Amazing China Program - Portland State University

SPONSORED BY
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
CO-SPONSORED BY
PORTLAND CHINESE TIMES
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY CHINESE STUDENT &
SCHOLARS’ ASSOCIATION
A CHINESE CONCERT
Chinese Opera, vocal,
instrumental music, and
acrobatics presented by
Confucius Institute of
Chinese Opera at
Binghamton University
Oregon Convention Center
777 Northeast Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard,
Portland, OR 97232
February 9, 2013, 7:00 pm

AMAZING SONG OF CHINA: SILK: A A CHINESE CONCERT
The Program
Face Changing 川剧变脸
Sichuan opera performed by Liu Chunnuan
The Drunken Royal Concubine 贵妃醉酒
Beijing opera performed by Tu Linghui
Message: Thoughts after Reading a Tang Poem—The Way of the
Pipa 诉—读《琵琶行》有感
Ambush from All Sides 十面埋伏
Wang Chengzhi on pipa
Acrobatics: Plate Spinning 杂技:转碟
Zhang Rui
The Crossroads Inn 三岔口
Beijing opera performed by Liu Chunnuan and Wang Fei
Demonstration on Wushu 武术演示
Summit Wushu Academy
The New Legend of Pipa: Composing Eighteen Laments
续琵琶:制拍
Kunqu opera performed by Tu Linghui
Acrobatics: Barrel Contortion 杂技:钻桶
Zhang Rui
A Ditty from the Yimeng Mountain 沂蒙山小调
Beautiful Grassland, My Home 美丽的草原我的家
Heavenly Road 天路
Beautiful Mood 美丽的心情
Hong Zhang, mezzo-soprano
Uproar in Heaven 闹天宫
Beijing opera performed by Liu Chunnuan, Wang Fei, and Tu Linghui
AMAZING CHINA: A CHINESE CONCERT
She has been teaching at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre
Arts since 2000. Authot of many articles, Wang is currently a Visiting
Associate Professor of Music at Binghamton University .
WANG Fei 王飞, specializing in playing wusheng
(man with martial art skills) characters, has been
trained to perform Beijing Opera since a very young
age. After graduating from Shanxi Theatre Academy
in 1999, Wang entered Beijing Opera Institution of
Shanxi Province and toured France and Belgian. He
has won many awards, including 2005 CCTV competition
of Young Beijing Opera Performers and
2008 CNTY National competition of Young Beijing
Opera Performers.
Hong ZHANG 张泓 holds a Master of Music degree
in Voice Performance from Binghamton University,
and a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice
Performance from the University of Wisconsin-
Madison. Currently an Instructor of Chinese and
associate faculty member of Music at Binghamton
University, Zhang has been an active soloist at numerous
concerts and with many groups. She gives
lectures and recitals on Chinese vocal music and culture as well as
workshops on Teaching Chinese through Song nationwide and abroad.
ZHANG Rui 张瑞 started her formal training
in Chinese acrobatics since a very young age.
Later, she became the principal performer for
the Heilongjiang Acrobatic Troupe, one of
China’s most respected acrobatic groups. And
with the troupe, she began touring different
countries, including Japan, Russia, Canada, and
United States. Her performance has been wellreceived
and won her many awards. Since relocating to the United
States in 2001, Zhang has been devoted to promoting Chinese performing
arts. She is currently a member of New York Chinese Traditional
Art Center.

