I belong to a special group of people in China — the second generation of the former Chinese communist high ranking officials who established the current communist authority. People in China often refer to us as the "Princes' Circle".
Due to our status and power, we always receive free tickets delivered to us when we want to watch any show in Beijing. When we are in the United States, the performance groups from the mainland will offer us free tickets when they come to America.
I have watched "The First Emperor" directed by Zhang Yi-Mou. Although I heard tickets were quite expensive, I did not have to spend a single dollar. Since it was an opera from the famous director, writer and tenor, I went to patronize it when solicited to do so. As to how good the opera is, the U.S. critics have all commented on it. The person who sat next to me snored several times and the person on the other side next to me was quiet, but his eyelids were drooping. I fell asleep a little as well, but don't know if I snored or not.
The NTDTV (New Tang Dynasty TV) Chinese New Year Spectacular, an evening show, had seven performances at New York's Radio City Music Hall from February 14 to 17. I watched the news of its touring performances closely and noticed that the Chinese National Security Bureau tried to undermine these shows at any cost. I feel they (Chinese spies) are sick; they have nothing better to do. What they have done apparently goes beyond the category of "competition" between performance shows.
Finally, I decided to buy the ticket myself to watch the Chinese New Year Spectacular. I wanted to see why the media reported many audiences crying over the performance and what kind of performance could achieve this kind of effect, this kind of result.
As the curtains rose, I was shocked by the first scene "Creation". It is extremely beautiful. The entire audience, myself included, could not help but exclaim and applaud, and for unknown reasons, I even felt like crying.
I have formed a bad habit over many years, I have seen too many top performances and I would cruelly criticize anything less. For example, the most beautiful and difficult part of the "Mongolian Bowl Dance" is the dance routine of shaking the back and shoulders while keeping the bowls atop of ones head. If one of the dancers was unable to perform well, I would categorize it as an "amateur performance".
That day, I watched every scene carefully until the curtain dropped. I must admit it was a first class world performance and this is only my judgment from a technique point of view.
As for the content, many programs in the show made me shed tears, even to the point where the tears were flowing unceasingly. I had to control myself not to cry out loud, my whole body was shaking. I have seen many world class performances, but this was the only time I have "embarrassed" myself. Luckily, I did not come with a companion.
Up until today, I still can't figure out why I felt very, very moved and beyond myself. The "fame and profit" that I normally valued suddenly seems not worthy of a glance. My "prominent family background" that I used to be proud of doesn't seem worthy of mentioning; it even makes me feel somewhat ashamed…
An enormous energy has enveloped me giving me cause to think, "who am I?" Yet it also allowed me to realize "who I am."
Upon returning home, I recollected the scenes of various programs I saw and I realized why the Chinese Communist Party has been so afraid of the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular.
