still see movement, but now there is only a cloud of colorful mist.
Finally, as she turned faster and faster, the jades, agates, necklaces, and precious stones on her body began to make crisp sounds against each other, like the broken jade from Kunshan and the mournful cry of the phoenix.
During this whirlwind, her body began to produce countless blurry colors, as if the golden light of the clouds was surrounding her body, rendering it a brilliant five-color light.
There was only a clear chirp of a bird, and a fire phoenix spread its wings and fluttered its feathers and tail feathers from the light mist around her, like a phoenix dancing in the sky. dissipate.
At this moment, the Hu Xuan Dance has also come to an end. The jubilant ensemble of musical instruments gradually died down, leaving only the clicking of the Hu Qin, which quieted down in the intermittent playing.
When the dancer Hu Teng finished, the two of them bowed forward. The spectators seemed to have not yet escaped from the shock. After a long time, they burst into applause, and cheers and cheers came one after another, as if they were walking through the streets.
I also played instruments and danced!
These buskers saw the onlookers around them cheering continuously, and the highlight of the show was finally about to begin. The dancer gracefully picked up the copper plate behind the man, carried the plate and walked towards the onlookers around her, singing in her mouth: "The rich ones You can support me with money, and those who have no money can support you personally. Dear parents, masters and ladies..."
As they approached the encirclement, various jingling sounds began to be heard. These were the sounds of silver coins, copper coins, silver ingots, oceans, gold and silver jewelry, jewelry and jade.
Moyu County is a major jade county. Even if the Silk Road trade has declined, the jade business can still maintain the prosperity of trade in southern Xinjiang. There are many business travelers here, but those who do small business in the streets and alleys, Everyone knows how hard it is to be an entertainer. If you don't have money, you will be rewarded with two copper plates. If you are rich, you will be given two silver coins. If you really like it, you will be rewarded with a gold ring or a jade ring, and others will accept it all.
There are many wealthy merchants in the jade business in Hotan area, and there is no shortage of rewards. In just a few moments, the copper plate is already full. Although most of them are copper coins, there are still some gold lumps, gold rings, jade bracelets, and agates. Finger rings, big silver dollars, etc., they also look better.
"This is called Hu Xuan Wu, an ancient dance that is on the verge of being lost." Nayi explained at the side.
What is Hu Xuanwu?
Hu Xuan Dance, also called Hu Teng Dance and Hu Er Dance, is a folk dance from the Kang and Ju countries in Central Asia. When dancing, the dancers are accompanied by musical instruments and drums. With the free and easy spirit, as the Silk Road trade prospered during the Han and Tang Dynasties, Hu Xuan Dance was introduced from Central Asia to the Central Plains via the Western Regions, and became an exotic dance popular in the Central Plains during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The popularity of Hu Teng Wu and Hu Ji's popularity in the Central Plains are inextricably linked to each other. It can be said that both are prosperous and both suffer losses.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Central Plains brought the Western Regions into its territory through successive campaigns. Under the shock of the Hexi elites of the Tang Dynasty, the barbarians from the Anxi kingdoms all surrendered and cheered up when they heard about the reputation of the Anxi soldiers. In this cultural spread and force suppression Afterwards, the Hu people began to call the emperor in Guanzhong Tiankhan.
Especially after the opening of the Hexi Silk Road, various barbarian city-states began to take advantage of their hub status between the East and the West to do business in the Central Plains. The barbarians, including the Sogdians, began to purchase silk, tea, porcelain, grain, textiles, etc. in East Asia. Handmade products and salt and iron minerals were sold to Central and West Asia via the Silk Road. At the same time, their spices, gems, furs, sesame, jade, agate, snake beads, musical instruments and other rare treasures were transported to the East, and then they made money from them. Take high profits.
In addition, they are also involved in the slave trade. Among them, there are four favorite slaves in the Central Plains, namely Bodhisattvaman, Silla maid, Kunlun slave, and Xiyu Ji.
First is the Bodhisattva Man.
