KEELUNG, Taiwan—Dr. Weng Feng-Shan explained why Shen Yun is the ultimate work of art as measured by the ancient Chinese standard, “Xie He from South Dynasty classified art work into six levels. Shen Yun has attained the first level of expressing ‘vivid qi and charm.’ It is the ultimate work of art, the highest realm possible!”
Xie He was a painting master and proposed the Six Laws for measuring the levels of Chinese paintings. His laws have been followed by painters, critics, and connoisseurs, ever since.
Dr. Weng received Twentieth Century Achievement Award from the Asian Pacific Art Institute of America, Certificate for World VIP, and is recorded in Who’s Who in the World.
New York-based Shen Yun aims to restore 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.
“The costumes are novel and fully disclose the degree of luxury in different dynasties such as Han and Tang. The work is done in a delicate way. The artists mastered the difficult dancing movements showing smooth flow of charm, energy, and gestures,” Dr. Weng said.
Dr. Weng admired the application of the backdrop technology, “Combining technology and the traditional 5,000 years of dancing totally expressed the qi and charm. I highly admire that.”
“In the performance, I see a melting pot of technology and tradition. They are compatible with each other. The show does not blindly worship technology. It remembers what we are and where we come from.”
“Shen Yun is the best art group I have seen. It shows where life originated. From its high-tech backdrop, I felt that life truly originates from chaos in universe.”
Every scene was a painting in Dr. Weng’s eyes. “The wall paintings of Wu Daozi from Tang Dynasty reached the realm looking like they were ’moved by the wind.‘ I could not imagine what it felt it until this day. Today I see that the wind is blowing and everything is alive in Shen Yun’s ’paintings’ on the backdrop. I felt it! Shen Yun is amazing!”
“There is a deep and profound meaning behind Shen Yun’s performance. It allows me to feel relaxed and joyous. There is an energy of peace, joy, and auspiciousness, like I landed in Xanadu, a World of Ultimate Bliss,” Said Dr. Weng.
‘Simply so many feelings’
A gentleman originally from mainland China saw Shen Yun Touring Company on March 22 and said it made him yearn to see genuine Chinese culture revived in his homeland.
Mr. Huang (an alias) lives in Singapore and is a former engineer at China National Space Administration in Beijing. He traveled from Singapore to see the artists at Keelung Cultural Center Performing Hall.
He said, “Shen Yun performance is of the highest quality. It really is. It is simply a manifestation of ancient Chinese culture. This is what the real Chinese people are like.” The essence of Chinese culture, which was destroyed by the Chinese communist regime and is now brought back to life, made Mr. Huang’s heart yearn, he said, “Of course, it is my desire, desire for the return of such culture. Actually, I just got to feel what it was like in that culture, and I don’t want to come out of it.”
He said the artistic experience nearly transported him.
“You bet the programs were very good. I was deeply touched and I had a feeling that I was part of the program. Really nice, really good!” Shen Yun includes stories from classical Chinese novels and poetry and from different dynasties and ethnic groups.
Mr. Huang said that the programs made him feel as if he entered another world. “Like I was actually there (in ancient times). It did give me this feeling. I forgot where I was. My eyes just kept staring as if I had actually become part of the story. There were simply so many feelings. I also had a strong feeling of kindness, as if I were actually the one who did this a long time ago. It allowed me to be free from myself. The programs were so real.” He laughed, and said, “It was good.”
Feeling purified by authentic Chinese culture, Mr. Huang was happy, but at the same time, said with regret, “You can’t see something like this back home; I am not willing to watch TV or any other programs. I don’t even want to lay my eyes on any of it. But when it comes to Shen Yun, it is totally different; after watching Shen Yun, the mood is different, the realm is not the same, it is just absolutely different.”
Mr. Huang gave two reasons why he won’t watch Chinese TV programs. “One is the propaganda of (the Chinese Communist Party). The other is that the programs are simply very vulgar.”
Mr. Huang said he was all fired up inside, but on the surface, he appeared to be very calm. He confidently said that China must restore authentic Chinese culture, and that he believes that day will inevitably come. “This culture is the real Chinese culture. I believe what’s portrayed on stage will one day become reality, because this belongs to the people. It’s their true culture. So I hope such a society will come to be, for that would be a genuine society for the people.
Read the original Chinese articles. [1] [2]
Reporting by Tsai-Wen Hwang and Hsin-Yi Lin, Huang Caiwen and Frank Fang
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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