Go all out
Sun Neiren knew who she was thinking of and said, "Senior Zhongli is as ethereal as a fairy, and her agility surpasses that of us. Perhaps she can complete these movements, but A Qiu, don't forget that even last time she was bound by her oath and did not appear on stage. Also, we have known Senior Zhongli for so long, have you ever seen her take off her veil? But to perform a dance before the emperor, it is necessary to reveal one's true face so that the world can see it."
Gu Yi interrupted, "Leaving aside the manpower, the stone carvings depict only a few dance poses, yet they perfectly capture the graceful and agile movements. Are you confident that you can use this as a basis to reconstruct a complete Han Dynasty dance?"
After a moment of contemplation, Sun Neiren exchanged a glance with Xue Hongbi and replied, "I am 70% confident. We can find similar movements in the Qing Shang dance that has been passed down to this day, connect and vary them, and make slight adjustments to the movements."
Xue Hongbi continued, "If we consult with Senior Zhongli again, our chances of success will increase by another ten percent. She has been in the Music Bureau for longer than us and has accumulated more experience and knowledge in dance."
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "In that case, I will trouble the two instructors to choreograph this dance! As for the manpower, according to Instructor Sun, we are still short four people, which I will be responsible for finding."
Upon hearing Gu Yi's words, even the usually composed Lady Sun's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. She immediately said, "The choreography is absolutely no problem! Hongbi and I will go back and discuss it now. However, there are only seven days left. When will the remaining four dancers arrive?"
For such a brand-new dance with high technical difficulty, the amount of practice time is also very important. As for Sun's wife, she naturally couldn't wait for everyone to get into position as quickly as possible.
Gu Yi calmly replied, "The remaining four will be waiting for you at Xiangxie Corridor early tomorrow morning."
Xue Hongbi and Lady Sun were immediately filled with confidence and said in unison, "We will definitely do our best!"
For top dancers, constantly challenging and surpassing themselves is in their nature. Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi are both outstanding figures of the previous generation. Now, they have the opportunity to reproduce the ancient dance and recreate the unprecedented dance skills in history, which is already extremely exciting for them.
Gu Yi walked to the window, gazing at the deep twilight over Jinlingtai, and said, "Do you know why I am determined to restore this dance at any cost?"
Sun's wife answered fluently: "Because the amazing skills displayed by this drum dance are enough to shock the world, winning against the 'Heavenly Palace Music' is a piece of cake."
The Heavenly Palace Music is one of the musical repertoires of Kucha. Lady Sun had witnessed its grandeur in the past. Since she said that the Pan Drum Dance would easily defeat the Heavenly Palace Music, then this round must be a victory for her.
The prerequisites are that all seven top dancers can be in place within seven days, Sun and Xue can successfully choreograph the dance, and there can be no accidents during the performance.
However, the reality is that the Music Bureau has been in decline for nearly twenty years, with a dearth of talent. Now, just as it is beginning to show signs of revival, it must face the challenge of the Kucha music and dance troupe. It should be noted that such music and dance troupes, which can be used as tribute, are all battle-hardened and have rich performance experience. The members of the Music Bureau, on the other hand, have only had one court performance experience so far, and are therefore inevitably inexperienced.
Therefore, although the strategy is clever, it is inevitably risky, but it is the best possible countermeasure.
Gu Yi nodded in agreement, but then turned his gaze to A Qiu and said, "Go on."
When A Qiu saw the two portrait stones with the inscriptions "May you live a thousand years" and "The Chanyu's marriage alliance," she already had a vague sense of Gu Yi's plan. When Gu Yi asked her about it, she replied, "My master once said that in this dance competition, the one who wins the hearts of the people will win. What we need to win is not only the hearts of the spectators, but also the hearts of the Shuofang army, and even the hearts of the people of the world."
Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi were immediately drawn to her words, both showing signs of listening attentively.
A Qiu continued, "There are rumors circulating in the capital that we don't value the national gifts of the previous Marquis of Guannei, abandoning them in latrines and pigsties, letting them languish in the marketplace. But with this 'Pan Drum Dance,' all the rumors will naturally fall apart. We will no longer need to go through the trouble of collecting three portrait stones to prove ourselves. Master's move is a strategy of turning defense into offense, winning the hearts of the people."
Chang'an, the western capital, and Luoyang, the eastern capital—who doesn't remember the former glory of the Han Dynasty? The dance of seven plates and two drums, with the seven plates symbolizing the Big Dipper and the two drums symbolizing the sun and moon shining brightly, signifies the auspicious meaning of divine mandate and national prosperity.
Most importantly, if this dance were to be performed, it would illuminate the world. Tracing its origins, it comes from a Han dynasty stone relief gifted by Li Mingyuan, the Marquis of Guannei. This clearly demonstrates the importance and care the Southern Dynasties placed on the gift from Li Mingyuan. The claims of disdain, contempt, or rejection are, of course, baseless.
Lady Sun sighed and said, "The Grand Tutor is wise. In fact, the Marquis of Guannei of the previous dynasty gave this brick with the same intention. However, after the Empress was seriously ill after giving birth, she was unable to do so. Before she could examine the brick in detail, it was sealed on the shelf and never saw the light of day again."
As the Empress's favorite dancer, when these three portrait stone bricks were delivered to Qiwu Palace, Consort Sun had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of them beside the Empress. However, they were immediately put away and stored by Chu Yuanyi, the palace attendant at the time.
Lady Sun remembered the Empress's reaction very clearly. She only glanced at it, and then tears streamed down her face.
"General Li is a loyal subject. But I am powerless to change his fate and can do nothing more for him."
At that time, Empress Shangguan was practically imprisoned. "White Silk" was the last thing she did for the Great Huan Dynasty.
