Page 129 - Encyclopedia Of World History

daoism 479

An engraving of dancing
peasants in Europe.

well knew. As a youth he participated personally in exhi-
bitionistic dances; then settled for watching as profes-
sional dancers developed what became ballet, as the art
is known today. More recently, social dancing divided
between theatrical exhibitions of unusual skill and grace
on the one hand, and on the other, turned into an ex-
pression of the mating game among the young. lapse of Communism in Russia also provoked impro-
As for public affairs, after the French Revolution, vised rhythmic crowd behavior in the streets and squares
marching and rhythmic shouting became important ways of Moscow. Sporadic and more or less spontaneous re-
of political mobilization. German and Czech nationalists sorting to moving together in time may also be observed
used gymnastic exercises, for example, to foster new among crowds attending athletic events throughout the
sentiments by coordinating muscular movements among world.
hundreds or thousands of participants. Marxists soon fol- Obviously, our capacity for arousing common feeling
lowed suit, when Victor Adler in Vienna modeled annual by dancing, shouting, and marching together is as varied
May Day parades on traditional Catholic Corpus Christ and vigorous as ever. It is sure to persist, and seems likely
Day processions. Marxists elsewhere imitated the Vien- to remain politically and religiously important in times of
nese example, as Stalin’s May Day parades in Moscow crisis, even though older, localized community-wide
illustrated. Massive gymnastic exercises took especially dancing on festival occasions is in general decay, and may
strong root among Chinese and Korean Marxists, where eventually vanish.
Buddhist sects had obviously prepared the way for mus-
William H. McNeill
cular demonstration of their new, secular sort of religion.
Meanwhile in Austria, the youthful Adolf Hitler, repelled See also Festivals; Military Training and Discipline
and fascinated by watching the Marxists’ May Day
parade, subsequently used marching, uniformed party
Further Reading
members to reclaim the streets of Germany and Austria
Hanna, J. L. (1979). To dance is human: A theory of non-verbal commu-
for the Nazi party that he created. Unquestionably, the nication. Austin: University of Texas Press.
popular, emotional support these and other political Lange, R. (1975). The nature of dance: An anthropological perspective.
New York: International Publication Service.
parties and revolutionary governments attained in the
McNeill, W. H. (1995). Keeping together in time: Dance and drill in
twentieth century rested very largely on muscular bond- human history. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
ing aroused by march, song, and dance. Restless and Sachs, C. (1937). World history of the dance. New York: W. W. Norton
and Company.
rootless young men were especially attracted to such
behavior, and everywhere remain an especially volatile
element in human society.
Political parties and movements in more stable civil Daoism
societies, like the United States, also resort to marching
and rhythmic chanting on occasions of unusual excite- ne of the “Three Teachings” (sanjiao) of China (the
ment, like election rallies. More surprising was the dis- Oothers being Confucianism and Buddhism), Dao-
mantlement of apartheid in South Africa, accomplished ism is perhaps the most difficult to define. Strictly,
after 1990 by dancing urban crowds of Africans, who Daoism is a religio-philosophical system developed dur-
drew directly on village customs of community dancing. ing the Warring States period (475–221 BCE); broadly
Less well coordinated rhythmic muscular protest also sus- characterized, it is simultaneously an attitude toward life
tained the agitation in Teheran that brought Ayatollah and a soteriological (salvation-oriented) tradition based
Khomeini to power in 1979; and in 1990–1991 the col- on harmony with the Dao (the Way), the immanent