In Celebration of Life: Musical Journeys through China

Tuesday night, Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Art Center was rocking with the joyous celebration of life when Wu Man, the pipa virtuoso, introduced traditional Chinese folk music to her audience in “Musical Journeys through China: Wu Man, Curator and Host”. Her introduction, performed by the Zhang Family Band and Li Family Daoist Band were from two remote areas of China, was indeed innovative and audacious.

To have the opportunity in southern California to hear and observe these ancient customs, culture, and rituals set to music is a rare event. Since China has turned to globalization, its traditional folk music of this type has not captivated the audiences in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. However, it still exists and flourishes in their native villages. It is an important integral part of the lives of these Chinese villagers whose music has transmitted from father to son or within a tight family circle. This type of secular music accompanies story telling and manipulating of shadow puppets. The Li family Daoist Band has transmitted its music for nine generations. Songs and music instruments of this lay band accompany prayers to the gods. Both types of music accompany the celebration of joyous events such as new years, good fortunes, and marriages. In times of grief, as in deaths and funerals, the locals still turn to the music and rituals of their forefathers to seek comfort and solace. The music of both bands is a direct expression of what the simple folks of these two remote areas in China think and feel.

The music of the Zhang Family Band was unique in its presentation and performance. Because the legends are a part of the oral tradition, the Chinese rural audience was well acquainted with its content and form, and so no explanations were necessary. However, Wu Man included a short video with narative of her visit to the remote villages with commentaries so that her American audience could have a better understanding for the people of these two remote regions: their culture and music.

One of the highlights of the Zhang Family Band’s performance was the shadow puppet excerpt. Traditional Chinese songs, wind, string, and percussion instruments accompanied the action of the puppets. A musician with great gusto also rhythmically beat a wooden bench with a block of wood. The cutout two-dimensional puppets manipulated by sticks were on the far side of the screen. From behind, a single bare electric light bulb illuminated the painted puppets. A cutout tree was the only background on the white screen. Puppets on horse back fought with lances and swords portrayed an event taken from a Chinese legend about the Three Kingdoms when warlords fought with one another to be the master of the Chinese empire.

The Li family Daoist Band had six musicians dressed in traditional robes and tall black hats. As they walked around the stage in a circle, they played cymbals, a drum, and sheng, mouth –organs. One musician blew on a conch and produced an unusual sound reminiscent of ancient cultures. That evening, the Li Family Daoist Band performed an abridged version of ritual segments to appease the gods at temple fairs. Their performance was to end by releasing walnuts, dates, and candies to symbolically feed the hungry ghosts so that they would not cause mischief in the world of the living.

The rural way of life including its musical and cultural heritages is fast becoming a part of modern China’s past. The young are leaving their native villages in droves to seek jobs in the factories of the cities. And so, we are fortunate in southern California to get a glimpse of rural life in China: its musical and cultural expressions in celebration of life.

Tuesday night, Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Art Center was rocking with the joyous celebration of life when Wu Man, the pipa virtuoso, introduced traditional Chinese folk music to her audience in “Musical Journeys through China: Wu Man, Curator and Host”. Her introduction, performed by the Zhang Family Band and Li Family Daoist Band were from two remote areas of China, was indeed innovative and audacious.

To have the opportunity in southern California to hear and observe these ancient customs, culture, and rituals set to music is a rare event. Since China has turned to globalization, its traditional folk music of this type has not captivated the audiences in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. However, it still exists and flourishes in their native villages. It is an important integral part of the lives of these Chinese villagers whose music has transmitted from father to son or within a tight family circle. This type of secular music accompanies story telling and manipulating of shadow puppets. The Li family Daoist Band has transmitted its music for nine generations. Songs and music instruments of this lay band accompany prayers to the gods. Both types of music accompany the celebration of joyous events such as new years, good fortunes, and marriages. In times of grief, as in deaths and funerals, the locals still turn to the music and rituals of their forefathers to seek comfort and solace. The music of both bands is a direct expression of what the simple folks of these two remote areas in China think and feel.

The music of the Zhang Family Band was unique in its presentation and performance. Because the legends are a part of the oral tradition, the Chinese rural audience was well acquainted with its content and form, and so no explanations were necessary. However, Wu Man included a short video with narative of her visit to the remote villages with commentaries so that her American audience could have a better understanding for the people of these two remote regions: their culture and music.

One of the highlights of the Zhang Family Band’s performance was the shadow puppet excerpt. Traditional Chinese songs, wind, string, and percussion instruments accompanied the action of the puppets. A musician with great gusto also rhythmically beat a wooden bench with a block of wood. The cutout two-dimensional puppets manipulated by sticks were on the far side of the screen. From behind, a single bare electric light bulb illuminated the painted puppets. A cutout tree was the only background on the white screen. Puppets on horse back fought with lances and swords portrayed an event taken from a Chinese legend about the Three Kingdoms when warlords fought with one another to be the master of the Chinese empire.

The Li family Daoist Band had six musicians dressed in traditional robes and tall black hats. As they walked around the stage in a circle, they played cymbals, a drum, and sheng, mouth –organs. One musician blew on a conch and produced an unusual sound reminiscent of ancient cultures. That evening, the Li Family Daoist Band performed an abridged version of ritual segments to appease the gods at temple fairs. Their performance was to end by releasing walnuts, dates, and candies to symbolically feed the hungry ghosts so that they would not cause mischief in the world of the living.

The rural way of life including its musical and cultural heritages is fast becoming a part of modern China’s past. The young are leaving their native villages in droves to seek jobs in the factories of the cities. And so, we are fortunate in southern California to get a glimpse of rural life in China: its musical and cultural expressions in celebration of life.