Conservation and Utilization of Ba Nationality's Culture of Music

and Dance

Mao Yaxiong

Music College, China West Normal University, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637002, China

Keywords: Ba Nationality, Music and Dance, Conservation, Utilization.

Abstract: The work studied conservation status of music and dances of Ba nationality, aiming at providing thinking

and reference of their utilization. Development status of dances and songs of Ba nationality were analyzed.

Based on the analysis of Ba nationality's artistic features, conservation and utilization of its music and dance

were researched. In conclusion, Ba nationality's music and dance is a part of multi-culture in China, worth

to be protected and utilized in new era. This innovation lies in multi-angle analysis on Ba nationality's

culture of music and dance, with a variety of literature references and introduction of Western art theory.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ba nationality is a cultural concept with abundant

connotation and referred level. In general, it refers to

general terms of ancient nations on the field of

ancient Ba state. With a center of today's Chongqing

city, ancient Ba state embraced a large area

including today's region of Hubei and Hunan,

Sichuan and Guizhou. Ancient Ba nationality lived

on extensive area with effect by pre-Qin and

southern nation culture, gradually forming a unique

type of culture. Although Ba state was wiped out by

other vassal states in the Warring States time, deep

stigma was ironed on local culture for people long-

term living in the southwestern region of Yangtze

River (especially centered as the Three Gorges).

Therefore, Ba nationality's culture and spiritual

shape still play a unique role in area of Ba

nationality. In ancient times, Ba nationality is a

nation good at battle, as well as having a certain

pursuit of dance and music. It also absorbed culture

in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou, due to

migration in wars. Thus, Ba nationality had formed

its own style in Chinese cultural history, leaving

long-lasting impact on culture of Chinese nation.

2 OVERVIEW OF

CONSERVATION OF BA

NATIONALITY'S CULTURE OF

DANCE AND MUSIC

Culture of dance and music created by Ba

nationality, in fact, is excellent spiritual and cultural

wealth, as well as a valuable intangible cultural

inheritance. It also contains spirit and consciousness

pursuit of Ba nationality. Studies on intangible

cultural inheritance of Ba nationality are superficial

with little depth and breadth, viewing form research

status on music and dance by China and abroad.

Actually, dance and music in Ba-Yu region created

by Ba nationality contain very rich ancient culture

connotation.

For better conservation and utilization, current

researches should focus on forms and nature of Ba

nationality's music and dance, as well as systematic

carding of key elements. However, difficulties

should not be ignored in conservation and utilization

of Ba nationality's music and dance. More

comprehensive objects are rare for scientific

research. Professional musicians are not very

interesting in dance and music in Ba-Yu, thus

forming talent-gap. Furthermore, literatures of

recording Ba nationality's culture are relatively

fragmented and scarce for most archaeological

discovered sites are after Eastern Zhou and Chunqiu

362

Yaxiong M.

Conservation and Utilization of Ba Nationality’s Culture of Music and Dance.

DOI: 10.5220/0006026303620365

In Proceedings of the Information Science and Management Engineering III (ISME 2015), pages 362-365

ISBN: 978-989-758-163-2

Period. These historical reasons also cause difficulty

in research on Ba nationality's music and dance.

However, with the continuous development of

current science, China has obtained scientific and

cultural theoretic support in studies on anthropology

and related ethnic. Thanks to collection of

archaeological literature of Ba nationality, original

literature of music and dance has gradually been

tidied systematically. Hence, Ba nationality's music

and dance can be more maturely tidied, protected

and utilized, turning into valuable spiritual and

cultural wealth of mankind.

3 INHERITANCE AND

DEVELOPMENT OF BA

NATIONALITY'S DANCE

Ba nationality's dance is a kind of ancient dances.

Few literature recordings were found about detailed

Ba nationality culture. However, basic elements,

especially braveness, militarism and unyieldingness,

were dissolved in Ba nationality's dance. It has been

spread and playing a unique role in field of Chinese

culture after pre-Qin dynasty. Thanks to such

functions, Ba nationality's dance is still abundant

valuable, worth to be developed and utilized.

