Themeaning of cultural anthropology is establishing a dance narrative against thebackground of culture and evaluating its value. In this study, histories ofKorean and Chinese sword dances were classified and analyzed according tocultural anthropologic...
Themeaning of cultural anthropology is establishing a dance narrative against thebackground of culture and evaluating its value. In this study, histories ofKorean and Chinese sword dances were classified and analyzed according tocultural anthropological insight models. The purpose of this research is toexplore potential directions of developing Chinese sword dance education. Inaddition, cultural anthropology can also promote understandings of the natureof dance, propose dance theoretical analysis, and put forward theories as wellas evaluation methodologies of dance culture evolution and historical relation.
Dancecan express different senses of national identity, and the forms of dances couldappear variously accord with society, culture, and natural environment factors.In the era of globalization, the study of cultural anthropology in Korean andChinese dance will provide a new perspective on the understanding of thecultural paradigms and increase mutual respect between the two countries. Throughmutual understandings of dance, sword dance could develop into one of the contributingdisciplines in globalization. Moreover, it should relieve ethnocentrisminsights, eliminate prejudice against other nations as well as cultures, andunderstand the diversity of world from culture relativism in this research aswell. As a prototype of oriental culture, it is believed that sword dance has cultureprototypal and feasible value, inherent and historical value, celebration andproposal value, cultural content utilization and economic value.
Thisstudy classified and analyzed sword dance histories of Korean and Chinese danceby the method of literature examination. Despite differences in culture andecological environment, there are common characteristics between the twocountries from the macroscopical view. As the archetype of Oriental culture,sword dance is a representative cultural heritage that is implemented throughintangible cultural forms with religious, historical, traditional andarchetypal cultural values. The relevant research results are summarized asfollows.
Comparingthe sword dances of Korea and China, sword was one of the first weapons and wasused until World War II by the two countries. Since then, the military use ofsword fell gradually due to cultural and economic development, and now sword hasdeveloped into a dance instrument in both countries. As times goes by, Koreansword dance changes but reserves the basic dance styles, costumes and music. Instead,sword dance in China gradually declined as the Tang Dynasty of its golden age, andfailed to withhold its forms by Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Fromthe artistic side of cultural anthropology, the development of the sword danceis based on Korean and Chinese traditional culture (dance), which becomes scenicand creative through continuous transmission and innovation. It is believedthat Korean sword dance has existed since ancient times, which was used toexpress joy after hunting by humans. In the Three Kingdoms Period, the sworddance is assumed to appear in celebrating joy after the victory of the war. In GoryeoDynasty, there were specialized denominations(gyobang) and courtesy trainingcenters, and the court-level affairs were performed, which raised its artisticlevel. In addition, royal court swordsmen spread to local dioceses and derived informalsword dance. Similarly, the origin of Chinese sword dance began with huntingdances and developed into combat dances for war. In Han Dynasty, sword was usedas a pure dance tool, appearing in the field of performing arts and even ondiplomatic stages. Sword dance in Tang Dynasty was more popular than in HanDynasty. Not only the level of dance was increased, but also appeared manyfamous poems about swords. In Southern Song, the form of sword dance stylechanged from martial-arts to feminine charm, gradually replacing the sworddance form in Tang Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the sword dancewas not restricted to forms, with the alternations of dynasties and the rulingof minorities in midfield, the sword dance was not well-developed as that inTang any more.
As aresult of reviewing the histories of Chinese and Korean sword dances, we foundthat the historical backgrounds of the two nations' origins were based on thebehaviors in ancient times and began with human instincts such as hunting, warand sacrifice. Korean traditional dances are more innovative than the ancienttraditional ones, but most of them still hold off the historical literature anddance forms. On the other hand, for China, which has the similar culture asKorea, the historical senses of sword dance have disappeared and new swordswords are created based on the present times. The references to the Korean"Jinchanigwe" show that the Korean sword dance, Hwang Chang-rang,originated from ancient Chinese dance. In "Chilbugi", which was compiledby Sujuan of China’s Sui Dynasty, the names of the dance set as the ThreeKingdoms Period of Korea like Goryeo, Baekje and Silla, from which it could seethat dances in Chinese Sui Dynasty was influenced by the Korean dances.
To meet new developments, Chinese sword dance needs to reference various forms of cultures and arts. In literature andvideo reviews, although Chinese sword dance was skilled in practical development, its theoretical studies and core pointswere far from sufficient. Therefore, whenstudying a country's culture, we should emphasize cultural analysis and graspthe characteristics of the cultural paradigm and recognize the complicatedsituation in depth particularly. The current situation of Chinese sword dancealso resulted in the disappearance of the tradition of Chinese sword danceafter the Tang Dynasty with the govern of minorities. Currently, the Chinesesword dance is said to be too rich in creativity and improvised forms that itdoes not make good use of its dance features. Thus, while maintaininginnovation, Chinese sword dance should make the characteristics of the newdance forms as well.