OSAKA—With the lowering of the final curtain on March 10, the New Tang Dynasty Divine Performance Arts Troupe’s first two shows in Asia were brought to a successful conclusion before the thunderous applause of the audience in Osaka, Japan.
Among the attendees were political officials, academics, legal professionals, Chinese community leaders, as well as representatives from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office to Osaka. Many councilors from the Osaka Liberal Democratic Party and House of Representatives came to watch the show and issued letters of congratulations. Several television stations and newspapers from Osaka and Tokyo reported on the show.
Ancient Tang Dynasty Culture for Contemporary Audiences
Dating back thousands of years, Chinese divine culture, many believe, reached its epitome during the Tang Dynasty. “Creation,” the opening dance to the Spectacular, tells the story of a Master Buddha in a heavenly paradise who guided many heavenly beings to come down to the human world to impart the divine culture of the Tang Dynasty. As the curtain rose on the dance and the music began, the Japanese audiences, who are known for their subtle appreciation of precious things, responded with an enthralled attitude and thunderous applause.
“To the Rightful Place” narrates the persecution of Falun Gong in China. A female Falun Gong practitioner was persecuted to death for refusing to give up her belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance—the three highest principles of Falun Gong. When this Falun Gong practitioner was finally led to the solemn Buddha’s paradise by a Bodhisattva, the Japanese audiences gave another impassioned round of applause.
Shinichi Tokunaga, a renowned Japanese lawyer, said that this performance left a very deep impression on him. “Under the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, the Chinese people don’t believe in the existence of God. I think that after watching this dance you will feel the existence of paradise and of gods, and come to believe that by believing in God and kind people you must be very fortunate as well.”
Attorney Shinichi Tokunaga further expressed that this kind of performance has enabled him to understand how and why Falun Gong practitioners suffer and endure such a brutal persecution. Through their long and great suffering, they will definitely go to heaven and achieve good results for the future.
Songs Instill Audiences with Hope
Mr. Taabata, an honorary professor and former vice president of Osaka University, said that, when compared with the performances from China, the Chinese New Year Spectacular was for him quite moving. He said that he especially enjoyed the Tibetan ethnic dance “Snowy Mountain, White Lotus” and “To the Rightful Place.”
Professor Taabata said he was greatly moved by the songs, praising the singing of soprano Bai Xue and contralto Yang Jiansheng. He hoped that more people can come to know these songs in the future.
Professor Taabata said, “Seeing their performance, I felt something was transmitted to the audience, which later gave everyone a sense of hope. Regardless of what country you are from, once you hear the singing, you will resonate with it.”
A Photographer Hopes for Performances in China
After photographer Yoshitaka Sakai saw the performance, he praised the show as being elegant and of world-class artistic merit. To him, culture is something very important and the arts are a means to vividly portray and express the inner meaning of culture.
He added that elements of traditional culture from various Chinese minorities appeared within the dances. Through viewing the dances, he noticed that he was able to sense the choreographers’ openness and generosity, as well as their respect for the traditional cultures of other nationalities. Believing that the Tang Dynasty was the most culturally brilliant and flourishing era of China, Yoshitaka Sakai expressed his gratitude to the performance for presenting the essence of the Tang Dynasty to the audience.
Yoshitaka Sakai hopes that the Chinese New Year Spectacular will have the opportunity to perform in China in the near future. He said, “Such a great performance should be shown in Beijing, Shanghai, and even Tiananmen Square.”
The editor of one of Japan’s monthly China magazines, Gekan Tyugoku, Ms. Mingxia, said that performances of such splendor disappeared from China long ago. But now, nearly 2,000 Japanese people were able to see the wonders of such an incredible performance done by overseas Chinese. The auditorium was filled with continuous applause, which made the overseas Chinese feel extremely proud.
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