By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

On the evening of June 22, the large-scale traditional Chinese music concert Visiting Yuzhou without Bidding Farewell to My Darling was staged at Chongqing Guotai Arts Center.

The ancient poems about the Bayu areas (today’s Sichuan and Chongqing areas) contain the humanistic spirit of the Chinese Nation and have been acclaimed as the Treasure of the Bayu Culture. A vast number of ancient Ba people and such great poets as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Li Shangyin, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian had written numerous poems in Chongqing. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 10,000 poems about the city.

The large-scale traditional Chinese music concert was staged at Chongqing Guotai Arts Center to present Chongqing's culture and landscape

In June 2017, Chongqing Daily launched the large-scale serial Omnimedia reporting themed on “Retracing the Path of Ancient Poems and Visiting Yuzhou (Today’s Chongqing) Because of You — the Map of Exploring Ancient Poems about Chongqing.” The newspaper staff had covered 38 districts and counties to visit the places which appeared in the related ancient poems and find out some undiscovered ones. They aimed to display the brilliant culture of the city, and as a result, made a great stir in society.

To further uphold and spread the humanistic spirit and Bayu culture, Chongqing Performance Arts Group joined hands with Chongqing Daily to select the Top 10 Beautiful Poetic Conceptions in Bayu History. Moreover, Chongqing Chinese Orchestra cooperated with China National Traditional Orchestra to create and stage this large traditional Chinese music concert.

To further uphold and spread the humanistic spirit and Bayu culture, Chongqing Performance Arts Group joined hands with Chongqing Daily to select the Top 10 Beautiful Poetic Conceptions in Bayu History, the image is Guotai Arts Center

The concert consisted of 11 independent works: A Beautiful Lady Waiting for Her Beloved (Overture), Visiting Yuzhou without Bidding Farewell to My Darling, Evening Rain in the Ba Mountain, Light Scenes at the Intersection of Yangtze River and Jialing River at Chongqing, Raining Here but Sunny There, Ode of the Fairy, Missing of Wu Mountain, Climbing, I Reside at the Upstream of the Yangtze River, Twinkling Lights, and Trip to Jingling. The works were all written by well-known Chinese artists, with a high level of artistry.

The concert was played by more than 160 players, with Guqin, flute, Pipa and Er’hu as the main musical instruments and multiple methods of expression such as chorus, duet, and chanting. By blending the forms of symphony, recitation, and dancing, it allowed the audiences to feel the miraculous power and artistic tension of ethnic orchestral music, as well as the magnificent vision and lasting charm of the ancient poems about the Bayu areas.

Source: Chongqing Daily News