18 | Tuesday, March 9, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Springtime is a season of senses awakening
As a child growing up in a sub urban town in the Northeast of the United States, the arrival of spring had little meaning for me. Sure, we had a weeklong spring vacation from school, but the operative word there was vacation, not spring. For the kids in my neighbor hood, the arrival of spring was a nonevent. There were two important seasons: winter, when we could go skating and sledding or build snow forts, and summer, when we could finally make proper use of the beach about Left: Liu Jing, a promoter of traditional Chinese music and instruments, plays the pipa in the style of Tang Dynasty music. Middle and right: Liu in her work, Prelude to the 100 meters east of my family Konghou of Li Ping, a short video based on a namesake poem written by poet Li He from the Tang period. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY home. Spring and autumn were just technical details, weeks and weeks of waiting for the good times’ return. And, even though the begin The melody of our heritage John ning of autumn Lydon was a clearly Second demarcated event Instruments, once out of fashion, enjoy a surge of popularity as composer combines history Thoughts — summer vaca tion abruptly fin with music to provide the harmony of a bygone era, Wang Ru reports. ished, and it was back to school for an eternity of 10 months — t was a moment seared in her spring had little to distinguish memory. When Liu Jing it. It might still be bonechilling played the suite of Dream of ly cold for weeks to come, and the Red Chamber, which is I want to make more despite the days’ getting longer, Ibased on a novel of the same title the process was so gradual, who people aware of the written by Cao Xueqin during the could tell? Qing Dynasty (16441911), in the traditional Admittedly, spring later devel University of Cambridge as a instruments of China. oped its own attractions for me member of a Chinese ensemble in — “In the spring a young man’s 2011, something strange hap Then, I want to lead fancy turns to thoughts of love”, pened. As she played A Lovesick more people to enjoy as the poet Alfred Lord Tenny Knitted Brow in Vain, a tune son noted — however, it was not which describes the failed love Chinese music spring itself, but the other stuff story between two main charac created by such that got my attention. ters Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu in In short, I never thought the novel, an old woman who sat instruments.” much at all about spring … and in the first row of the audience Liu Jing, promoter of traditional then I arrived in China. I had burst into tears. Chinese music and instruments been in Beijing for about three She was curious and asked the months when my first Spring woman, at the end of the perform Festival rolled around, and it ance, if she had read the novel. show a glorious time in his life — could hardly be ignored. Aside The woman said: “No, but I just the moment when he just drank from the random bursts of fire felt the melody touched me very the poisonous wine and retro works at any time day or night, much when it was created by your spected his life before death,” says what stood out most for me was Chinese instrument.” Liu. that the capital seemed to ooze The experience was one of the “I guess during the time what itself empty. inspirations that urged Liu to pro was on his mind was not the politi It was as though the teeming mote traditional Chinese music cal tactics, but the moment when crowds and streams of cars and and instruments. Many years lat he led the soldiers to fight bravely trucks commonly seen in the er, the woman who is in her thir for their country,” she adds. capital had all gone into hiding. ties now has promoted a series of She shows the story in the video, It was eerie. My puzzlement original music videos featuring in which she plays Gao drinking cleared up when I returned to traditional Chinese stories and the wine, while musician Wang work. My colleagues explained “relayed” by Chinese instruments Jia’nan playing Gao who was on that Chinese traditionally travel, with her online name Liu Qing the battlefield in his imagination. if necessary, to visit their fami yao. They have become hugely Liu and Wang play several kinds of lies during Spring Festival, and popular. drums and pipa to create the feel that many Beijingers were not With her parents, who were ing of a fierce fight. Finally, with natives of the capital. keen fans of traditional Chinese the strong sound of a drum, Gao, I also got my first inkling of culture, Liu learned the pipa, a played by Liu, falls on the ground something about Spring Festival Chinese lute with four strings, and dies. that never ceases to amaze me. when she was 5 years old. She was “I integrate some drama ele Regardless of when the holiday admitted to a children’s orchestra ments in the video. The clothes is set to begin, there is an almost after passing a test when she was and decorations shown in the vid immediate and drastic change in primary school, and got the eo are made strictly according to for the better in the weather. opportunity to take part in many pottery figurines and murals Spring really does arrive. competitions and visit a number unearthed from the tomb of Even this year — which has of foreign countries to give per emperor Gao Yang, an uncle of largely been an exception to the formances as a member of the Gao Changgong.” rule with wintry weather stub orchestra. The video has received nearly 10 bornly persisting for weeks — had According to Liu, the frequent million views on the internet. “I’m a notable example. So notable, in performances and experience of amazed at the combination of fact, that The Washington Post competition sharpened her pipa pipa and drums. When I listen to thought it was worth reporting. playing skills. “From grade four at this music, I am brought back to “It’s only February, but it feels primary school to senior high the battlefield, as if seeing numer like May in Beijing,” it wrote school, I often completed my Liu, accompanied by a teacher at the Confucius Institute in Leipzig, Germany, displays the beauty and ous cavalrymen rush forward, and about the “temperatures some 40 homework on my way to other elegance of the pipa in 2019. