CALGARY, Alberta—“Tiananmen Square hero” Lu Decheng was among the full house audience at the Shen Yun Performing Arts matinee at Calgary’s Jubilee Auditorium on Easter Sunday.
Mr. Lu, who came to the show with his son, was one of the students during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989 who threw paint-filled eggs at the famous portrait of Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square.
He spent nine years in a Chinese jail before finding a safe haven in Canada after Canadian authorities secured his release from a Thai detention centre.
“I’ve watched the Shen Yun show every year for the past three years,” Mr. Lu said.
“Every year it gives me a new sensation, particularly this year’s dance, The Udumbara’s Bloom. It’s very interesting. Before, I was never aware of the udumbara flower. Whether the beauty or the prophecy, I think I want to explore more about it.”
Lore has it that Buddha Sakamuni, founder of the Buddhist school, spoke of the tiny yet elegant udumbara flowers that bloom only once every 3,000 years. Its blossoming is said to signal the arrival of a great sage or king. Udumbara flowers have been spotted in many countries in recent years.
“The name of the performing arts company Shen Yun reflects the fact that Chinese believe that their culture is divinely inspired. According to my understanding, gods descended to become humans, and ultimately need to return to their original, true selves,” said Mr. Lu.
New York-based Shen Yun was founded by leading Chinese artists seeking to revive China’s traditional culture—a culture that was all but destroyed under communist rule—and present it to audiences around the world through classical Chinese dance and music.
“Nowadays, traditional values are being destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party. So, it is even more important for us to construct and revive these beliefs and culture again. I think Shen Yun dedicated a lot to this cause. I think reconstructing the culture and belief of Chinese is very meaningful for all mankind,” said Mr. Lu.
With reorting by NTDTV
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org