In a special series, The Epoch Times takes a close look at the renaissance of China’s traditional culture and how a New York based performing arts company has become its driving force.
The need for a renaissance implies that something has been lost and needs to be rediscovered—something vitally important from the past that holds a key to the success of the future.
Such was the case with the European Renaissance that began in the late middle ages in Italy. Through studying the works of ancient scholars, learning and the arts flourished throughout Europe.
Although many may not yet be aware of it, a modern-day renaissance is currently underway to revive the ancient arts and traditions of China—one of the oldest and richest cultures on earth.
A renaissance is necessary because, thanks to the campaigns and purges that took place after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power in China, the culture has been decimated to the point that today it is simply an empty imitation of what it once was.
One of the CCP’s foremost agendas was to systematically eradicate traditional culture in order to pave the way for its atheist Marxist ideology. Mao Zedong’s Great Cultural Revolution destroyed the cultural foundations of 5,000 years and left the people confused and fearful, unable to resist the brutal force of the totalitarian regime.
Not only were the country’s historical artifacts and cultural treasures methodically destroyed during that time, but the ethics and values handed down for millennia were all but erased.
China’s Cultural Foundations
Although China has a unique and varied history with numerous ethnic groups, emperors, and dynasties, there are a few characteristics that formed the foundation of its culture and are the basis for the country’s most significant achievements.
Three major schools of thought have governed China’s development throughout its long history: Daoism, founded by Lao Zi, Buddhism founded by Shakyamuni, and Confucianism. Without the teachings from these three schools, Chinese culture would have lacked its profound spiritual depth.
Different in many ways, these ancient teachings share a common denominator in one core principle: the development of one’s moral quality is the basis for success in any worldly or spiritual endeavour.
Whether it was China’s famed Shaolin Monks or the many scholars throughout history, they all took this principle as their guiding philosophy. The ancients proved, through real practice, that the higher a person’s morality the greater his achievements.
Qigong
The roots of the current renaissance can be traced to the mid-1970s when an upsurge of what was called qigong practice began. These slow-moving, body/mind exercises had ancient roots in the different cultivation schools of China’s past, and their benign appearance coupled with their tremendous health benefits allowed them to flourish under the communist regime.
People began to realize that these ancient practices contained more than simple movements—they were ways of improving the body as well as one’s moral character. Those who practiced discovered a way of living different from the atheistic doctrines of the CCP, and they also began to rediscover the traditional values of the true Chinese culture.
As qigong became more widespread, many artists and intellectuals began to see the practice as a way of reconnecting to the past.
However, the renaissance of Chinese culture is taking place not in China but in the West, with New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts leading the way. Reviving a traditional culture steeped in moral values simply would not be allowed to take place under China’s communist regime—a regime so paranoid that it feels threatened by the mere mention of traditional thought.
The concept of self-cultivation is a prerequisite for the Shen Yun performers, most of whom are ethnic Chinese, embodying the fundamental principle that honing one’s moral quality is the basis for success.
The performers’ skill and technique comes from their moral quality as much as from their hours of hard practice. This is what truly sets Shen Yun apart and why they are able to lead the revival of this ancient, divinely-inspired culture.
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