THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS

I NEVER THOUGHT THAT “KUNQU” WOULD BE FOR ME EVEN THOUGH I’VE BEEN MUCH INTO CHINESE CLASSICAL MUSIC, UNTIL LAST SPRING WHEN I REALIZED THAT IT MIGHT BE TIME FOR ME – THE “MI MI WOMAN” – TO FIND OUT HOW THE “MI MI JI YIN” WAS, THEN I APPROACHED THE KUNQU SOCIETY.
SOMEONE SAID:”THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS IN LIFE AREN’T THINGS”, SO TRUE! THEY ARE SOMETHING CATCHING YOUR EYES, SOMETHING WITHHOLDING YOUR BREATHS, SOMETHING ENTHRALLING YOUR HEART; THEY DWELL IN THE ARTS, ALL KINDS OF, INCLUDING KUNQU, ESPECIALLY KUNQU.
BY NOW I KIND OF UNDERSTAND HOW “MI MI” IT IS; IT WEAKENS YOUR SOUL, DESTROYS YOUR RESISTANCE, AND MAKES YOU FALL WHOLEHEARTEDLY, SIMPLY BY ITS BEAUTY. WHEREAS, TOWARDS WHICH THERES IS NO DEFINITION OR GUIDELINE, EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN WAYS TO APPRECIATE, INTERPRET AND EXPRESS BASED ON THEIR DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, LIFE EXPERIENCES. THAT’S WHY WHAT PUTS OTHERS TO SLEEP MIGHT CREATE A DREAMY ATMOSPHERE FOR ME AND, WHAT SOUNDS LIKE “MI MI JI YIN” TO OTHERS MIGHT JUST BE THE “TIEN LAI JI YIN” (MELODIES FROM THE HEAVEN) TO MY EARS.
THESE FEELINGS WERE STUCK IN MY THROAT SINCE LAST WEEKEND AFTER I WATCHED THE “60YEARS SEARCHING FOR THE DREAM”. THROUGH IT I GOT TO KNOW NOT ONLY THE BACKGROUND OF SHANGHAI KUNQU, BUT ALSO THE STRUGGLES AND BITTERNESS OF THE KUNQU PERFORMERS AT THEN THE SOCIETY STAGE.
I TRULLY THANK TEACHER ANNA, A KUNQU ANGEL, WHO ALWAYS SHARES DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, AND TECHNIQUES ABOUT KUNQU WITH US, ENABLES US TO GROW IN KUNQU WITH DEPTH.
TSOU