The Jiaofangsi of the Darong Empire is located in the northeast of Miyagi City, occupying a large tic-tac-shaped area, mainly composed of two alleys, Bensi Hutong and Qisi Hutong.

Bensi Hutong is where the Jiaofang Si's Office is located and where the state-established Music and Music Office is located. Its status is much higher than that of Qisi Hutong. All kinds of court musicians who are proficient in music are basically concentrated here.

Ritual and music are not despicable. It is said that the most important thing in the country lies in sacrifice and military affairs. Sacrifice cannot be separated from ritual and music. As the official government in charge of the world's top musicians, the Music Department is always responsible for the ritual and music of many big occasions to welcome guests or celebrate. Therefore,

In comparison, Bensi Hutong is actually much more serious and deserted than Qisi Hutong on weekdays.

Chisi Alley is the real place of entertainment. Dancers and geishas are there, and it is lively and lively every day. Men who want entertainment go to Chisi Alley, and only when they have serious business will they step into Honsi Alley.

Fu Xuechen saw that it was Chu'er who had never been to Jiaofangsi before. He didn't know which way the Jiaofangsi door opened, so Yongzuo acted as a guide and gave her a brief introduction while holding back his smile.

Fu Xuechen couldn't help but make a small retort: ​​"Does His Highness come here often? Are you so familiar?"

"No! I've only been here twice, both times with my brother, once with my third brother, and once with my fourth brother." Yoong Zuo said with a smile: "The third brother is on errands in the Etiquette Department, and the fourth brother is with the Rhythm Department.

The master is learning from Hengxiao."

Prince Bingshan is actually learning to play the flute? You can't tell! Fu Xuechen blinked his eyes in surprise. Thinking back, the fourth prince appears to be indifferent and avoids others. In fact, he likes music? He also likes pets? This is amazing.

There are some duplicities!

At this time, Yunzuo said with a smile: "The emperor's grandmother likes music. The fourth brother probably wants to learn to play the flute himself. When the time comes, he can play a birthday song for the emperor's grandmother and save a few words. It is indeed his temperament."

."

Bensi Hutong is divided into the East Courtyard and the West Courtyard. The instruments played by musicians in the East Courtyard are mainly gold and stone, such as chimes, pottery xuns, suonas, gongs and drums, etc.

The instruments played by musicians in the West Courtyard are mainly silk and bamboo, such as Yaoqin, guzheng, erhu, flute, Xiao, etc. There is a tall building in the middle of the two courts, called Huarui Jixiang Building, which is a large-scale celebration and entertainment venue. Its function is roughly equivalent to the theater of later generations.

In the auditorium, if many musicians and geishas are needed to perform a program together, the rehearsals will be held in this building.

The first place where Yunzuo and Fu Xuechen went was the west courtyard.

The person in charge of the Western Courtyard was Zuo Erguan under Fengluan. When he learned of the arrival of the Sixth Prince, he was Zuo Si Lefang Zhixin who stepped forward to greet him. From the eighth rank junior official to Fengluan, the chief official, they were usually in the Jiaofang Department of the Ministry of Etiquette.

Running back and forth, I happened to not be in the Jiaofang Department at the moment.

"Your Highness, Sixth Highness, is here today..." Fang Zhixin bowed and asked.

"For the Royal Grandmother's birthday, I have prepared a libretto, and I hope that the musicians who will appear at that time can accompany me with the drum music." Yoongzuo directly stated his intention.

"That's it! It's not difficult!" Fang Zhixin felt that this request was a trivial matter for the musicians, and he immediately felt relaxed and led Yongzuo and Fu Xuechen directly to the high-rise building in the center.

Because there are only more than three days before the Holy Shou Festival, the musicians and dancers are currently rehearsing in Huarui Tower and practicing coordination to avoid making mistakes.

This was an advantage for Yunzuo and Fu Xuechen. They could get a sneak peek before the official celebration and watch several grand performances prepared by the Jiaofang Secretary.

The only pity is that during the rehearsal, everyone wore their own regular clothes instead of performance dresses, which inevitably looked messy and lacked the beauty of unified clothing.

But Fu Xuechen was already very happy. In this strange era, she finally found a similar feeling to watching the artists rehearsing the program backstage at a variety show.

