Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui｜Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture 40th Anniversary Gala: Gathering 3,000 Years of Chinese Art Treasures

Description

Chinese culture has been passed down for thousands of years, and its art forms are diverse and brilliant. From music, dance to opera and poetry, each art category is a microcosm of cultural memory. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture, a special evening gala “Chinese Culture. Love for Hong Kong—Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture 40th Anniversary” was specially planned on April 10. Through a cultural feast interwoven with music and dance, a variety of precious intangible cultural heritage arts were displayed, leading the audience through the development of Chinese culture and art over 3,000 years, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Anti-Japanese War period, to appreciate the artistic essence of different eras.

The evening party invited artists and groups from different regions to present rich and diverse performances including guqin, pipa, Kunqu opera, Cantonese opera, horse-head fiddle, Han and Tang music and dance, and Dunhuang Flying Dance, allowing the audience to feel the profound cultural heritage in an audio-visual feast and witness the inheritance and innovation of Chinese art.

The horse-head fiddle plays the grassland culture, and the guqin interprets the thousand-year-old music

The prologue "Distant Sounds" is first played by the guqin from ancient times. As one of the oldest plucked instruments in China, the guqin has a history of more than 3,000 years and is hailed as a symbol of the cultivation and philosophical thinking of Chinese literati. At the evening party, Hong Kong guqin player Dr. Xie Junren will perform "Jieshi Diao·Youlan", which is the earliest existing guqin score and also the earliest written score, showing the profound artistic conception and literati style of ancient Chinese music. Afterwards, the cultures of the Qin and Han dynasties, Dunhuang and the Song dynasty will be presented in turn through performances such as drum music, dance, pipa and recitation, leading the audience through different historical eras and appreciating the profoundness of Chinese culture.

The traditional Mongolian string instrument, the horse-head fiddle, will be performed by Xi Xiuquan (Hanggai), the inheritor of Mongolian intangible cultural heritage, to play the famous song "Hometown". The horse-head fiddle is known as the "soul of the grassland". Its melodious melody tells of the grassland people's longing for their homeland and historical memory, and shows the diversity of Yuan Dynasty culture. The design of this two-stringed harp decorated with a horse head is closely related to the Mongolian people's worship of horses. The existing repertoire still retains ancient animal training tunes, reflecting the profound inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, the graceful singing of Kunqu Opera and the delicate expression of Cantonese Opera will showcase the elegant charm of opera art; the Dunhuang Flying Dance and the Han and Tang Music and Dance will reproduce the splendor of the times through body language, making the audience feel as if they are in the long river of history and experiencing the artistic essence and cultural evolution of different eras.

Artistic fusion across time and space

The evening will also present a number of selected performances, showcasing the cultural essence of different eras. The dance "Oriental Smile" will reproduce the lively charm that has been circulating for thousands of years in the Dunhuang murals through the postures of flying fairies, and show the cultural integration on the Silk Road. In terms of opera art, the Kunqu opera excerpt "The Peony Pavilion" will interpret the delicate poetry of Ming Dynasty opera, while the Cantonese opera "Splitting Mount Hua in Anger" will showcase the unique aesthetics of Lingnan opera that combines both strength and softness. These intangible cultural heritage arts are interwoven with music and dance to create a magnificent piece of music that spans ancient and modern times and integrates diverse cultures.

The evening's emcee, storyteller and drama actor Wang Wei said that this time the stage will be transformed into a "modern 3D museum" to allow the audience to re-understand 3,000 years of Chinese culture and art through the performance. "It is a rare form to perform drama, music, dance and opera on the same stage. I hope it can produce a wonderful chemical reaction and let the audience experience the fusion of history and art from a new perspective."

Yu Zhaoke, director of the Hong Kong Center for the Promotion of Chinese Culture, has been conceiving the evening show for a long time and has been preparing for three or four months: "The design of the evening show is to pass on the information of Chinese culture, the magnificent chapters from ancient times to the present, and the unique culture of different regions from south to north through cultural and artistic programs."

Inheriting Chinese culture, holding special lectures and inviting teachers from all over Hong Kong to participate

The Chairman of the Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture, Ms. Chui Yee-wan, said: "Since its establishment in 1985, the Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture has been committed to promoting and inheriting Chinese culture, inspiring the new generation to identify with and be interested in their own culture, and promoting cultural exchanges between different regions and generations. This evening show selects major Chinese art treasures, from music to dance, from poetry to opera, so that the audience can feel how Chinese culture has been passed down through the evolution of thousands of years and continues to shine in the contemporary era."

Cui Yee-wan also pointed out: "We hope to start a cultural education link through this art evening show, and encourage the audience and students to become explorers and inheritors of culture. Therefore, we specially arranged special lectures to invite teachers from all over Hong Kong to participate, so that everyone can grasp the historical context and cultural significance of each art program."

"Chinese Culture. Love for Hong Kong - Hong Kong Centre for the Promotion of Chinese Culture 40th Anniversary Art Evening Show" will be held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on April 10, with ticket prices ranging from HK$180 to HK$880. Tickets will be available for public sale at the City Ticketing Network from March 7. In addition, a special lecture will be held on March 11. Secondary school teachers from all over Hong Kong are welcome to participate to help the academic community more effectively guide students to explore the connotation of traditional art.