"When the Chinese Communist Party Collapses, People Will Understand the Significance of Today's Spectacular Even More"

"I was deeply moved by the show tonight!" said Zhong Weiguang, a Chinese scholar in Germany, to a reporter immediately after seeing the first Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular show in Europe.

Zhong Weiguang and his wife Huan Xuewen (Zao Gong/The Epoch Times)

On February 13th, the Chinese New Year Spectacular in Duisburg not only attracted a great number of western spectators, but also many Chinese people from mainland China, who had seen the show last year, attended. Zhong Weiguang, a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Chinese Liberal Culture Movement, was among the spectators. Last year, Mr. Zhong travelled over 500 kilometres to Berlin to see the show. This year he came to see the show again with his wife Huan Xuewen.

After the performance, Mr. Zhong talked to a reporter about his impressions of the show. The following is a transcript of his observations.

"One thing I feel deeply tonight is that the traditional Chinese culture depicted in the Spectacular by Divine Performing Arts has become even purer. The moral ethics and principles, cultivation and atmosphere in the Chinese tradition are all well-blended in the performances.

"Many people in the West are quite familiar with Chinese traditions. Starting with scientists and philosophers like Leibniz (renowned German natural scientist and philosopher), they all knew that the traditional Chinese culture is completely different than that of the West. The Chinese understanding of humanity, society and the universe is different from the western understanding.

"For a moment when I was watching the show, I felt tears rushing to my eyes. I was asking myself why I felt that way. Later, I thought it might be because the backdrop projections unfolded the scenery of China, the rivers and lakes of South China, and the green bamboo groves, and so on. When I saw the rivers and lakes in South China, I remembered a line in a poem: 'Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, towers and pavilions stand in misty rain.' I thought then that it was such a pity that many of these were gone. Also, many families in China are no longer like they were in the past. In the past, Chinese families paid great attention to moral ethics, and family members' sense of responsibility and mutual care.

"In the past, many Chinese people thought that Chinese traditions were too old and outdated, and thought that we should learn from the west. I think this view is wrong, and what is shown in the Spectacular serves to rectify such a warped notion. Each and every movement of the dancers from the Divine Performing Arts company shows the Chinese charm, and reflects the understanding of moral ethics, values and self-cultivation in the Chinese culture. For example, stories like 'The Loyalty of Yue Fei' and 'The Lady of the Moon' are all based on Chinese people's understanding of heaven, earth and men.

"The Chinese people believe in being 'Moderate, Kind, Respectful, Sparing and Tolerant,' and the Chinese people cultivate themselves to be gentle and graceful, and their introverted manners are different from the western people. I don't want to comment about which one is better. The fact is that the eastern people are different from the western people.

"Talking about the purity of art, I would like to add one point: Just now, the narrator was explaining what is pure Chinese classic dance. As a Chinese, I feel quite deeply about it. In mainland China today, many so-called professional actors tend to mix western ballet elements and some other western art elements into the Chinese traditions.

"I'm not saying ballet is not good, in fact I think ballet has a very strong and effective power in expressing people's emotions and desires. However, for the Chinese people, we believe in inner-cultivation and in restraining one's emotions and desires. Clearly, the show tonight is in contradiction with the ones promoting material desires. I feel that the Divine Performing Arts Spectacular is filled with Chinese characteristics.

"Divine Performing Arts is able to present such a perfect show within a short period of a few years, and they have displayed very pure culture. Perhaps there is still more we can explore in terms of the characteristics of Chinese culture. I believe their performances will become even richer in content and depth. The impact of promoting culture through the arts is totally different than that of preachings through slogans.

"We may not be able to see the true significance of the Spectacular at this moment. Maybe until the day comes when the Chinese Communist Party collapses, we will then have a deeper understanding about the Spectacular. Because then people will realise that we need 'non-Party' culture, and [they will understand that] we need the real Chinese traditions. People will discover that the professionals trained in China have all been contaminated by the Party culture and they cannot free themselves from its shadow. When the Communist Party collapses, and when people look back, they will realise that others have already worked hard for years to promote true traditional Chinese culture. Then, I think people will understand the significance of today's Spectacular even more."