Author: Qiu Shuang
At an altitude of 4800 meters above sea level, a bay of clear water flows quietly, not far from the water source, antelope run freely, snow leopards wait for opportunities, eagles soar in the sky, yaks leisurely graze... This is not the scene from a documentary, but the scene from the last scene of the dance drama "The Source of the Great River".
Stills and information pictures of "The Source of the Great River"
The original folk dance drama "The Source of the Great River" recently premiered at the Qinghai Grand Theatre, which is another work on ecological themes that screenwriter Luo Huaizhen and director Tong Ruirui have collaborated on after "Crested Ibis". Unlike "Crested Ibis", which focuses on the specific species of crested ibis, "The Source of the Great River" does not focus on a certain species or a certain type of species, but focuses on the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province, which is known as the "China Water Tower", and reflects on the impact of human activities on it from the more complex macro category of regional ecosystems. In less than 120 minutes, to unfold the vast mountains and rivers, the variety of creatures, and the interaction between humans and them on a square stage requires a clear clue to connect these complex elements. The dance drama sets a "narrator", that is, the "I" who came to Qinghai to travel in the 1990s, leading the audience to witness the sacrifice of Tashi, the leader of the mountain patrol team, to protect the snow leopard, and through the lens of "I", the fate of Tashi and the mountain rangers, Tashi's daughter Dolma and all the creatures in this land is organically connected.
Tashi's prototype is The "environmental defender" Jasan Sonandaj, who sacrificed to protect the Tibetan antelope in the 1990s, as a realistic theme work, "The Source of the Great River" does not focus on telling the story of a certain person, but gives each character in the play a different symbolic meaning and mission, and all the character relationships are finally twisted together to form a complete story.
Representing the contemporary "I", representing the guardian Of Tashi, representing Tashi's inner yearning for the outside world Dolma, and representing the successor Uzhig, a seemingly independent character, in the "Death of Tashi" scene, the fate of all people is intertwined and changed from then on. "I" grew from a traveler on a motorcycle and a camera to a volunteer who carried an antenna pot to build a base station and take root in Heyuan, completing the identity transformation from "narrator" to "participant"; after walking out of the plateau, seeing the Yellow River rushing, changing from clear to turbid, cutting downstream, and finally roaring into the sea, Dolma understood the significance of my father's protection of Heyuan, and chose to return to his hometown to be a rural teacher, teaching children to cherish and love Heyuan No longer a hairy boy who would only circle around his beloved girl Dolma, Uzhig took up a gun and continued to complete Tashi's unfinished business with his fraternal love for all living beings.
The character of "Tashi", who triggers all this, has a more complex metaphor. In the prologue of the dance drama, the ancient primitive society, the human ancestor who waved the first stick to the plateau creatures, was played by Tashi, and the hunter "Tashi" represented the value pursuit of that era. In the barbaric era, human beings hunt animals to obtain more survival resources, and the hunter "Tashi" is the hero of the group; in today's society, the concept of protecting the ecological environment and green development has become the mainstream value, and the guardian "Tashi" has become a hero. The identity transformation of the two "Tashi" not only shows a strong contrast in drama, but also reflects the gradual awakening of the awareness of ecological protection in the process of continuous progress of human civilization.
One of the most special and impressive characters in The Source of the Great River is not four human protagonists, but a well-armed snow leopard. The snow leopard, played by an actress, was slaughtered during the first human journey to the plateau and once again died under the gun of poachers in modern society. Its image does not represent a snow leopard, or even just a single species, but all the creatures that have lived in this vast land from ancient times to the present. To this end, the choreographer has created a number of realistic snow leopard solo dances, animal group dances, and double dances of snow leopards and Tashi interactions, through figurative expression, showing the slaughter and endangerment of plateau creatures, so that the audience can truly feel the disaster brought by human greed to the natural ecology, and the urgency of protecting nature and protecting ecology, thus leading to thinking about the grand theme of the community of destiny.
At a time when human society is being impacted by the new crown pneumonia epidemic and beginning to rethink "how we should get along with nature", "The Source of the Great River" reflects the cultural consciousness and responsibility of China's literary and artistic workers. By showing the relationship from ancient times to the present, from mountains to seas, and from people to the primates of all things, the works interpret the values of calm and good, and call on people to establish a sense of ecological protection and a sense of community of life. When the audience walks out of the theater, he may not remember a certain character or a certain dance segment, but to think about how we should treat life. What is the meaning of our lives? This is the realistic value of "The Source of the Great River", and it is also the human nature of true love and love.
Guangming Daily (12th edition, December 27, 2020)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily