Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.68

v2.c11.68

In Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian made the expedition to the Western Regions, and brought back *Mahaturya*. Based on this, the musician Li Yannian created 28 new pieces of music. From Eastern Han Dynasty to Northern Dynasty, Indian dance and music quickly took the position of Chinese ancient dance. According to *Book of Tang, Music Recodes*, in Northern Dynasty, some dance music such as Daimian, Botou and Tayaoniang were introduced from the northwest region. Warrior Lanling from Northern Qi Dynasty often wore the mask to defeat the enemy, so people of Qi Dynasty created the Daimian dancing music to show his courage, called *Warrior Lanling Battlefield Music*. According to textual research of modern scholars, these dance music all was related with India. The pictures showing these dances were introduced in Japan in Tang Dynasty, and have been kept up to now.