Although there are no pianos, violins, jazz drums and other Western musical instruments in this era, and there are no modern audio equipment and colorful lighting equipment, it still has its own unique ancient charm.

It is truly a unique enjoyment to watch beauties in various costumes dance with enchanting postures and fluttering sleeves, accompanied by melodious classical music, the sound of zithers, pianos, flutes, and the sound of bells and drums.

In this era, there were no show hosts, but there was an emcee who controlled the show, which was equivalent to a combination of host and director. During the formal performance, the emcee would direct and control the progress of the performance, when to stop, when to perform, and when

Change the program, what program will be performed at what time, etc.

Fang Zhixin told the emcee about the sixth prince's request, and the emcee immediately understood it and immediately found several musicians for him who would be present that day, including gongs and drums, dulcimer, zither and suona, according to the sixth prince's request.

After Yun Zuo sang a simple birthday celebration song in Cantonese, the musicians discussed a few words with each other and immediately collaborated to play appropriate accompaniment. It sounded very festive and joyful, and the effect was great.

Fu Xuechen looked at these musicians with amazement and admiration. Sure enough, no matter which dynasty they were born in, a master who is proficient in music is a master. Within their professional scope, scoring music is as simple and easy as playing, and they can be picked at their fingertips.

They don't even need Yoon Zuo to rehearse with them in advance. As long as Yoon Zuo signals to start, they can immediately make the most suitable accompaniment at the most suitable time.

Therefore, it actually took less than a quarter of an hour. After Yongzuo and Fu Xuechen nodded and approved one of the accompaniments they had temporarily paired, they could leave, and the musicians would go back and write down the score.

At that time, the emcee will pay extra attention to the movements of the Sixth Prince and can direct the musicians to provide live accompaniment at any time.

In the previous life, the Tang Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty all had a system of low status. In fact, it was a slavery system. Musicians and dancers all belonged to a low status. The low status did not belong to the common people. If you join the low status, you will lose many rights as a human being and become a slave.

They have become the private property of a wealthy family. It is a crime to escape their citizenship and the law will not protect them.

The most uncomfortable thing is that the descendants of a lowly family still belong to a lowly family and cannot participate in the imperial examination for life. There are almost no channels for self-reliance. They are not even as good as tenants. At least the children of tenants are still eligible to participate in the imperial examination.

The most familiar "ancient common sense" about lowly status in later generations is a legacy of the Yuan Dynasty. It was carried forward in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but they don't know that the most criticized "cowardly" Song Dynasty, who was tried to belittle and slander by the Yuan Dynasty's history editors, in certain social systems

It was more advanced than the Ming Dynasty. For example, the Song Dynasty did not have a system of low status, and the Song Dynasty also attached great importance to business and commercial taxes.

The use of slaves in the Song Dynasty was closer to the employment system of later generations. Slaves in large households were hired. After signing a contract, the government would protect their personal and property safety. Musicians and dancers in the Song Dynasty, including women in brothels, also relied on contracts.

Those who came to engage in related professions, after their contracts are terminated, they are no different from civilians, and their children have a similar social status to the children of civilians.

There is no such thing as a lowly status in the Darong Empire. All citizens are miners, craftsmen, musicians, dancers, brothel girls, etc. Their occupations are of the lower class, but their status is the same as that of commoners. As long as they are clean within three generations, their descendants will also have

The right to participate in the imperial examination is similar to the Song Dynasty.

However, the Darong Empire also stipulates that the status of slaves is subordinate to the master's family. As long as they sign a contract with the master's family, they automatically give up the treatment of civilians, become vassals of the master's family, and accept the jurisdiction of the master's family. In this way

There is no right to participate in the imperial examination, which is similar to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

As for the children born from the union of slaves and slaves, there are two different paths to take: they can be registered as civilians, do not sign a personal contract with the master's family, and do not accept the training of the master's family, and can be raised by relatives who are not slaves; they can also be born as children.

Sign a personal contract with the master's family, become the master's family's son, and be a vassal of the master's family for life.

To be honest, there is no such thing as being humble. Fu Xuechen thinks it’s great. Then many talents in the manufacturing industry, talents who are good at music and acting can make full use of their talents to earn survival resources, and at the same time, they don’t have to worry about their descendants. If they

If you don't have the talent of your father's generation, you can definitely choose another path.
Chapter completed!