In China, a unique set of ten wooden figurines of female musicians has formed the basis for a dance performance and the reconstruction of costumes from the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). This was reported by
Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), a partner of TV BRICS.
Archaeologists discovered the figurines in 2014 during excavations of an ancient burial site in Nanling County, Wuhu City (Anhui Province, East China).
The collection depicts a miniature female musical ensemble from the Northern Song dynasty: each of the ten figurines plays a different instrument – the pipa (a four-stringed plucked instrument), the sheng (a mouth organ), the paixiao flute and others.
In recent years, these ancient images have been given a new lease of life. Based on these figures, the dance performance “Dream Among Green Mountains and Waters” was created, and Northern Song-era costumes have been reconstructed, allowing modern audiences to imagine what China’s court musical culture might have looked like almost a thousand years ago.
As experts note, the discovery is significant not only for the study of the music of that era, but also for research into traditional costumes, funeral rites and the art of woodcarving during the Song dynasty.