Recently, at the scene of an acrobatic performance in Anhui, the news that the actress lost her hand and fell to her death attracted everyone's attention.
In the case of a dangerous performance at high altitude, the actor did not have any security measures, so that an accidental mistake caused an irreparable tragedy.
Acrobatics is a traditional art in our country, and it is not easy to pass it down to this day. But was ancient acrobatics also so dangerous? What is the history of acrobatics on the mainland?
It is said that in ancient times, after the Yellow Emperor fought Chi You, because Chi You had horns on his head, there were descendants who wore props with horns to restore the battle scenes. They not only restore, but also wrestle with each other's horns for fun. This competitive activity is called "Chi You Opera", and it is believed that this is the earliest germination of the acrobatic art of the mainland. According to the records of the "History of Li Silie", when Qin II lived in the harem, he would also watch "Jiaojiao" for entertainment.
In the Zhou Dynasty, when King Mu of Zhou toured the west, he even launched a foreign cultural exchange, and acrobatics was also one of the exchange projects. He also brought back an acrobat, a man called Yanshi (偃師). This master can create wooden people and can move like real people, which is very magical. There are also many "transformed people" who perform for King Mu of Zhou. Avatars are called phantom people, and they can perform shows such as entering and exiting water and fire, moving the city, and penetrating walls and walls, which is actually today's magic.
During the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the wars between the countries were frequent, so a martial arts atmosphere was set off, and acrobatics such as fighting power were also more popular, and the strong men of the Qin State, the Jin State and other countries had wonderful performances.
Of course, there is no shortage of technical performances. For example, there is a person named Yifeng in the country of Chu, who is the best at throwing and catching balls, it is said that he can throw 9 balls at the same time, and he is also the earliest acrobatic performer on the mainland to leave a name.
The first craze for acrobatics in ancient times on the mainland appeared in the Han Dynasty. At that time, the art was not called acrobatics, but a hundred operas, and it was usually performed with instrumental accompaniment.
In 108 AD, during the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, he received envoys from the Dormition Kingdom (present-day Iran). In the process, the Han Dynasty held an acrobatic show. At this performance, not only acrobats from the Han Dynasty performed performances, but also artists from Southeast Asia and artists from the Sabbath country itself performed a variety of novel acrobatic shows, achieving the purpose of artistic exchange.
In this way, the art of acrobatics is really not created by the mainland alone, but many countries have given birth to their own performance forms.
When it comes to the dynasty where acrobatic art is most prosperous, it is the Tang Dynasty. As we all know, the early years of the Tang Dynasty established a prosperous era, which provided opportunities for the development of leisure and entertainment activities. Moreover, the political environment of the Tang Dynasty was relaxed, inclusive and open. In addition, the emperors themselves loved entertainment, and Tang Minghuang was the originator of pear gardens. With so many factors, it's no surprise that acrobatics flourished during the Tang Dynasty.
Not only emperors and commoners, but even poets loved acrobatic art. For example, Yuan Shu wrote a poem called "Western Liang Trick", in which there is "A hundred plays ahead are chaotic, and the pill sword jumps on the frost and snow." The lion shakes the light and the hair is erect, and Hu Teng is drunk and dancing softly", which describes the acrobatic performances such as "pill sword jumping", "lion dance" and "Hu Teng" in the Western Regions.
In the Song Dynasty, the living standards of the people were further improved, and the art of acrobatics was transferred from the court to the people. In order to distinguish this art from other songs, dances, and miscellaneous dramas, people officially named it acrobatics. Coupled with the constraints of Cheng Zhu Lixue, it is even more difficult for acrobatic performances to be elegant. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Sima Guang once rebuked women for sumo wrestling naked as unsightly and contrary to ethics. So, along with other acrobatic performances, he gradually left the court.
By the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, acrobatic performances had basically been completely transferred to the people. Except for the extremely occasional acrobatic classes at court festivals, these actors can only perform in the rivers and lakes.
So, what performances did ancient acrobatics contain?
Handstand: It is what is called a handstand today, but the handstand in acrobatics is more complicated, and various shows need to be performed at the same time as the handstand. Like the "Qingdai" we see today, it is a person supporting a handstand with both hands, and the handstand performs complex performances such as flipping heels, which is also evolved from that time.
Flipping tricks: That is the heel flipping fight, which later evolved into shows such as flipping the heel bucket from the table case to the ground and stepping on stilts and flipping the heel fight.
Pill: In fact, it is to throw the catch ball, throw multiple balls into the air at the same time, and hold up to one ball in each hand at the same time to ensure that all the balls do not land. Later, someone came up with the ingenuity of gouging holes in the ball, and during the throwing process, it made a pleasant whistle due to the movement of air.
Jumping sword: Actually, it means the same as throwing and catching the ball, but the ball is replaced with a sword, so the difficulty and viewing are higher. As people's eyes became higher and higher, sword jumping shows such as stepping on stilts or stepping on ropes evolved.
Top bowl: This is not difficult to understand, it is an acrobatic show that shows balance skills, and the performer needs to practice to the level where there is water in the bowl but does not spill it.
In addition to these, there are also dancing wheels, hunting, monkey training, tug-of-war, kicking, etc., all of which are more famous ancient acrobatic performances. Yes, you read that right, the originator of modern football, Keju, was also a type of acrobatics in ancient times, because Keju at that time was sometimes used as a sport, and sometimes it was displayed as a pure performance project.
Having said that, we don't seem to see particularly dangerous acrobatic projects. Why is it that today, there are high-altitude performances, trapeze artists and other difficult actions?
In fact, in addition to the development of technology, there are too many modern entertainment projects, and acrobatics is indeed becoming more and more marginalized. People can use special effects to see more incredible action in movies, so why watch acrobatics? Therefore, in order to attract people's attention more, acrobats also have to arrange more thrilling programs in order to get the love of the audience.
It has to be said that this is indeed a sad fact. As a traditional art, acrobatics has been passed down to this day, and it really needs to be passed on. But one of the driving forces behind it is to have an audience.
But then again, there are different techniques for attracting the audience, and it is not necessary to "play with life". Over the years, many people have questioned the difficult and high-risk acrobatic performance. Even if such a performance is necessary, at least the protective measures must be extremely perfect. Nowadays, the news of lost hands and deaths is not unique, and who knows how many performers still play with their lives without adequate safety protection?
What's more, after the news was broadcast, the rumor that the performers "had a feud between husband and wife and did not fasten a safety buckle" was fabricated. This rumor is ill-intentioned, not only drawing water into the husband's body and setting off public opinion, but also covering up the problems of the entire industry, as if not fastening a safety buckle is a personal problem. Whether the couple has conflicts or not, we cannot ignore the acrobatic industry and the company's neglect of the safety of actors. For this rumor-monger, it really should be severely punished.
How to pass on the art of acrobatics should also cause people to think deeply.