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY listening to the sound of battle degrees (Fahrenheit) above nor countries during many weekends drums, halberds, hooves and mal” on Feb 21, just nine days aft and vacations,” says Liu. “I want to make more people my in this work, she also shows field trips to Dunhuang several shouting,” says Yunxi, a user of er Spring Festival began on Feb Such highintensity exercise aware of the traditional instru pictures of konghou on the Dunhu times, and got to know many Chinese online videosharing plat 12. “Beijing’s temperature shot up didn’t end when Liu was admitted ments of China. Then, I want to ang murals in the video. touching stories in Dunhuang. “I form Bilibili. 78 degrees Sunday, the highest to Nanjing University for her lead more people to enjoy Chinese “In the poem, the poet compares try to express what I feel about According to Liu Hongbo, a ever observed between Decem English major, since she became a music created by such instru Li Ping’s music created by kong Dunhuang in the form of music, work aide to Liu Jing, high stan ber and February by 10 degrees.” member of its Chinese ensemble. ments,” says Liu. hou to the sound of jade shattering and hope to bring people to the dards and a vision are key. “Out of I can’t begin to fathom how the After she graduated from the She has designed a series of vid on the Kunlun mountains, and the place when they listen to this her immense love for traditional ancient Chinese could devise a Chinese University of Hong Kong eos called “Chinese people’s musi phoenix’s shriek. Although many music,” says Liu. music, Liu Jing has high stan system for the millennia that with a master’s degree in history cal instrument”. A representative people learned this poem at To make her videos more dards for her works, and has would almost always accurately in 2012, she found a job with inter work of the series is Prelude to the school, they don’t know what it attractive, she also learned other devoted much time and effort into predict when the season would net giant Tencent doing entertain Konghou of Li Ping, a short video sounds like actually, so I want to art forms like dancing and acting. each of them. She hopes the tradi shift year after year after year. ment work, and garnered based on a namesake poem writ show them,” says Liu. On that basis, she made a video tional music culture can spread to But they did. In light of that, may experience in marketing. ten by poet Li He in the Tang The video has been chosen by series showing war heroes of Chi more people in the modern era be it’s time the US retires Punxsu “At that time, the internet com Dynasty (618907). The poem many Chinese teachers to show in nese history, trying to show a glo with the help of the internet.” tawney Phil. Never heard of him? pany was developing rapidly, and I depicts royal court musician Li their classes to help students bet rious time in each hero’s life. According to Liu Jing, her visits Phil is a groundhog who got to know some tips about mar Ping’s splendid proficiency in ter understand poems from the For example, she made Prince to many museums and historical comes out of his burrow in Punx keting. One that impressed me the playing konghou, an ancient Tang Dynasty. Lanling in Battle, a work about Gao sites have given her many inspira sutawney, Pennsylvania, every most was that we needed to com plucked stringed instrument The series also includes a short Changgong, or the prince of Lan tions in creating her works. year on Feb 2 under the hopeful bine hot topics and our strength to which became extinct, but has video showing images of music ling of the Northern Qi Dynasty “In the future, I want to cooper gaze of large crowds and news promote our own works,” says Liu. been recreated by modern tech and dancing on the mural of the (550577), who led about 500 war ate with more museums, and try services. If he sees his shadow, he So she started to use folk instru niques and is again played by Mogao Grottoes, in which she dis riors to end the siege of Jinyong, to tell the stories of cultural relics scampers back inside to wait out ments to play popular music, but musicians. plays the original music created an important city, against about in my musical works, so that peo six more weeks of winter. If he soon gave up since she found the In the video, Liu wears Tang by ancient instruments that 100,000 enemy soldiers in 564 and ple enjoy the beauty of both Chi doesn’t, it will be an early spring. structure of pop music not suita style clothing and plays her origi appear most often on the Dunhu achieved a famous victory. nese music and cultural relics, and Then again, Phil predicted ble for traditional Chinese instru nal music with a konghou, like a ang murals, like the pipa, konghou, “It is said Gao was sent a cup of appreciate Chinese culture,” says more wintry bluster this year. ments. In 2019, she decided to scene shown in a mural in the flute and lianhuaruan (a plucked poisonous wine later from his Liu Jing. Maybe he earned his keep. make original Chinese music and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, string instrument that looks like a cousin, the emperor, who was sus display it in the form of short vid Gansu province. As she is collabo lotus). picious that Gao would overthrow Contact the writer at Contact the writer at eos. rating with the Dunhuang Acade To make this work, Liu paid him one day, and died. So I want to [email protected] [email protected]