Upon waking, Emperor Xuanzong was haunted by the scene in his dream. He summoned the astrologers of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to interpret it, and the answer he received was a divine revelation. Overjoyed, Emperor Xuanzong began to recall the song and dance in his dream, hoping to recreate the scene of the Moon Palace in his empire. So he kept replaying it in his mind, even during the day when he attended court, he carried a jade flute in his pocket, secretly pressing the holes on the flute to compose music while listening to his ministers read their reports. Finally, with the help of the Imperial Concubine, he recreated this celestial dance and music, a melody so beautiful that it was said, "This music should only exist in heaven, rarely heard on earth."

However, Li Guinian knew that this claim was pure nonsense, nothing more than idle literati composing poems out of boredom.

In fact, Emperor Xuanzong was inspired by the sight of the distant Daughter Mountain in Sanxiang, Luoyang. He was filled with thoughts and fantasies as he gazed at the undulating mountains and swirling clouds, which led him to compose the "Rainbow Feather Garment Dance".

However, it is true that this dance music has a very celestial feel, because it was composed by Emperor Xuanzong for Taoism and was played when offering sacrifices to Laozi at Taiqing Palace. Of course, it is full of celestial atmosphere.

However, this piece was lost after the An Lushan Rebellion. Duanmu Ci, unable to bear the loss, presented it back to the court, but it was lost again. Later, Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty, with his exceptional musical talent and Empress Xiao Zhou, revived the song and dance, but it was lost once more. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Jiang Kui discovered eighteen sections of the musical score for the Shangdiao Ni Chang Qu (Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Robe) and preserved them in his "Songs of the White Stone Taoist".

Today's "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance" is a re-arrangement based on the fragments of Tang Dynasty Dunhuang musical scores preserved in the Dunhuang Mogao Caves, as well as the interpretation of the zither music in the Japanese zither score collection "Ninji Yaoroku" which includes Tang Dynasty zither music, and the first section of the "middle part" of the famous Tang Dynasty Buddhist music "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance" by Song Dynasty lyricist Jiang Kuixian.

The attempt to patch things up by robbing Peter to pay Paul resulted in a completely unrecognizable piece. The reason Duanmu Ci did not attempt to recreate this piece was because he felt that, apart from the Tang Dynasty, no other dynasty was worthy of performing this song and dance.

But it should be fine now... after all, the feudal era is over.

But who will be the lead dancer? Back then, the lead dancer was the Imperial Concubine, but now…

Perhaps Su Wuyu is a good choice? Duanmu Ci suddenly thought. (To be continued.)

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