In April this year, the large-scale tea culture epic musical "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun" produced by Xinhua Network was staged at the Guangqi Theater of the China Historical Research Institute. The performance was hosted by the China Historical Research Institute and Xinhua Net.
The drama is composed of Xu Shanna as the chief planner and chief screenwriter, Tian Shubin as the director, And Ming Na as the artistic director; the director is Peng Ming, and the executive director is Wang Shuai.
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"Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun" takes a "tea dream" of the protagonist "Hua Yan" as the main line. The audience will follow "Hua Yan" through the five important periods in the development of tea culture in the "Ancient Pangu Period", "Ancient Shennong Period", "Tang", "Song" and "Ming and Qing Dynasties", and through his experience and growth, experience and pursue the connotation of the tea ceremony - the tea ceremony is the Heavenly Dao, the tea ceremony is humanity, and the tea ceremony is the heart.
Stills from the show
In the play, "Hua Yan" is both a dreamer and a dream person. He first incarnated as Pangu, presenting a magnificent scene that broke new ground and witnessing the birth of the first tea leaf; then became a Shennong, tasting hundreds of herbs every day to save the people plagued by poisons, and finally found the sacred grass -- "tea" at the top of the mountain; from the Tang Dynasty, he experienced the tragic and joyful life of "Tea Saint" Lu Yu and wrote the three volumes of the "Tea Classic"; and then came to the Song Dynasty that opened the "tea ceremony is the way of the heart", to appreciate the prosperity of tea into thousands of homes, recreating the most famous public case of Zen tea - the allusion to eating tea; in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, he embarked on the Silk Road. Escorting the Chinese tea ceremony to the world, the plot is also based on three scenes in Japan, Britain, and Sri Lanka, and the original source is clear, conveying to the audience that one of the cores of the play, the tea ceremony, originated from China and will surely flourish in China again.
Through this journey of "Huayan", the audience can learn about a series of rich tea culture knowledge such as the preparation, usage and drinking method of tea. In addition to vividly explaining the history of tea culture, the whole drama also shows the use of tea in a timeline, including: raw food method in ancient times, tea boiling method before Sui and Tang Dynasties, Sencha method in Tang Dynasty, tea ordering method in Song Dynasty, and tea brewing method after Yuanming. At the same time, the audience can also understand the evolution of China's tea ceremony schools from the play: with the development of history, in different cultural backgrounds, four major tea ceremony schools unique to China have been formed, namely the aristocratic tea ceremony, the Yashi tea ceremony, the folk tea ceremony and the Zen tea ceremony.
"Tea Ceremony: A Leaf of Qiankun" is a dream about tea, which is both magnificent and full of delicate emotions, which is both a "tea dream" and a Chinese dream. It is different from the traditional sense of stage drama, it takes symphony + dance + story as the artistic expression, integrates 3D holographic technology, from Pangu to the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, extending to "building a community of human destiny", praising the long history of Chinese civilization, reflecting the open and inclusive national spirit of the Chinese nation, refracting the optimistic and kind nature of Chinese sons and daughters in subtle emotions, and awakening people's awe and confidence in history and culture in a touch of tea fragrance.
At the performance site, the wonderful interpretation of this "tea dream" on the stage was strongly resonated by the audience. When the actors returned to the stage, the audience used unceasing applause to repay the actors' excellent performances and the shock of the whole performance.
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Zhong Chengxiang was interviewed
After watching the complete play, Zhong Chengxiang, a librarian of the Central Research Museum of Literature and History, the former vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Critics, the former chairman of the China Literary and Art Critics Association, and a famous literary and art critic, believes that the large-scale tea culture epic musical "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun" produced by Xinhua Net has a good intention and theme. However, it is difficult to express the history of tea culture spanning thousands of years in the form of an epic musical. The Chinese philosophical and aesthetic spirit that must be manifested by the tea ceremony and humanity and the avenue is extremely rich and profound. The play has made useful explorations and innovations in this regard.
Luo Qianpeng was interviewed
Luo Qianqian, executive director of the Chinese Tea People's Association, director of the China International Tea Culture Research Association, and president of the Seal Carving Institute of the China Academy of Arts, commented: "'Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun' was filmed very well, and the whole drama verified a very important issue through the historical process of the protagonist Hua Yan's crossing of various dynasties in ancient times, that is, the fact that 'the hometown of tea is China, and the tea ceremony originates from China'. In fact, tea has three levels that can bring pleasure to people: first of all, the physiological level, through the taste of tea, to bring us physiological pleasure; secondly, the spiritual level, the tea ceremony is through a kind of spiritual education to bring us the pursuit of life cultivation; and finally there is a very important level, that is, tea can bring people peace, there is a saying called 'tea and the world', tea can bring harmony and tranquility to people. These three aspects of tea are fully expressed in "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun". ”
Zhao Cong was interviewed
Zhao Cong, head of the Central Chinese Orchestra and a famous pipa player, said: "After watching the whole play, I learned a lot about the history of tea culture, especially the chapter of the Song Dynasty, and the interpretation of the Zen meaning of tea is very topical and thought-provoking. Through this way of storytelling, it is very meaningful to spread the Chinese tea ceremony and Chinese culture. ”
Zhou Zhengbing was interviewed
Professor Zhou Zhengbing, director of the Department of Cultural Industry Management of the Central University of Finance and Economics, believes that tea, as one of the symbols carrying Chinese culture, currently lacks special weight in the field of performing arts. The launch of "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf of Qiankun" by xinhuanet and two heavyweight institutions of the China Academy of History is a very meaningful attempt in this regard. This is also an important way for today's culture to go to society through industrialization and to go international in the future. It is hoped that this drama can produce a "ripple" phenomenon and spread this "ripple" wider and wider.
Before the performance, China Tea provided services to the audience on the spot
At the premiere site, as the tea art service provider designated by the "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun", the Products of China Tea Brand also received praise from the guests present. China Tea said that in the future, it will continue to hold hands with XinhuaNet's "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun" to contribute to the development of the tea industry and the inheritance of tea culture.
It is reported that "Tea Ceremony: A Leaf Qiankun" was staged twice in a row on April 12 and 13.
Source: Xinhua Net
Author: Yuan Sitao, Yiyuan Xing Heyang
Producer: Yang Yu
Edit: Bai Yuchen