Post by sushan520 on Aug 9, 2008 12:39:22 GMT
Must read: Beijing Games kicks off
It was grand. It was eye-poping. It was filled with oohs and aahs.
The curtain is pulled, the show is staged, and the Games officially kicked off at the 8th minute, 08/08/08, a team of four eights that will bode well for the Chinese, and the world.
It's time of joy, and it's time of world unity.
China's brand-new National Stadium, also nicknamed Bird's Net, is packed with more than 90,000,
among them are a slew of heads of states, princes and princesses, government ministers,
celebrities of all walks, and IOC president, vice-presidents and members, athletes and visitors
from all over the world, who all are distinguished guests of China.
The opening ceremony celebrated Chinese civilization and the importance of harmony. As a
production of performing arts, it had got to be the biggest in Chinese history, with 15,000
people in the cast and 13 months of rehearsal time. Here is a rundown of the numbers for the
show.
The Opening
The star of this number is a drum called "fou", which can be traced back to the Xia and Shang
dynasties (2070BC-1046BC). It was made of ceramic or bronze and resembles the ancient vessel
of "ding", commonly seen in museums and dating from the same period.
The 2,008 "fou" drums form a matrix that occupies both sides of the arena, leaving only the
central rectangle empty.
Of course, these are more than regular square drums. The top can emit light, and so can the
two sticks. When robe-clad drummers beat on them, gargantuan words and shapes appear, such
as the countdown numbers and the effect of sweeping light.
At the heart of this number lies the traditional group calisthenics. But the high-tech upgrade
gives it a palpable surprise: No more flipping of cards; no more human bodies forming gigantic
flower petals. It is art steeped in 3,000 years of history.
Scroll
The visual theme of the ceremony is laid down when a pair of scrolls, measuring 2m in diameter
and 22m in height, are elevated out of the central rectangle stage. The scrolls part to reveal
a traditional Chinese ink painting. Throughout the evening, both the scrolls and the painting,
actually an LED display, constantly change their images.
For this number, a piece of blank paper, 20m X 11m, 20mm thick and actually weighing 800 kg, is
placed at the center of the ink painting and functions as a canvas where a dozen dancers use
their bodies as paintbrushes. It is a modern dance with abstract movements. However, what they
draw resemble clouds, mountains, rivers and the sun.
Eventually, the whole painting (i.e. the LED part) transforms into Landscape of a Thousand
Miles, a rare painting from Wang Ximeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1276AD).
All the while, a guqin (a Chinese zither) is being played in a fan-shaped stage up from the
central performing area.
This number is quite artsy. It leads right to the area of high culture, and it features
modern dance as the icing on the scroll cake. It also provides a welcome respite for a quiet
moment in an evening of razzle-dazzle.
Writing
My grandma used to say that Chinese words were created by Confucius. Of course it was not
true, but this number seems to be based on this urban myth.
There are 3,000 dancers clad in Confucius period costumes, supposedly playing the Sage's
disciples. Carrying bamboo scrolls, one of the earliest forms of books, they intone familiar
mantras from his Analects, mandatory for a Chinese education.
In the center are 897 dancers, each hidden inside a cube. They simulate the movable type,
which was first invented by Bi Sheng of the Song Dynasty (969-1276AD). This invention was
instrumental in the growth of human civilization.
Later, the cube matrix graduates to a computer keyboard.
The Chinese character "he", meaning harmony or peace, is shown to evolve from various stages
of calligraphy. The Great Wall and peach flowers are also replicated, with the help of the
LED painting.
This is probably the most ingenious in the whole program. The wonder of Chinese writing and
things associated with it, like calligraphy, the progress of printing, and the great thinking
facilitated by it, is visualized in a splendid feat of cohesion. Even my grandma would have
enjoyed it.
Opera
With the accompaniment of Peking Opera music, 900 actors and several puppets put on a show on
a makeshift stage and all around it. Group actors are dressed as the famous terra-cotta
soldiers.
This is said to be a last-minute replacement, and it shows. It's noisy, it's fun, but it just
doesn't congeal into the framework. It simply lacks fine details.