3.1 Inheritance and Development of

Martial Element in Ba Nationality's

Dance

Ba nationality's dance, or so-called Ba-Yu dance, is

actually a loved dance of martial arts class. The

dancers should hold ancient weapons in hands, such

as sword and shield, with orderly dance. Ba

nationality's dance was inherited and developed

earliest from Han Emperor Liu Bang. It was spread

in Chu region, and then introduced into palace,

becoming a part of palace dances. People living

around Bear Mountain loved dancing, as mentioned

in Chinese classic Shan Hai Jing. Actually, Bear

Mountain was a gathering place of Ba nationality in

ancient, who loved dancing with weapons. They

wanted to express inner devoutness to gods by

means of dance, according to recordings. Besides,

elegant dance was also jumped by Ba nationality for

ritual. Dancers usually worn hat decorated with

jewels. But martial dance was jumped before wars

for victory, with weapons in hand.

Attribute of witchcraft and political awareness

were also attached to Ba nationality's dance. Ba

nationality had early combined martial art with

witchcraft, as well as offensive with defensive

weapons, forming dance with rich ethnic

characteristics.

Viewing from the dance form, it has close

relationship with the story of Xing Tian Waving

Weapons. Despite of the myth, the story shows

origin of Ba nationality's dance form, expressing

indomitable spirit. Although Xing Tian was chopped

off the head by god, he still showed fighting

intention. Ba nationality expressed their heroism

with martial dance, in forms of weapons and

witchcraft.

3.2 Conservation and Utilization of Ba

Nationality's Dance in Reality

Although Ba nationality is a kind of original folk

dance only in Ba-Yu region, its expression of

struggling and fighting spirit has deeply affected

other ethnic groups in China. Ba nationality's dance

has rich social ideology value, since Han Emperor

Liu Bang introduced it into palace.

For conservation of Ba nationality's dance, its

system, forms and movements should be deeply

excavated and researched. Only by presenting dance

in front of people can Ba nationality obtain more

attraction and conservation. Therefore, Ba

nationality's dance should be tied and researched in

detail. Forms and arrangement of Ba nationality's

dance should have systematicness and consistency.

Spirit and ideology contained in Ba nationality's

dance have more value for use. Waving weapons in

Ba nationality's dance make dancers and audiences

feel braveness and militarism. They can be infected

with courage of waving weapons after chopped off

head and spirit of perseverance in battles. Such

culture elements can be valued in packaging of

dance culture. The braveness of Ba nationality

should be advocated, combined with era elements

again. Thus, its ideology and culture value can be

better absorbed and promoted.

4 INHERITANCE,

DEVELOPMENT AND

UTILIZATION OF FOLK BA

NATIONALITY'S MUSIC

Except for dance in Ba-Yu region, Ba nationality's

folk music also plays a important role in Ba

nationality's music and dance. Ba nationality's dance

with weapons was introduced into grand palace,

accompanied with Liu Bang becaming dominant in

Conservation and Utilization of Ba Nationality's Culture of Music and Dance

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Conservation and Utilization of Ba Nationality’s Culture of Music and Dance

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central plains. Ba nationality's music, or Ba

nationality's songs, have been carried on for

inheritance in the folk. A lot of new forms of music

art have been evolved in the process of transmission,

with creation of working people.

4.1 Inheritance and Development

Situation of Ba Nationality's Songs

Scholars of Confucianism, such as Confucius, had

learned about and collected and compiled Ba

nationality's songs in the pre-Qin period. Edited by

Confucius, Shi Jing collected songs in South of

Zhou and Zhao, including Hubei where Ba

nationality lived on. South of Zhou and Zhao means

south of fief of duke Zhou and Zhao, respectively.

For example Guan Ju in Shi Jing, it is likely to be an

song of ancient Ba nationality with very obvious

courtship feature.

