VIENNA, Austria—"The Chinese Spectacular is of great importance to China," said Mr. Yuejun Qian, editor in charge of Germany's Chinese newspaper Chinese European Post. "This show is able to revive the traditional value system for the Chinese in mainland China and at the same time takes on the social chaos."
Mr. Yuejun Qian spoke with an Epoch Times reporter about how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had destroyed the traditional culture of China, and how this ancient culture has been revived by the Divine Performing Arts company.
Epoch Times [ET]: What is it that makes you see a connection between the show and traditional Chinese culture?
Qian: During China's 5,000-year history, the Chinese culture evolved into a complex system. Actually, this value system should have reached maturity as of today. Sadly, the CCP systematically destroyed China's culture during its 50 years in power. Even worse, they not only destroyed the culture but also the morals that were the fundamental element of this culture. Alas, this cannot be restored in a short period of time. Therefore, the reinvigoration of the traditional culture acts to revive moral concepts. Today's corruption in China, the criminality and the social chaos are closely connected to the complete disappearance of the society's morals.
Chinese Confucianism speaks of compassion [also translates as kind-heartedness], justice, civility, wisdom, and loyalty, with compassion leading in first place among all these value systems. Buddhists also practice compassion. This is supposed to remind people to do good so as to bring to themselves and their offspring good fortune. Today, most Chinese people no longer believe in this. As long as nobody sees it, they dare to do anything.
A value system can't be solely built on teachings. Confucius propagated his doctrine, "Social Morals." He began by teaching people about the concept of decency. Buddhist culture has a large collection of stories and legends, which convey to people a thought or the substance of a concept. These stories can be found in the Chinese Spectacular . Therefore, I understand that the Chinese Spectacular interprets and expresses morals and values through artistic ways and means. Through this, the traditional moral and value systems in Chinese culture are revived.
Since the CCP came to power, today's Chinese no longer systematically teach traditional culture. The result is already notably visible in my generation, a breaking away from culture. How can our generation resurrect the traditional culture? How can the younger generation learn about the true traditional Chinese culture? In this respect, the Chinese Spectacular is of utmost importance to society.
At the same time, the Chinese Spectacular is also helping Western society to learn about Chinese traditional culture. Today's globalized world demands respect and understanding of diverse cultures. One cannot disregard that Westerners do not know about Chinese culture. Therefore, they do not really understand the Chinese people. This in return affects the exchange of culture, economics, and politics. Concerning this issue, the Chinese Spectacular is also very important.
For Chinese society, the Chinese Spectacular conveys the fundamental insights of Chinese traditional culture and it lays a foundation for the resurrection of the aforementioned. This does not only exert influence on overseas Chinese, but most importantly on the mainland Chinese. I wish with all my heart that the Chinese Spectacular will be a guide for China's art circles, because it also demonstrates that the Chinese culture can be revived. I hope that the artists will be able to fulfill this role in China.
ET: What is your impression from the Chinese Spectacular ?
Qian: I find the entire show's program to be excellent. The Chinese Spectacular took without hesitation the Buddhist culture as its basis to revive the Chinese culture. Personally, I think that the Buddhist culture is the foundation for the Chinese culture. The Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian cultures are the elemental components inherent in Chinese culture. But among the people, the Buddhist culture takes precedence.
The Confucian and Buddhist thoughts were spread as the fundamental belief in traditional Chinese society. Today's society is not longer the same as it was. We have to pose the question as to how far we can actually use traditional culture in today's society. Many glorious cultures disappeared because they were no longer appropriate for modern society. How can we interpret and bring such cultural thoughts to fruition in today's society? The Chinese Spectacular shows us the way. For example, the dance piece, "The Fruits of Goodness," in which two youngsters change their way of life with the guidance of Buddhas. This has connected traditional thought with today's society most admirably.
Viewed from the artistic point of view, I find the dances of the different ethnic groups beautiful and diverse. Today's Han-Chinese are too shy and are not used to showing their inner feelings through dance. But, many ethnic groups are known for their dances and folksongs. On the other hand, the ethnic groups also greatly influence Western society. I think that most everyone in the West has heard about Tibet. Through the dance by the Tibetan ladies, they can associate more closely with the Tibetan culture.
ET: Many thanks.
Yuejun Qian is originally from Shanghai. After graduating with a Ph.D. in Engineering from the German Ruhr-University Bochum in 1992, he worked as a physicist and development engineer at Black & Decker GmbH in Germany. Since 1998, he has worked as a development engineer at Continental Teves in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. He is a co-founder of the newspaper LaiYinTonXin, where he's been the managing editor in charge since 2001. In 1989, he founded the Zeitung der Chinesischen Studenten und Wissenschaftler in Deutschland e. V. [Chinese Student and Scientist Newspaper of Germany]. Since 2004, he has also been the managing editor in charge of the Chinese European Post, and the president of the Chinese Student and Scientist Newspaper of Germany e.V. Since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, he has been active concerning human rights issues. His main focus in on social problems and labor laws in China.
After the show in Vienna, the Spectacular will play in Bratislava on Sunday, heading on to Prague for more shows next week. A total of 35 shows will be seen in 14 European countries.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org/sy/.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete Spectacular coverage go to http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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