Bodhisattva Man, also known as Tianzhu Girl, was a country rich in beauties in the Indian peninsula and Nepal at that time. The women from these small foreign countries were dressed in colorful silks, hung necklaces around their necks, wore their hair in high buns, and were enthusiastic and unrestrained. During the period of Tianzhu Buddhist culture Under the influence, the Tianzhu girl has the most romantic and unrestrained appearance, and at the same time has a melancholy and mysterious religious atmosphere. After spreading to the Central Plains, she was deeply loved by the powerful people in Guanzhong.
These barbarians smelled money and began to buy Tianzhu girls in the Indian Peninsula, dress them up and sell them to the Central Plains to make profits.
Let’s talk about the Silla maid.
To the northeast of the Tang Dynasty, there were three kingdoms: Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje. Eventually, Silla unified the countries through foreign wars, and began to serve as a powerful country in the northeast, sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty. As the envoys to the Tang Dynasty came, In addition to the Tang envoys and nobles, it was these Silla women who came to the Tang Dynasty.
They have fair skin, youthful beauty, gentleness, and low eyebrows. They can meet all the requirements of their employers. The powerful people in Chang'an like to keep Silla maids the most. If there are a lot of Silla maids in a house, it is a well-deserved wealthy and luxurious household.
Later, Kunlun slaves refer to the black indigenous people of the Southeast Peninsula or South Asia. They have dark skin, strong bodies, and are good at swimming. They have always been known for being hardworking, docile and obedient. Because the Southeast Peninsula is remote, it is difficult to sell Kunlun slaves. The price has been rising. The most expensive Kunlun slave is more expensive than gold. It is very extravagant and precious.
Whenever the dignitaries of Chang'an go out, they must be surrounded by Kunlun slaves, Silla maids, and Bodhisattvas. There are also dancing girls from the Western Regions who make fun and dance for fun. As for the last dancer from the Western Regions, it refers to Orchid. They are famous because of their exquisite Hu Xuan dance.
Rumor has it that most of these Orchids came from small foreign countries in the north and south of the desert and entered the Tang Dynasty through the slave trade. After arriving here, they were bought by major wine shops and worked as barmaids. They either solicited customers or danced in front of the bars to entertain them. , you can mess around for up to three days in a row. If the guests who come to drink and dine are still not satisfied, you can give the tavern owner a few treasures, and you can enter the room and have a kiss. As for what to do after that, you can't said.
If we were to say who was the most famous performer of the Hu Xuan Dance in history, it would probably be the loyal minister of the Tang Empire, "An Lushan"!
When Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors and Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the throne, An Lushan had always disguised himself well before becoming the governor of the three towns and never let the Li Tang clan discover his wolfish ambitions.
Rumor has it that An Lushan's father, Su Muhu, was as fat as a pig. With such a plump figure, he learned how to dance with Hu Teng. When dancing, his fat figure trembled with the dance. It was quite humorous and won the love of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty. In order to Gaining the trust of Emperor Tang Ming, he was willing to accept Concubine Yang Guifei, who was younger than her, as his godmother. With such a flattering attitude, Emperor Tang Ming gave up his doubts about An and handed over all three towns of Jiedu to him.
After that, An Lushan established a foothold in Hedong, and then he began to plot rebellion and coveted half of the Tang Empire.
Since the Anshi Rebellion, Hu Tengwu has rapidly lost power and declined with the decline of the Tang Empire. It no longer has the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Until the Tang and Song Dynasties, it no longer has the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the sweet and hot Hu Tengwu. Ji, just like the Hu Nu who escaped into the desert, leaving only a charming back like a seabuckthorn bush to the world!
Why history thrives must also be why it declines. Hu Xuanwu prospered because of the Hu people, but it is destined to decline because the Hu people lost power. When the identity of the Hu people in Anlu Mountain is frequently mentioned, the culprit of the Anshi Rebellion is also blamed. On top of him, the fate of other Hu people can no longer be trusted by Tang Ting, and their fate can be imagined.
When Nayi said this, everyone already understood what the charming dancer in front of them was!