The Silk Road
The Silk Road starts from Chang'an, now known as Xi'an, and goes all the way to Europe. It is
a trade route that connects East and West Asia, central to cultural dissemination by linking
traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the
Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. The development of the great civilizations -- o
f not only China, but Egypt, Persia, Arabia, India, Rome and Byzantium -- were made possible
by this route.
Zheng He's seven expeditions were, in a sense, a Silk Road on the sea. It made use of the
compass, another great invention from ancient China.
This number begins with the music set for Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei's immortal lines of
farewell. It is about parting, about leaving for a foreign land, for the unknown, and
ultimately about the connection of cultures, and the shrinking of our world. The solo
dancer is first a flying celestial nymph from the Dunhuang Grotto, an indelible image on the
Silk Road, and later changes to one of Zheng He.
The real attraction, however, is the long oars, which turn sailing into a dream of formations.
Music
This echoes the "Scrol" number, with five of China's best classic paintings as an evolving
backdrop. The first is Spring Outing, from the Sui and Tang dynasties of 1,300 years ago.
Along the River during Qingming Festival, by Zhang Zeduan, was from the Song Dynasty, about
1,000 years ago. It is about a busy street scene in Kaifeng, arguably the biggest metropolis
in the world then.
From the Yuan Dynasty, 700 years ago, we have a painting of a royal procession.
The Ming Dynasty painting, from some 600 years ago, depicts sports of the time, including
arrow shooting and polo playing.
The last painting was commissioned in celebration of Emperor Qianlong's (1711-1799AD) 80th
birthday. It recreates the imperial party and its grandeur.
On top of the paintings are shown performing arts classics, such as the dance Moon Reflected
in a Spring River, and Kunqu, China's oldest known opera. The majesty of the number reaches its
zenith when 32 columns, each 2m in diameter and weighing 1.2 ton, ascend skyward and each shoots
out a girl in full imperial regalia.
This number is about the good old days, the golden era in Chinese history, the times of singing
and dancing, of painting and partying. It's about rituals and self-confidence. In a sense, it is
about the ancient equivalent of the Olympics. It has a feel-good quality that infuses one with
pride for the deep roots of Chinese civilization.
Starlight
Cosmic and translucent, this number provides a portal from the past to the present, even to the
future. With pianist Lang Lang in the middle, group actors with light bulbs all over their
bodies evoke a world of fantasy with their movements. They not just form cute objects like a
dove or a smaller bird's nest, but add a touch of otherworldliness to the presentation.
This is quite romantic, which is good for the pacing of the program. Thematically, it is a bit
hollow, though.
Nature
You can interpret this number as a call for biological protection, but that would be reading
too much pragmatism into it. It is about man's relations with nature, embodied in the movements
of tai chi. It expounds on the philosophies from The Book of Changes, which contains an ancient
system of cosmology intrinsic to Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centers on the ideas of
the dynamic balance of opposites.
The 2,008 performers doing tai chi in a circle that surrounds a rectangle is an epitome of the
notion of "heaven is round and earth is square". And the boxing itself perfectly illustrates Lao
Tzu's teaching -- "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."
The black-and-white world erupts into colors when ancient Taoism is given a modern spin as a
teacher instructs her pupils on the importance of loving the natural world that feeds us.
This is a very Chinese interpretation of environmentalism, with inspiration from ancient
philosophers. Cryptic epigrams are conveyed in color schemes, shapes and forms. I never
knew a gala idea could be so enlightening.
Dream
This is the last number before the entrance of the athletes. It is a manifestation of the
One World One Dream mantra. Literally, a globe 18m in diameter and weighing 16 tons rises
in the middle of the arena. Circling around it are nine tracks, along which performers do
the kind of weightless walk usually seen in outer space but here to simulate gravity.
Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan join to sing the theme song, titled ¡°You and Me¡±, on top of the
globe. Around it are 2,008 volunteers who present 2,008 smiling faces of little children. The
faces are also projected on the overhead panel and even into the fireworks.
The giant globe is a nice touch, and the simulation of weightlessness for the sake of gravity
is very Taoist if you think about it ¨C it¡¯s about the conversion of opposites. The celebration
of volunteerism and happiness of children is an apt culmination of an hour of fete and a grand
beginning for the sports world¡¯s biggest event in four years and a nation¡¯s longing for glory.
