Captivating Magic Tricks in the Song Dynasty

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As early as in the Han dynasty the magic tricks enjoyed vigorous development; by the Wei, Jin, the South and the North Period the magic art was updated to some extent, but it mainly featured the tricks borrowed from the Western Regions; the Tang dynasty saw further progress of the magic tricks which blossomed into diversified categories; up to the Song dynasty the magic art exuded even greater charm.

The specialization of acrobatic skills and the emergence of the Shehuo promoted the performers to sharpen their skills, which rendered the magic performances even more arresting. Many celebrities in the acrobatic circle emerged, such as Lin Yuxiang, Zhao Jiaxi, Hun Shenshou, Wang Xiaoxian among others who were master hands at magic tricks according to Wulin 01d Records. One actor’s name, Hun Shenshou, must have derived from his superb sleights of hand. Hun Shenshou’s magic show was too amazing to be credible, but it was almost impossible for the audience to spell out the catch. Moreover, at that time the acrobatics were no longer cramped by the imperial court, and free competition occurred among them. Under such circumstances the magic art enjoyed rapid development and blossomed into such categories respectively featuring the sleights of hand, the twisting and turning, and displacement of objects.

The sleights of hand which featured the proficient hand acts required the performers to undergo long-term arduous practice. In the Song dynasty the performersin command of the crucial skills pushed the magic art to a higher level. Simply withtwo hands the performer apparently could command the emergence and disappearance of the objects. Coupled with some acts and words, the magic show appeared even more mythical. The representative magic show at that time was “The Immortal Sowing the Beans”:a performance put five red beans and two porcelain bowls upside down on the table; then performer passed the beans around to let the audience see for themselves that there were five beans; thereupon he hid the beans under the bowls, then he asked how many beans were there. It was surprising that a moment ago five beans were found to be there, but when the bowls were removed there were four or no beans remaining. Such a show reflected the basic magic tricks. There were shows even more intricate and more amazing in which the performer sowed one bean, but it turned out that the beans somehow multiplied itself until there were enough beans to fill up the bowl.

The magic art of displacement was called”concealment”because this type of magic tricks featured conjuring up the objects concealed beforehand in the bosom or at some other parts of the body. To be specific, firstly an object was concealed somewhere and a kind of sheet was spread on the table or the ground; then the performer asked the audience to confirm that there was nothing inside and under the sheet; but in the end the magician conjured up things apparently from under the sheet. It was not so demanding to conjure up things like toys, but some magicians turned out to be able to conjure up live animals, or more staggeringly, to con jure up braziers and water. To give such performances required not only sleights of hand but also concealment art. With the advancement of science and technology, the magic art made such headway that some performers could conjure up pagodas.

Apart from all the above, the magic tricks in the Song dynasty had other forms, such as swallowing up the needles and spears, which evolved from swallowing up knives. Actually such shows went along with a large measure of risk born by the performers. The performer upturned his face and cautiously inserted the needle or the spear into his mouth, then into the throat. The slightest carelessness on the part of the performer might leave his throat punctured, or in worse cases, endangerhis life. Up to now this technique has become even more sophisticated. Some mastersin this performance hold several needles at the throat and then put a thread into the mouth; through puckering up and drawing back the lips they work the thread through the tiny whole of each needle. The virtuosity displayed in such an acrobatic show is beyond description!