Although Consort Sun was not knowledgeable about politics, looking back many years later, she suddenly realized that the fact that the Empress, who valued affection so much, kept this brick sealed in a box and never mentioned it again was probably not an unintentional neglect or forgetting, but a deliberate downplaying of it.
After all, the Empress at that time was already deeply distrusted by the Emperor, and General Li Mingyuan was also someone feared by everyone in the Great Huan Dynasty. In the court, the only one who truly protected him was Shangguan Jin, the then Chancellor.
Moreover, a few months after obtaining this brick, Empress Shangguan died in Qiwu Palace, and in August of the following year, Li Mingyuan suffered a setback when crossing the river to fight, and a famous general thus perished.
Both figures who once influenced an era have long since passed away, and what remains unsaid on this brick is only the fervent ambition of those years.
Those present fell silent after hearing Sun's wife recount the events of that time.
The spreaders of the rumors in the capital probably never imagined that the three people who witnessed Empress Shangguan storing these three Han Dynasty bricks—An Daoling, Chu Yuanyi, and the then-young Lady Sun—were still alive and in court, and could personally recount the events of that year.
Lady Sun said resolutely, "Young Master, rest assured, even for the sake of the late Empress's reputation and General Li's fame, I will do my utmost to present this Seven Drums and Two Plates Dance to the world. The late Empress has been kind to me, and I should carry on her legacy. As for General Li... let's just say that I am grateful to him for the protection he has provided for Miaorong over the years."
Feeling a sense of shared fate, Hu Miaorong was the only one among the previous generation of dancers to leave the music bureau and achieve a fulfilling life. Sun Neiren knew all too well how hard-won all of this was, and it was inseparable from Li Mingyuan's care and benevolence towards his subordinates.
Let's just consider this as a way of repaying the kind general who, on behalf of the previous generation of dancers, treated one of their sisters well and never gave her away or sold her off like livestock or slaves.
Upon hearing her mention Hu Miaorong, A Qiu recalled the scene she witnessed at the funeral hall that day and immediately said resolutely, "Master Sun, please give your disciple some more time. I will definitely not let Uncle Hu die in Jianzhang without knowing why."
Moreover, it must involve secrets unknown to the Southern Dynasty. And all secrets will be potential threats.
Sun's wife wiped away her tears and said repeatedly, "Alright! I'll go back now and study the Pan Gu dance tonight."
She then looked at Gu Yi, her words resounding: "Although this dance is called a restoration, it is mostly created by contemporary musicians through imagination and imitation, and it also incorporates contemporary thoughts and forms of expression. In any case, it will never be the original form of the Seven Plates and Two Drums Dance of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, I request that you, Junior Master, bestow a name upon this new Plates and Drums Dance."
At this moment, outside Jinling Terrace, night has spread, and the sparse branches of the paulownia trees let in dappled moonlight, illuminating the balustrade and steps.
Gu Yi pondered for a moment, then walked to the desk. A Qiu understood and immediately went over to grind ink for him.
Gu Yi picked up a brush and wrote a line of words on the snowflake-patterned Xuan paper that A Qiu had unfolded, flowing smoothly like clouds and water.
"May the world be at peace, may the four seas be tranquil, and may all under heaven enjoy lasting peace and happiness."
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "My name is Yan Shining."
Thousands of years to come, people will remember this Pan Gu dance, which inherited the aspirations of their ancestors and longed for peace in the world.
After seeing off Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi, A Qiu turned back into the room, only to see Gu Yi standing by the window with his hands behind his back, watching a new moon disappear behind the pale clouds.
Hearing her footsteps enter, Gu Yi did not turn around and asked, "How much of the jumping, leaping, turning, bending, and spinning movements used in that drum dance can you perform now?"
A Qiu was surprised that Gu Yi could memorize almost all the techniques and movements on the screen with just a glance and then test her. After a moment's thought, she replied, "To be honest, Master, I can do them all, but I've never paid attention to the aesthetics of the performance."
After a moment, he said again, "Master, don't you know how? We martial artists, who hasn't practiced lifting and stretching techniques? It's just that we don't focus on showing the beauty of details like in dance."
The so-called "bending over and leaping" and "reverse bow and bounding forward" are, for martial artists, about the convergence and explosion of power, rather than the beauty of form. Therefore, martial artists who practice internal energy cultivation possess the physical conditions required for the complex techniques of the Pan Guwu dance.
Gu Yi said irritably, "Even if I knew how, I can't be the one to go into battle."
A-Qiu stuck out her tongue and said, "Of course, my master is of noble status, how could she be a dancer?"
Gu Yishi turned away from her and said in a deep voice, "I don't look down on dancers."
A-Qiu immediately replied, "I know Master isn't like that, otherwise he wouldn't have kept Instructors Sun and Xue talking for so long, and he wouldn't have accepted A-Qiu as his disciple."
She thought for a moment and then adjusted her words, saying, "It's just that Li Chongyu doesn't have the face to make Master dance for him."
Even Gu Yi's usually stern face couldn't quite maintain its composure. He straightened his expression and said, "It's good that you know."
Suddenly, A-Qiu became curious and asked, "Then, can Master dance?"
Without hesitation, Gu Yi replied, "Yes."
A-Qiu nearly froze on the spot. She looked Gu Yi up and down, and said in an incredulous tone, "You can? Then...you?"
Unlike refined arts such as zither music, in the Southern Dynasties, there was only one type of person who could dance and play music: those registered as musicians in lowly households. Even if ordinary people wanted to learn, they had no way to do so unless they willingly degraded themselves and frequented brothels, associating with those who practiced arts and music.
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