A Study of Performance Elements of “Cailian qu” Presented in Dangakjeongjae

This paper argues that dangakjeongjae (Chinese court festive dance) recorded in akji (music articles) of Goryeosa (高麗史) used performance elements of “Cailian Qu” (採蓮曲). “Cailian Qu” (lit. a song of picking lotus) transformed into a court song and dance performance after the Southern Dynasties. This performance took on even more diverse aspects through the Tang and Song Dynasties. “Yunshao yue” (雲韶樂) in the mid-Tang period was made by combining “Cailian Qu” with “NichangYuyi” (霓裳羽衣); a lotus-picking woman leads ‘Xi Wangmu’ (西王母) who dances “NichangYuyi”. The performance of “ZheHonglianDui” (折紅蓮隊) in the Five Dynasties features many beautiful fairies from the ‘Penglai Mountain’ (蓬萊山) who come to pick lotus flowers and then present song and dance. In this way, the image of fairies in “Cailian Qu” had been reinforced after the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Dangakjeongjae presented in Goryeosa includes three elements of the “Cailian Qu” performance. First, ‘Xi Wangmu’ appears during the performance, which is the influence of the performance of “Yunshao yue”. Second, a female performer mentions congratulatory and eulogistic remarks toward a king. This is not because the performance group is composed of all women, but because it is a tradition of “Cailian Qu” performance. Third, congratulatory and eulogistic remarks were established as procedures--in the entrance, middle, and exit scenes. Among them, the singing in the middle introduction announces the start of the dance performance, which is also seen in the ‘duiwu (隊舞)’ of the Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, it can be said that the performance elements of “Cailian Qu” appear in dangakjeongjae