With no titles and no inscriptions,
this scroll is unique in its existence:
the blue and green colors that last for a thousand years
depicting a boundless panorama of mountains and rivers.
About the Programme
Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting is a Poetic Drama in seven chapters: Scroll Unfolding, Seal Tracing, Silk Reeling, Minerals Exploring, Brush Making, Ink Grinding, and Painting Alive. In the dance drama, together with a modern-day Palace Museum researcher, the audience unfolds a scroll in multiple perspectives, wandering in the midst of legendary-like and charming traditional Chinese aesthetics.
It tells a story closely related to A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers, a masterpiece of traditional Chinese landscape painting characterized by its depiction of blue and green colors, which has a history of nearly 1000 years and is said to have been painted by the 18-year-old genius Ximeng. By adopting a narrative structure that interweaves space and time, this dance drama is set at a time when the painting was to be exhibited upon Ximeng's finishing strokes. By fully devoting himself to the study of the painting, the researcher steps into Ximeng's inner world, accompanying him during those precious moments when the young painter was making his greatest efforts. Through this experiential journey, the researcher is able to resonate with the painter's youthful genius, exploring the combination of chance and necessity that led to the unique emergence of A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers, and interpreting the sentimental bonds between national cultural relics of the past and people in modern times.
On the stage, a richly-layered picturesque scene is stretched: the moon hangs high in the sky, as it was in the past thousands of years; under the moonlight, the researcher and Ximeng gaze into the other's eyes; the dedicated researchers of the Palace Museum, along with the craftsmen from ancient times, jointly unveil a harmonious picture where feelings and scenes mingle.
The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting: Inner Voices of the Characters
Green
Waiting in the tranquility of this painting for a thousand years, I only wish for this splendid body to serve as the link between space and time.
The Scroll Keeper
I know that one day, this painting will just be like the people it encounters and disappear in time. However, such scenario shall never come to be as long as I am here to guard it!
The Seal Carver
That which is called Zhuan is the name of a seal. Young man, I shall pluck your name from the chilly branches of the spring and turn it into a seal, so as to leave traces of your worldly existence!
The Silk Weaver
Every inch of the silk produced by spring silkworms is of gold value, as every strand reflects the delicate care of the silkworm-farming family. Now this silk is given to you, and with this moment asproof, we have woven it with our hearts and souls, and from now on we will see how you fill it with your strokes!
The Man who Grinds Stones
I have spent my life visiting rivers, searching for stones, and grinding them with a mortar and pestle. As for time, half of it I put under my feet and the other half in my ears. If I take one step less, I will not have encountered the stone of a thousand years old; if I pestle just a bit more, the stone will not have shown the color of a thousand years' making. Young man, if you learn to hold hills and ravines in your heart, you can paint mountains and rivers with your brush!
The Brush Maker
More than a hundred crafting procedures are wrapped around the fingertips, and a single hair is picked out of millions. I have been making brushes for half my life, but what I have seen is truly limited. I wish that this brush could follow you on your journey, as if I were to follow you and see the greatness of our world!
The Ink Maker
Even dragon musk and gold do not appear expensive when compared to the sweat of the ink maker, in which his hard labor and soul are instilled. A small ingot of ink requires thousands pestles and a hundred days of tumbling and tanning before a bit of it can be as true as lacquer and last for ten thousand years. My ancestors are devoted crafters, and with the color of the ink-stone in my hand, I wish to bestow on you the pride of the pine, the persistence of the ink, and the trust of the ink maker!
Ximeng
This painting is co-created by heaven, earth, and all who live and breathe, and you passers-by, shall be content to see these splendid shades of green!
Scroll Unfolding
Seal Tracing
Silk Reeling
Minerals Exploring
-
Intermission
-
Brush Making
Ink Grinding
Painting Alive
China Oriental Performing Arts Group
China Oriental Performing Arts Group Co., Ltd. (COPAG) is a national performing arts and cultural group under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Its predecessors, the China Song and Dance Troupe, the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe and the China Light Music Troupe were the most prestigious national art troupes in New China. They were established under the affectionate care of successive generations of Party and State leaders, representing the highest achievements in music and dance in China.
COPAG has nurtured numerous world renown artists, created and delivered countless fine art works to Chinese and foreign audiences. The troupe has performed in over 100 countries and regions around 5 continents and participated in many important state performances, playing a unique role as a Cultural Ambassador to enhance friendship and cultural exchanges between China and the world.
