From these female dance figures with different costumes, we can see that their costumes are colorful and their expressions are beautiful, which shows that sculptors have excellent ability to obtain artistic images from real life. Judging from the dynamic expressions of these dancing figures who indulge in singing and dancing, it seems that even if they are enslaved for pleasure, their youthful and innocent hearts still seem to show their yearning for a better life. It is worth mentioning that three outstanding dance figures unearthed in Luoyang were destroyed during the Japanese militarists' invasion of China in the late 1930s, and only this original photo exists, because few people have seen these three figures since they were unearthed. I remember 1937, on the eve of the July 7th Incident, the author had the opportunity to visit ancient Luoyang. In the education department at that time, he was surprised to see these three newly unearthed painted pottery figurines and immediately took pictures for future reference. Unexpectedly, these painted pottery figurines were destroyed in order to avoid Japanese bombing during the relocation of Henan cultural relics.
Female dance statue
Among the music and dance figurines unearthed from the Tang tomb near Chang 'an, Shaanxi Province, a group of music and dance figurines and a group of musicians and Confucian scholars are more representative. Dance figurines unearthed from Zheng Rentai's tomb (see front). It should be from the early Tang Dynasty, but two of the four sitting figures should be dancers or singers, not musicians. Because judging from their gestures, they don't look like instrument players, but probably sit and rest during the intermission of singing and dancing. What stands out are two dancing figurines, which show the beautiful image described in Tang poetry, that is, "dancing beautifully with long sleeves and waving lightly, singing loudly and singing loudly, and doing business clearly."
Another group of singing figurines is actually a rap performance of You. But this combination, like the last group of dancing figurines, was deliberately put out for display or photography after the figurines were unearthed. It is impossible to know what the original relationship between various figures is, so today we can only explain the artistic achievements of individual modeling of figurines. From the individual point of view of this group of figurines, such as dancing singers, they are ready to come out, as if they heard moving songs. For example, the one-man singing figurine on the whole left and the six-man musical figurine sitting next to him, whether it is the so-called "sitting geisha" popular in the court of the Tang Dynasty or not, can appreciate the talent of plastic workers in the Tang Dynasty only from the attentive manner revealed by the actors, which is commendable.
In the mid-1950s, two unique three-color "camel musical figurines" were unearthed in the tombs of the Tang Dynasty near Xi 'an. One group consists of eight people from the Central Plains, and the other group consists of five bearded "conference semifinals" from the Western Regions. Two groups of music and dance also perched on hunchbacks during the journey, which really showed the joyful atmosphere of "singing and dancing". In particular, camel teams from the distant western regions faithfully reflected the prosperous commercial and cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and China and West Asia.
Stone statues are rare throughout the ages, and the Tang Dynasty is no exception. In addition to the two servant figures unearthed above, there is also a geisha figure holding a pipa. Judging from the manner and clothes, they are not slaves like the female characters who played the piano in the Northern Dynasties introduced in the previous chapter. Although the left hand and foot of the stone statue are damaged, it still shows the sculptor's superb realism. From the expression of the characters, we can see that the performer is absorbed in the harmonious music, and the structure of this stone statue is also excellent. Next to the statue's left foot, a pair of jumping and crouching kittens are carved. It can be clearly seen from the side that they seem to be intoxicated with beautiful music, which further contributes to the playing atmosphere of music.