AMAZING CHINA: A CHINESE CONCERT
AMAZING CHINA: A A CHINESE CONCERT
About the Performers
LIU Chunnuan 刘春暖, is a well-known Beijing
Opera actor and the Artistic Director of the New
York Chinese Traditional Art Center, an organization
dedicated to promoting Chinese culture to the U.S.
audience. After graduating from Shenyang Institute
of Arts, Liu joined the Shenyang Beijing Opera
Theatre in 1996 and performed Beijing Opera since.
In 2005, he accepted an Appreciation Award in recognition
of his outstanding contribution to the United
Nations Day.
Summit Wushu Academy is a high-level Chinese martial arts school,
dedicated to the preservation and awareness of Wushu. Led by internationally
recognized head instructors, Phillip Dang & Peter Dang, the
academy provides in-depth and detailed training of Chinese martial
arts.
TU Linghui 涂玲慧 is a National Class-one Performer
in China. She has won the 4 th Plum Blossom
Award for Chinese Theatre and the 1 st Wenhua
Performance Award. Besides being a fine performer,
Tu also takes a stab at directing. Works
directed include Tea-picking Opera Village Teamleader,
Kunqu Opera The New Legend of Pipa:
Composing Eighteen Laments, and many more.
Among them, Beijing Opera Story of the Broken
Finger and Pingju Opera Empress Zhangsun have been awarded the
Class-one Performance Award at Liaoning Art Festival and Shenyang
Art Festival respectively. She is currently a Visiting Professor of Theatre
at Binghamton University.
WANG Chengzhi 王承植, a pipa musician, is a
member of Chinese Musician Association and Chinese
National Orchestra Association and a National Class-
Two Artist in China. Wang has won many national
awards, including Best Program in the 4 th Music and
Dance Festival of Fujian Province in 1984 and Outstanding
Teacher in the 3 rd “Gold Lusheng” China’s
National Instrumental Music Contest in 2012.
Program Notes
1. Face Changing 川剧变脸
“Face Changing (bian lian) is an important aspect
of Sichuan Opera, and the precise technique used to
change masks has been a closely guarded secret. The
secret has been passed down within theatre families
from generation to generation.
2. The Drunken Royal Concubine 贵妃醉酒
It is an anecdote describing a lovers’ quarrel between
Lady Yang and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (618-906).
Lady Yang has a banquet set up in the Imperial Garden, and then invites
the Emperor to join her. But the Emperor has gone to the chamber
of another royal concubine. With her heart gnawed by jealousy and anger,
Lady Yang drinks by herself until she falls into a stupor.
3. Message: Thoughts after Reading a Tang Poem—The Way of the
Pipa 诉—读《琵琶行》有感
This beautiful work pays homage to a long poem written by Bai Juyi of
the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the poem, Bai describes the sound of
pipa as refined and delicate. Meanwhile, it can also display darker emotions
— anger, sorrow and grief — the pipa is given a voice that transcends
its cultural context.
4. Ambush from All Sides 十面埋伏
This famous Chinese classical score was composed on the basis of a
battle in 202 B.C. between the armies of Chu and Han at Gaixia, by the
Wujiang River. Through its passionate and majestic tune, the audience
could almost see the fierce, desolate, solemn and stirring scenes of the
battle and hear the sounds of soldiers shouting, horse galloping, and
weapon striking.
5. Acrobatics: Plate Spinning 杂技:转碟
Plate spinning is a traditional acrobatic act dating back to the Han Dynasty
(206BC-220AD). Performer spins and manipulates plates, bowls,
or other flat objects on poles, without them falling off.

AMAZING CHINA: A CHINESE CONCERT AMAZING CHINA: A CHINESE CONCERT
6. The Crossroads Inn 三岔口
Jiao Zan, a general of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), who defends Song
against the northern Jurchen invaders, is exiled to Sha Men Island.
Jiao’s commander orders Ren Tanghui to disguise himself and to protect
Jiao secretly. While General Jiao is staying in a small inn at the
crossroad, the inn keeper Liu Lihua suspects that Ren Tanghui had
come to kill Jiao. They fight in the dark, until they realize that they both
are trying to protect the same man.
7. Demonstration on Wushu 武术演示
Wushu, translated as "martial arts" in Chinese, is the accurate term to
what many people commonly know as Kung Fu. All branches of Chinese
martial arts such as Taiji, Shaolin, Wudang, weapons training, etc.,
fall under the umbrella term: Wushu.
8. The New Legend of Pipa: Composing Eighteen Laments 续琵
琶:制拍
The work tells about Cai Wenji, a Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220)
woman poet and composer, who was taken prisoner by the Huns and
became a chieftain's wife but eventually returned home.
One day, after living with the nomads for ten years, Wenji heard someone
was playing hujia (nomad flute); the plaintive sound produced by
the instrument reminded her of the misfortune in her life. Then she
composed a long narrative poem to chant her nostalgic yearning for
hometown and reluctance to tear herself away from endeared ones. The
audience could feel Wenji’s deep sorrow and grief from the excerpt
“Composing Eighteen Laments”.
9. Acrobatics: Barrel Contortion 杂技:钻桶
Barrel contortion is another popular Chinese acrobatic act. Performer
moves in and out of a small barrel in various contorting moves. Flexibility
is a must to perform well.
10. A Ditty from the Yimeng Mountain 沂蒙山小调
Lyrics: Everybody likes Yimeng Mountain because it is so pretty:
a gentle breeze sweeps over sheep on the green mountain, red sorghum
decorates people’s happy life. (Shangdong folksong)
11. Beautiful Grassland, My Home 美丽的草原我的家
Lyrics: The beautiful grasslands are my home. Steeds gallop like
colorful clouds. Cows and sheep are like spreading pearls. The shepherd
girl’s happy songs reach afar. (Inner Mongolian folksong)
12. Heavenly Road 天路
Lyrics: I stand on the high mountain at dawn, watching the railroad
built in my hometown. A huge dragon flies through the mountain
peaks, bringing luck and prosperity to our snowy plateau. That is a
wonderful road to the sky—the mountains are no longer high and the
roads are no longer far. The wine is sweet, the tea is fragrant; happy
songs fly everywhere. (Tibetan folksong)
13. Beautiful Mood 美丽的心情
Lyrics: Wind sends the doves to the starry sky; the moon shines
upon our happy dancing. Let our dreams grow auspicious wings; let
beautiful moods follow us everywhere. (Modern art song)
14. Uproar in Heaven 闹天宫
Based on one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature,
Journey to the West, this play tells the story of how the Monkey
King challenges the authority by putting Heaven in uproar. The excerpt
we are going to see is how Monkey King defeats the Jade Emperor’s
guards with ease. Due to its large amount of martial arts, this
is one of the most popular Beijing opera repertoires.