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2012年2月1日 星期三

Li Jiang Impressions (麗江印象)

I do not know about how the others feel. For me, I shall never forget how I felt at a show called "Impression Li Jiang" (印象麗江) conceived and designed by the famous Chinese director Chang Yimou (張藝謀). It took place upon a multi-level stage of brown with a zig-zag path leading up from the lowest to the highest level. Above the semi-circle at the top, I saw shining under the blazing sun the dazzling whiteness of the snow capped Jade Dragon Mountain against a sky of the purest blue.

We saw the enactment of a love story. A Yi tribe (actually the combination of 5 small ethnic groups) youth who fell in love with a young lady, but could not get married to her because of objections from their parents, vowed to go up the Jade Dragon Peak to commit suicide with his love, after having praymade their wish there that they be joined together in the next life. According to legend, whatever prayer said and whatever wish made high up the Jade Dragon Peak will be heard by the mountain god and will come true. We see in the form of song and dance first the way the Yi tribe live: the men would go on the the "Tea-horse" caravans which plied between Yunnan and Tibet, the 5 tribes of the Yi people will compete with each other in courage and enterprise, whilst the women will look after home and harth and when the men return, they will have a feast in which they drink and display their physical prowesss and then lose themselves in an alcohol haze. Then we saw how the two young lovers meet, fell in love, how they went up the mountain, followed by the young brother of the girl running after her and begging her to change her mind but to no avail, because she was resolute in her wish, how the villagers tried their best to retain her but could do nothing to stop it and finally how their tribal shaman gave them his blessings. The show ended appropriately with a song about the clear sky and the freedom it brings to the human heart  in the language of the Naxi tribe (纳西族) sung in a clear female voice, its vibrations conveyed by two enormous sound boxes on each side of the huge open air stage under the sky. The Naxi tribe has a population of about 300,000 and ranks 27th in terms of number amongst all the ethnic groups in the PRC and about 95% of them live in the Li Jiang area in Yunnan Province. This is what she sang:

 "Here, every day, every day, we enjoy the baptism of of Nature,
 the baptism of the sun,
 baptism of snow and mountains,
 baptism of water and grass,
 baptism by tanned skin,
 baptism by yells,
 baptism by scorching direct gazes,
 baptism by rough hands,
 baptism by guileless smiles.
 Till now, standing here, we, clear, transparent in body, pure in looks,.
 Till now, we find being alive, is so real, so good.
 What reason do we have,  not to be grateful for life?
 You Here,  like us, far away from the noise of steel and concrete,
 Washed clean of worries of the trifles of daily life,
 Never having taken a big breath of joy,
 Isn't that a bounty of Nature?
 Please place your hands across your forehead,
 Let your eyes look afar, towards the sky, put your hands together,
 Stretch out your arms, high above your head,
 Make a wish, in this wonderful place.
 It will give us the happiness we're looking for,
 Make a wish of that which you most desire,
 Follow us, through the wonderful door of hope,
 Let your wish stay in the incense bowl full of five cereals in Impressions Lijiang"

and in mandarin:

"每一天 每一天 我们都在享受 大自然的洗礼 阳光的洗礼 雪与山的洗礼 水与草的洗礼 被黝黑的皮肤洗礼 被高亢的吼声洗礼 被直灼的目光洗礼 被粗糙的双手洗礼 被无邪的笑容洗礼 直到现在 站在这里的 我们 清澈 通体透明 目光纯净 直到现在 我们发现 活著 是如此真实 美好 我们凭什么 不去感恩生命 在这里的你们 和我们一样 远离了钢筋水泥的喧嚣 洗净了凡庸俗事的困扰 从未有过的 快乐地大口呼吸 难道这不是大自然给予的恩泽么? 难道这不是大自然给予的厚待么? 请把你的双手交叉 放在额头 让你的目光遂远 向著天的方向 双手合十 展开你的双臂 高举过头 许下你的愿望吧 在这个神奇的地方 它给予我们想要的快乐 许下你最想实现的愿望 跟著我们 穿过这扇憧憬的神奇之门 将你的愿望 留在这盛满五谷的香炉中 留在印象丽江"





The snow covered Jade Dragon Peak



The show was the joint efforts of the five tribes making up the united "Yi people", with one representative from each tribe



A show of solidarity between the members of the five constituent tribes.



