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THE GREAT WALLHistory, Culture & Chinese SymbolismThe Chinese call the Great Wall the "Wall of Ten Thousand Li (kilometers)". The Great Wall, with a width of six horses standing side by side, stretches over 4,000 miles, farther than the distance from New York to San Francisco. It was built by hand over 3,000 years ago to ward off the invading Huns. How the stones on the Wall were bonded before the advent of modern building methods such as cement is a wonder. The effort to feed the army of workers on the Wall project alone is imponderable. Folktales derived from the Great Wall are legendary. Most popular of all is the sad and tragic story of Meng Jiang Nu and her husband Fan Shi Liang. Fan was drafted to build the Wall soon after their wedding. Worried about the severe weather, Meng knitted a blanket for her husband, and walked thousands of miles to where he was working, only to be told that he was dead. She cried day and night. Suddenly a portion of the Wall crumbled, exposing the body of her beloved. The folk song 'Meng Jiang-Nu,' which narrates this tragic love story, is known to generations of Chinese. Another popular tune 'The Song of the Great Wall' by contemporary Chinese composer Liu Shiu-An, invokes melancholic sentiments of historic and patriotic events associated with the Wall. More recently, Chinese-American writer professor Katherine Cho created new lyrics for the same melody, expressing introspective sentiments of overseas Chinese expatriated from their homeland. THE GREAT WALL SYMBOLIZES LOVE, SACRIFICE AND HEROISM; IT EMBRACES UNIVERSAL VIRTUES OF HUMANITY EMANATING FROM; THE PROFOUND HISTORY AND RICH CULTURE OF THE CHINESE |
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__________________________________________________________________ The Chinese Fine Arts Society (CFAS) was founded in 1984 as
a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the education and promotion of the
Chinese cultural arts. In
Chicago’s culturally diversified society, CFAS provides programs and
activities that promote the understanding of Chinese culture through music and
other fine arts. By presenting
traditional Chinese music compositions by Chinese composers and performances of
Chinese music on western instruments, CFAS hopes to reach a broad audience and
heighten their awareness of the richness of Chinese culture. For
more information on the Chinese Fine Arts Society, please visit their website at www.chinesefinearts.org
or contact them at info@chinesefinearts.org The Chinese Fine Arts Society Sherwood
Conservatory Building 1312
South Michigan Avenue Chicago,
Ill 60605 312-427-6267x183 www.chinesefinearts.org
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