Later Hua Yang Guo Zhi also recorded text of

Ba nationality's songs, containing twelve Ba

nationality's folk songs. Creators of these folk songs

were not manifested in the works, remarking only

"Ba nationality Sing That". Ba nationality's songs

had gradually attracted attention of society at that

time. True feelings and plain massive folk customs

were combined in the music form of Ba nationality.

For example, the song—Country Ba Nationality—

expressed a popular and heart-wrenching folk music.

In Tang and Song dynasties, Ba nationality's

music was developed into form of Zhu Zhi Poetry,

which was a kind of folk songs in mainly Wu

Mountain region. It can easily make people echo to

express all kinds of feelings and local customs. The

song was usually along with dance, just as "Ba

nationality gather together and step" wrote by Lu

You in literature. It described that over one hundred

Ba persons sang and danced together with hand-in-

hand. Such deductive ways had intimate relationship

with aesthetic on music and dance of ancient Ba

nationality.

Finally in the Ming and Qing dynasty, Ba

nationality's songs became a waving dance. It was

prevalent in Tu Jia nationality around Hunan

Province for ritual of festivals in religion and

ancestors. Along with obvious ritual feature, waving

dance was combined with songs. They were singing

and dancing, fully showing love for music and

dance.

4.2 Conservation and Utilization of Ba

Nationality's Songs

Ba nationality's songs are valuable intangible

cultural wealth, deserving conservation. Tu Jia

nationality's waving dance is an important carrier of

Ba nationality's songs. In Qing dynasty, Manchu

emperors forbad Tu Jia nationality's waving dance

after policy of Gai Tu Gui Liu, so as to achieve their

own political purposes. But Tu Jia nationality did

not surrender. Along with dances, Ba nationality's

songs were spread since ancient, becoming spiritual

ballast of Tu Jia nationaltiy. It cannot be completely

overthrown by Qing dynasty. Therefore,

conservation of Ba nationality's songs should respect

its original cultural ecology, especially all kinds of

customs of Tu Jia nationality and inheritors.

Moreover, Ba nationality's culture in all regions

should be gathered to form own power of culture.

In addition, literatures and materials of Ba

nationality's songs should be carded again. In the

past, utilization of Ba nationality's songs was mainly

performance in scenic areas or folk culture tourism.

But the interpretation tended to be superficial,

without deep mining of cultural meaning of Ba

nationality. Therefore, Ba nationality's songs should

be researched from depths and width of its culture in

multi-level. Literatures of Ba nationality's songs

since ancient should be researched after

categorization. It also needs advertisement in

popular forms, so as to attract more people to learn

Ba nationality's cultural origin and achievement.

Starting from conservation of cultural diversity,

government should fully mobilize relevant

professionals of music and dance. Ba nationality's

culture of music and dance require thorough study

and discussion. More Ba nationality's music and

dance should be presented in front of the world.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The horns of ancient Ba nationality had gradually

disappeared, along with invalidation of witchcraft in

wars. But it should be focused on ancient Chinese

spirits of unyieldingness, fighting and militarism. Ba

nationality make these spirits survive in every

developing era with forms of music and dance.

Therefore, promoting Ba nationality's music and

dance can contribute to advancement of Chinese

excellent traditional culture and encouragement on

Chinese. Chinese cultural ecology can be presented

in diversity with all flowers bloom together.

Construction of Chinese socialist culture can be

provided an important traditional cultural basis,

making people harbor more fear of ancient culture.

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ISME 2015 - International Conference on Information System and Management Engineering

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was funded 2014 Key Projects of

Research on Western Regions' Culture "the

Conservation and Utilization of Ba nationality's

culture of music and dance" with Grant Number of

XBYJB1402.

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Journal of Panzhihua University journal, 2003 (6): 12-

19.

Jin Daoxing. Concerning the Country Ba nationality.

Journal of China Three Gorges University

(Humanities and Social Science), 2002 (5): 13-19.

Zhao Xian. Exploration of Ba-Shu music in Warring

States Period. Journal of Historical Science, 2001 (5):

141-143.

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Conservation and Utilization of Ba Nationality’s Culture of Music and Dance

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