View/Open - University of Victoria

96
situation is not absolute.
In “Song: Prefect 224 Tian's Lovely Lady Dances The Northern Twirl Dance Like a Lotus Flower
(The tune originates from Beitong 225 )” (“Tian shijun meiren rulianhua wubeixuange (ciqu benchu
226
beitongcheng)” 田 使 君 美 人 如 莲 花 舞 北 旋 歌 [ 此 曲 本 出 北 同 城 ]) , a Hu 胡 dance and song
originating from Kangguo 康 国 (today's Samarkand, Uzbekistan) 227 performed in a civil official's hall
is described with incredible visual and aural detail. As with the previous poem, manufactured elements
of the cultural frontier are transported into a Chinese martial building. For example, the third line of the
poem focuses on the local style of interior decor while beginning to present the dancer and her
movements:
如 莲 花 , 舞 北 旋
世 人 有 眼 应 未 见
228
高 堂 满 地 红 氍 毹
229
试 舞 一 曲 天 下 无
Like a lotus flower, [she] dances the northern twirl dance,
The eyes of men have likely not seen it before.
The entire floor of the hall is red embroidered rugs,
She dances to a tune which does not exist in the world
I have seen.
(lines 1-4)
Aside from the third line's rendering of the furnishings of the immediate setting, the majority of the
poem is devoted to the incomparable movements of a western region dance twirl dance as well as its
musical accompaniment. The immediately following lines, for instance, trace the transmission of
frontier peoples' music and dance. Their way of presentation reveals how Cen Shen's poet-narrator
directs attention not only towards this example of local culture as a cultural entity of the frontier but
224
Many thanks to Dr. Daniel Bryant for pointing out the correct translation of the official title.
225
Northern part of today's Eji'naqi 额 济 纳 旗 , Inner Mongolia 内 蒙 古 .
226
The QTS has “ 鋋 ”(chan, short spear) in place of 旋 (xuan, whirl, twirl).
227
CSJJZ, 185. Marie Chan notes that according to Du Yu's 杜 佑 (735-812) Tongdian 通 典 , the dance became such a
favourite that various non-Chinese tribes sent dancers who excelled at its movements as tributes to the capital Chang'an.
See Marie Chan, Cen Shen, p. 87.
228
The CSJJZ notes that the Tangshijishi 唐 诗 纪 事 , a Southern Song anthology of Tang poetry, anecdotes and
commentaries, has “ 铺 ”(pu, spread) for “ 红 ”(hong). See CSJJZ, p. 186.
229
CSJJZ, p. 185