(Clearwisdom.net)

Ms. Xu Hongmei (assumed name), a 26-year-old doctor from a hospital in Jilin Province, wrote her impressions of Divine Performing Arts (DPA), "I have only seen the 2009 DPA once. I was deeply moved by it. Its profound artistic conception and extreme sacredness completely moved my heart.

"As the curtain opened, what appeared before my eyes was a miraculous image that I had never seen before. It was amazing to see that the Chinese culture is shown and well appreciated in the Western world. The music is so beautiful as if coming from heaven, the scene so miraculous that made me cry, 'Bravo'. I can't put into words my mood while watching it. What was most touching was "The Udumbara's Bloom" dance. The dancers' ending posture formed a lotus flower seat for Buddha, perfectly matching the big Buddha on the backdrop. The delicately designed program truly reached the level of the unity of man and heaven. On the stage, the performers were no longer people, they were fairies from heaven coming down to earth. It's so unique and beyond the human world.

"As for the songs, to be honest, I didn't fully understand them. All the songs were in the Opera style, which I couldn't easily follow. But as a Chinese, I can tell the unmatchable stateliness and sacredness in the lyrics. Most of the audience are non-Chinese. They might not understand Chinese lyrics but obviously they understood the meaning. That's amazing to me, too. It tells me that the message in the performance is for the entire world, it is not bounded by certain languages, certain countries, or certain skin colors.

"The performance is a warning to people. Warning them to be aware of the truth and become enlightened quickly. It is a heritage from traditional Chinese culture. It uses the artistic form to tell people that the five thousand years of Chinese culture will be brought to a great height and shine."

Dr. Yan is doing postdoctoral study at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences. At first he was chatting with others while watching the DPA, but soon he became silent and watched each program carefully. He was deeply attracted by the programs. When he watched "The Udumbara's Bloom" dance, he said, "It's so pure. Not like the messy CCTV (China Central Television) Spring Festival Gala 2009." When asked which piece impressed him the most, he said, "Each and every piece. I couldn't pick just one, especially those story-telling pieces." He then took the DVD home to show his family.

A military officer from Weihai City, Shandong Province watched the DPA and said, "It's so nice! That's true Chinese culture. The whole performance is very clean. It can improve the environment and make you feel very comfortable. No program from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2009 can match it. Every program in the CCTV Gala has dark stuff, making people sick."

Ms. Liu from Baicheng City, Jilin Province, in her thirties, is a salesperson. She was deeply moved after watching the DPA show. She said, "The backdrop is very beautiful. Especially when it presents heaven, it looks so real, as if I were there. It is completely different from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2009. There are many people in China promoting ethnic programs, but they more or less end up with a vulgar display without a deeper meaning. People watch it and laugh, and that's it. The lyrics in DPA's songs express and touch those feelings in my heart that even I don't know how to say. Every program, when you watch it carefully, has an even greater significance behind it."

February 28, 2009