“反弹琵琶”：敦煌壁画舞姿艺术形象来源考

The Origin of the Image “Playing the Pipa behind One’s Back” in Dunhuang Murals

敦煌壁画中的"反弹琵琶"被誉为中国唐代舞蹈文化中最著名的绝技艺术形象,长期享誉海内外,但反弹琵琶最早出现时间和艺术源流一直没有明确答案。本文依据近年出土的长安唐贞顺皇后墓石椁线刻画,指出"反弹琵琶"最早来源为开元二十五年(737)男性胡人的艺术造型,其从男性舞者转变为女性舞伎的过程,正是从长安皇家艺术吸纳异域外来文化中开启,传播至敦煌艺术工匠创作之中的。本文采用长安刻画、吐蕃银壶、敦煌壁画三处"反弹琵琶"艺术形象的互参互比,证明来自异域的绘画粉本是敦煌这一独特造型的传播来源,初步释读了这一长期未解的艺术主题。

The image of "playing the pipa behind one’s back" in Dunhuang murals is one of the most famous artistic images in the dance culture of the Tang dynasty in China. It is well-known both in China and overseas due to modern musical performances and dance dramas such as The Silk Road that often highlight the technique as the finale of a performance. However, the date of this image’s first appearance and its artistic lineage has remained difficult to determine. Based on the line engravings on the outer stone coffin of the tomb of Empress Zhenshun(also known as Imperial Concubine Wu) recently discovered in Chang’an, this article observes that the earliest source of this image was the artistic image of a male Hu(non-Chinese) person dating to the 25 th year of the Kaiyuan era in the Tang dynasty. The transition from a male to a female dancer started from the imperial art of Chang’an where exotic cultures were often absorbed before being spread to other regions and artistic communities throughout China. This paper compares the images from Chang’an engravings, Tibetan silver ware, and Dunhuang murals and concludes that image of a foreign performer playing the pipa behind his back served as the model for this unique artistic theme in Dunhuang murals, thus clarifying the historical development of this long-unexplained artistic motif.