The tribesmen dancing with the saddles they use in their "tea-horse barter" treks to Tibet


A team of "tea-horse" caravan with their leader



The same group spread out



The women with their baskets of tea leaves



The caravan has started



More joined in the trek to Tibet


They are ready to depart



Another tribe is also ready to depart



The members of the two caravans join forces



Members of two tribes engage in a friendly competition of their ability to drink, make witty rhyming words for drinking (酒令) and the acrobatic agility of their bodies.
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The young lover announces his wish and his vow to the god of the Jade Dragon Peak



The brother of the lady begs her not to go up



He is joined by all the ladies in the village



All the members of the 5 tribes joined in. But nothing can deter the firm resolution of the two lovers



Shamans from the five tribes gather together to join in to celebrate their love and to give them their blessings



The shaman calls upon the people to join in their blessing of the lovers



Drummers at the top of the stage



The head drummer gives the signal to start striking



The drums start rolling in celebration of the love of the true lovers.



a closer view of some of the drummers



To engage the audience, some tribesmen with hand drums went between the aisles



A hand drummer at my side

The valley resounded with the heavy rhythm  of the celebratory drum rolls in praise of true love.

7 則留言:

  1. when I was there, no such show....so sad
    [蔚藍回覆02/02/2012 21:17:25]謝謝, 超哥
    [超哥回覆02/02/2012 10:16:35]Here's a video on youku:

    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjYxMjAzNjc2.html
    [版主回覆02/01/2012 22:06:18]Well, I don't think that should cause any problem. You can always watch it on u-tube.

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  2. Beautiful snow mountain which is even more beautiful than the Lake Louise in Banff.
    Lake Louise is one of the top honeymoon destinations in Canada. ...^_^...
    [版主回覆02/01/2012 22:08:10]Never been to Louise in Banff in Canada. So I wouldn't know. But I guess you must be right, having seen both.

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  3. Chang Yimou surely is a great dramatist! To be frank, the plot-line is not new and has been exploited by many dramatic creators. To make such indelible impression on you with an old idea needs a man who is skillful and knows what he is doing!
    [pinkpanther501101回覆02/01/2012 23:15:38]I totally agree! Judging from the photos, this show is magnificient in terms of scale and small details and it must have a mesmerizing impact on those who like the "spectacular"! As to genres of art that tell "long stories", eg novels,I think content is also important! Having a chance blogging with you is good to me, I learn a lot!
    [版主回覆02/01/2012 22:11:32]Yes, he has a knack for creating "spectacles". "Art" is concerned with "how" to do certain things in an unusual and attention grabbing way, not merely with "what" those things may be in the abstract or in general. Art is concerned with "form" and only incidentally with "content". That is where its value resides.

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  4. 玉龍雪山真美! El Zorro 拍的照片也清晰伶俐地介紹了這雪山下、 天高地濶的表演場景! 特愛第三幅天地合一的大舞臺! 謝謝!
    [版主回覆02/01/2012 22:15:37]The Mountain looks and "feels" even more beautiful when you are there, right under its feet and can feel the cold, crisp air blowing upon your face and see the snow glistening in the sunlight. The snow is so bright that you hardly keep your eyes there for any substantial periods of time! Glad you like the photos.

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  5. Very beautiful place. I wish I can be there to take photo like you.
    [版主回覆02/02/2012 13:42:56]Yes, it's well worth a visit. The sky so blue, the air so crisp and the trees so green.

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  6. 想必現場十分震撼,兩次到過雲南都沒看到.
    [版主回覆02/04/2012 00:07:22]You're right. The "actors" were very well trained! And the sheer numbers and lay out are impressive. I believe that what make the show especially moving is that the "actors" put their heart into it! Of course, the sky and the mountain also adds a certain authenticity to the story.

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  7. A pleasant reminder of my viewing of the same show in Yunnan!
    [版主回覆02/06/2012 14:26:51]It was good!

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