(Minghui.org) Shen Yun Performing Arts showcases epic stories from China’s five thousand-year-old culture yet few people in China have heard of it.
Some may recall receiving a Shen Yun DVD from a Falun Gong practitioner years ago and were amazed by the artists’ brilliant performances. Others may have seen Shen Yun on the Internet.
People in China may not realize that Shen Yun is world-renowned and audiences have been captivated and amazed by it.
Shen Yun tours to about 150 cities worldwide every year, and is praised by countless audience members. Some people fly from other countries to see the performance; others drive hundreds of miles; and some buy tickets to see the same performance five or six times. Why is Shen Yun so popular?
Listen to the feedback of tens of thousands of audience members who enjoyed Shen Yun live:
“Huge positive energy ran through the entire performance. They performed so well. Very uplifting.”
“Shen Yun pours hope and light into the soul.”
“I’ve had great mental stress these past few weeks. This (Shen Yun) music really made my body return to a balanced state. Very comfortable.”
“It’s that personal power from within, and the peace, that you can feel. I mean, when you bring that in with the power from the heavens--it’s all such a big universe, but it’s all oneness that you feel when you watch all this unveil.”
Shen Yun presents a brand new program every year. From the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties; from the beauty of the Jiangnan (south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) to the northwestern plateaus, the scenes in the dances cover every moment of China’s 5,000 year-old history. The programs also present various characters: from elegant court ladies to stalwart generals on the battlefield; from Taoists to common people. Each is vividly portrayed.
Shen Yun showcases China’s five-thousand-year traditional culture which is it’s cultural heritage. However, people in China cannot see Shen Yun posters or performances on stage.
In China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) blocks information about Shen Yun. People can be detained simply for distributing DVDs of Shen Yun performances.
Excerpts of persecution cases posted on Minghui.org:
“Seventy-year Old Woman Illegally Tried for Distributing Shen Yun DVDs
“On January 15, 2015, the Yuzhong District court in Chongqing illegally tried seventy-year old woman Yu Yeyi for distributing Shen Yun DVDs. On the afternoon of June 22, 2014, when Ms. Yu was giving out Shen Yun DVDs on the street, she was seized by police from the Qixinggang Police Station in Chongqing City. She was later detained at the Liudianzi Detention Center in Yuzhong District. On July 9, she was moved to the Qianzhugou brainwashing center in Shapingba District and was persecuted for 58 days. As a result of the persecution, her blood pressure was consistently over 200 mmHg; her whole body had spasms and was stiff; and she was in a life-threatening situation several times.”
“Hunan Countrywoman Sentenced to Three Years for Giving Out Shen Yun DVDs
“Falun Gong practitioner Yan Zhongxi from Cangtai Village, Wanyu Township, Huarong County, Hunan Province was reported by a fishery director at the Taxi Lake when she was giving out Shen Yun DVDs at the Taxi Lake fishery in Wanyu on February 27, 2012. Around 6 o’clock in the evening, while she was home, she was taken by director of the county Domestic Security Division Chen Lianghua, Zhang Hao, etc. to the detention center in Huarong County. After 17 days, she was transferred to the Yueyang City No. 2 Detention Center, and was persecuted to the point of having serious stomach issues, vomiting blood, and becoming so skinny as to only have skin around bones. Ms. Yan was secretly sentenced to three years by the Huarong County Court.”
“Liu Hongtu Sentenced to Five-Year Prison for Distributing Shen Yun DVDs
“Mr. Liu Hongtu was arrested by officers from the Hongqi Police Department for distributing Shen Yun DVDs to residents of Wangyang Town on July 31, 2014. He was tried by the Tieli City Court in Heilongjiang Province on December 2, 2014. He was illegally sentenced to a five-year prison term on December 12, 2014.”
These are only a small portion of cases of practitioners who have been persecuted for distributing Shen Yun DVDs.
The CCP and its agents not only block Shen Yun in China, but also think of ways to disrupt the performances worldwide. They’ve damage the tour buses; used acid to erode the brake cables of the advertisement vehicles; people who support the CCP post negative comments on websites; CCP agents pretend to be practitioners, call theaters and say nonsensical things; some buy tickets but then make a scene at the box office to return the tickets, etc.
The COVID pandemic affected many countries, and caused many deaths. The CCP used the pandemic to spread rumors about Shen Yun, attempting to obstruct performances. They spread rumors in the U.S. and other countries and claimed that most Shen Yun performers came from China and are in close contact with relatives in China. In fact, Shen Yun performers have not gone back to China for several years so they could not have had recent contact with relatives in China. The CCP also claimed that Shen Yun performed in Japan and South Korea and brought the virus. They pressured theaters to cancel the performances, and even called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and lied to them, attempting to have the CDC place pressure on theaters to cancel the performances.
The CCP’s creating something out of nothing caused the theaters in some countries to be disgusted with it.
Shen Yun is different from most performing arts groups in the world in that it does not receive corporate sponsorship or support from the government, and it does not rely on donations. It relies on the talents of it’s world-class artists and people’s wish to enjoy traditional values. This is a unique model for performing arts groups worldwide.
Throughout China’s five-thousand-year culture, there are numerous stories of people of noble character “making money in the righteous way, and being wealthy while virtuous.” Shen Yun’s success is a manifestation of the values of ancient China. The CCP’s defamation of Shen Yun also exposes its “anti-wealth” ideology to the world, as well as the CCP’s global warfare strategy: to extend its policy of persecuting Falun Gong to U.S. Soil and beyond.
Shen Yun’s programs also depict a group of people in modern Chinese society who uphold their faith. Even though they’re being persecuted, they remain steadfast. Their stories bring some people to tears—audience members’ reactions to the performance are what the CCP is trying very hard to cover up. Just like the title of an article on Minghui: “The CCP Fears Shen Yun.”
In China, the CCP has been suppressing Falun Gong through lies, brainwashing, torture, murder, financial persecution, etc., and misleading people for over twenty years. The Party is frightened that people will learn the truth about the persecution: inside China, it uses the media, the military, police, prisons, and brainwashing centers. In the international community, it uses spies, and corrupt means.
Chinese people have always believed that their culture is divinely-inspired, so shouldn’t they respect it and pass it on? Lies cannot cover up the truth forever. When the CCP disintegrates and history opens a new chapter, I believe that Shen Yun will definitely perform in China.
What Shen Yun performers bring is the best. When the curtain rises, magnificent, heavenly scenes and the beauty of the Divine Land unfold before one’s eyes: heavenly maidens rise from a sea of clouds; Mongolian youths speed through the grasslands. Those soul-stirring heroic stories and touching legends come back to life.
Shen Yun performances present five thousand years of dazzling civilization, and one day we Chinese will definitely see it in China!