Semester 2

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics  (3/16/25, Alexander Street, "The Songs of China")

(#Theater)

I watched a play online titled “The Songs of China”, via UMD’s streaming service. After watching the film, I learned what influenced the popular songs in China and learned that composers in China take a lot of inspiration from nature. For example, in one of Hanggai’s songs, (a Chinese band based in Beijing) the lyrics go: “Ill be back with you when the spring has come and the flowers are in bloom”. Although they are based in Beijing, they go down to inner Mongolia to write their music as they take inspiration from the rural landscape and they find it “more relaxing” for them to write and rehearse. I’m able to connect this to the lesson I learned two weeks ago in my “Raider’s of the Lost Art” workshop, where we learned about Chinese porcelain painting. A key characteristic of the Chinese Porcelain painting was that the pottery also typically consisted of scenes from nature, like flowers or bamboo. The Chinese saw a lot of symbolism in nature, such as bamboo representing longevity, which is why they incorporated it a lot into their pottery.  I also find it interesting how different Dynasties influenced different parts of Chinese culture, because Chinese Porcelain painting was inspired by the Ming Dynasty, whereas the Yuan Dynasty inspired a lot of Hunggai’s tunes. 

The Raiders of the Lost Art workshop also focuses heavily on emphasizing the importance of reviving “lost” art forms. In the film, it touched on how one of China’s most famous singers right now is Luo Tiyani, a virtual singer, and how this could pose as a threat to real singers. However, the band Hanggai is a representation of how traditional art forms are still thriving and serve as at timeless piece of art in the world.