Copy From:http://www.lowestmall.com/blog/
It was grand. It was eye-poping. It was filled with oohs and aahs.
The curtain is pulled, the show is staged, and the Games officially kicked off at the 8th minute, 08/08/08, a team of four eights that will bode well for the Chinese, and the world.
It's time of joy, and it's time of world unity.
China's brand-new National Stadium, also nicknamed Bird's Net, is packed with more than 90,000,
among them are a slew of heads of states, princes and princesses, government ministers,
celebrities of all walks, and IOC president, vice-presidents and members, athletes and visitors
from all over the world, who all are distinguished guests of China.
The opening ceremony celebrated Chinese civilization and the importance of harmony. As a
production of performing arts, it had got to be the biggest in Chinese history, with 15,000
people in the cast and 13 months of rehearsal time. Here is a rundown of the numbers for the
show.
The Opening
The star of this number is a drum called "fou", which can be traced back to the Xia and Shang
dynasties (2070BC-1046BC). It was made of ceramic or bronze and resembles the ancient vessel
of "ding", commonly seen in museums and dating from the same period.
The 2,008 "fou" drums form a matrix that occupies both sides of the arena, leaving only the
central rectangle empty.
Of course, these are more than regular square drums. The top can emit light, and so can the
two sticks. When robe-clad drummers beat on them, gargantuan words and shapes appear, such
as the countdown numbers and the effect of sweeping light.
At the heart of this number lies the traditional group calisthenics. But the high-tech upgrade
gives it a palpable surprise: No more flipping of cards; no more human bodies forming gigantic
flower petals. It is art steeped in 3,000 years of history.
Scroll
The visual theme of the ceremony is laid down when a pair of scrolls, measuring 2m in diameter
and 22m in height, are elevated out of the central rectangle stage. The scrolls part to reveal
a traditional Chinese ink painting. Throughout the evening, both the scrolls and the painting,
actually an LED display, constantly change their images.
For this number, a piece of blank paper, 20m X 11m, 20mm thick and actually weighing 800 kg, is
placed at the center of the ink painting and functions as a canvas where a dozen dancers use
their bodies as paintbrushes. It is a modern dance with abstract movements. However, what they
draw resemble clouds, mountains, rivers and the sun.
Eventually, the whole painting (i.e. the LED part) transforms into Landscape of a Thousand
Miles, a rare painting from Wang Ximeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1276AD).
All the while, a guqin (a Chinese zither) is being played in a fan-shaped stage up from the
central performing area.
This number is quite artsy. It leads right to the area of high culture, and it features
modern dance as the icing on the scroll cake. It also provides a welcome respite for a quiet
moment in an evening of razzle-dazzle.
Writing
My grandma used to say that Chinese words were created by Confucius. Of course it was not
true, but this number seems to be based on this urban myth.
There are 3,000 dancers clad in Confucius period costumes, supposedly playing the Sage's
disciples. Carrying bamboo scrolls, one of the earliest forms of books, they intone familiar
mantras from his Analects, mandatory for a Chinese education.
In the center are 897 dancers, each hidden inside a cube. They simulate the movable type,
which was first invented by Bi Sheng of the Song Dynasty (969-1276AD). This invention was
instrumental in the growth of human civilization.
Later, the cube matrix graduates to a computer keyboard.
The Chinese character "he", meaning harmony or peace, is shown to evolve from various stages
of calligraphy. The Great Wall and peach flowers are also replicated, with the help of the
LED painting.
This is probably the most ingenious in the whole program. The wonder of Chinese writing and
things associated with it, like calligraphy, the progress of printing, and the great thinking
facilitated by it, is visualized in a splendid feat of cohesion. Even my grandma would have
enjoyed it.
Opera
With the accompaniment of Peking Opera music, 900 actors and several puppets put on a show on
a makeshift stage and all around it. Group actors are dressed as the famous terra-cotta
soldiers.
This is said to be a last-minute replacement, and it shows. It's noisy, it's fun, but it just
doesn't congeal into the framework. It simply lacks fine details.
The Silk Road
The Silk Road starts from Chang'an, now known as Xi'an, and goes all the way to Europe. It is
a trade route that connects East and West Asia, central to cultural dissemination by linking
traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the
Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. The development of the great civilizations -- o
f not only China, but Egypt, Persia, Arabia, India, Rome and Byzantium -- were made possible
by this route.
Zheng He's seven expeditions were, in a sense, a Silk Road on the sea. It made use of the
compass, another great invention from ancient China.
This number begins with the music set for Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei's immortal lines of
farewell. It is about parting, about leaving for a foreign land, for the unknown, and
ultimately about the connection of cultures, and the shrinking of our world. The solo
dancer is first a flying celestial nymph from the Dunhuang Grotto, an indelible image on the
Silk Road, and later changes to one of Zheng He.
The real attraction, however, is the long oars, which turn sailing into a dream of formations.
Music
This echoes the "Scrol" number, with five of China's best classic paintings as an evolving
backdrop. The first is Spring Outing, from the Sui and Tang dynasties of 1,300 years ago.
Along the River during Qingming Festival, by Zhang Zeduan, was from the Song Dynasty, about
1,000 years ago. It is about a busy street scene in Kaifeng, arguably the biggest metropolis
in the world then.
From the Yuan Dynasty, 700 years ago, we have a painting of a royal procession.
The Ming Dynasty painting, from some 600 years ago, depicts sports of the time, including
arrow shooting and polo playing.
The last painting was commissioned in celebration of Emperor Qianlong's (1711-1799AD) 80th
birthday. It recreates the imperial party and its grandeur.
On top of the paintings are shown performing arts classics, such as the dance Moon Reflected
in a Spring River, and Kunqu, China's oldest known opera. The majesty of the number reaches its
zenith when 32 columns, each 2m in diameter and weighing 1.2 ton, ascend skyward and each shoots
out a girl in full imperial regalia.
This number is about the good old days, the golden era in Chinese history, the times of singing
and dancing, of painting and partying. It's about rituals and self-confidence. In a sense, it is
about the ancient equivalent of the Olympics. It has a feel-good quality that infuses one with
pride for the deep roots of Chinese civilization.
Starlight
Cosmic and translucent, this number provides a portal from the past to the present, even to the
future. With pianist Lang Lang in the middle, group actors with light bulbs all over their
bodies evoke a world of fantasy with their movements. They not just form cute objects like a
dove or a smaller bird's nest, but add a touch of otherworldliness to the presentation.
This is quite romantic, which is good for the pacing of the program. Thematically, it is a bit
hollow, though.
Nature
You can interpret this number as a call for biological protection, but that would be reading
too much pragmatism into it. It is about man's relations with nature, embodied in the movements
of tai chi. It expounds on the philosophies from The Book of Changes, which contains an ancient
system of cosmology intrinsic to Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centers on the ideas of
the dynamic balance of opposites.
The 2,008 performers doing tai chi in a circle that surrounds a rectangle is an epitome of the
notion of "heaven is round and earth is square". And the boxing itself perfectly illustrates Lao
Tzu's teaching -- "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."
The black-and-white world erupts into colors when ancient Taoism is given a modern spin as a
teacher instructs her pupils on the importance of loving the natural world that feeds us.
This is a very Chinese interpretation of environmentalism, with inspiration from ancient
philosophers. Cryptic epigrams are conveyed in color schemes, shapes and forms. I never
knew a gala idea could be so enlightening.
Dream
This is the last number before the entrance of the athletes. It is a manifestation of the
One World One Dream mantra. Literally, a globe 18m in diameter and weighing 16 tons rises
in the middle of the arena. Circling around it are nine tracks, along which performers do
the kind of weightless walk usually seen in outer space but here to simulate gravity.
Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan join to sing the theme song, titled ¡°You and Me¡±, on top of the
globe. Around it are 2,008 volunteers who present 2,008 smiling faces of little children. The
faces are also projected on the overhead panel and even into the fireworks.
The giant globe is a nice touch, and the simulation of weightlessness for the sake of gravity
is very Taoist if you think about it ¨C it¡¯s about the conversion of opposites. The celebration
of volunteerism and happiness of children is an apt culmination of an hour of fete and a grand
beginning for the sports world¡¯s biggest event in four years and a nation¡¯s longing for glory.
Copy From:http://www.lowestmall.com/blog/