(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Tang Wing-han was at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday Jan. 27 to see New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts for the third year.

Ms. Tang, the chairwoman of the United States and China Association's Southern Florida Chapter, said that she observed a deepening in her appreciation for the show as well as her own Chinese culture over the three years that she has watched Shen Yun shows.

"I did not develop a deep understanding of Shen Yun's inner meaning in the first year," said Ms. Tang. "Yet starting last year, I started to have [a] better understanding of the many historical stories such as that of General Yue Fei and Wu Song Battles the Tiger. I realized that these stories that we have read as children can actually prevail in today's society.

"Last year, after watching the beating of the thunderous drums, I finally knew what 'magnificence' means. I liked it a lot. And this year the dance of the Archers in the Imperial Court also allowed me to have better insight into my own culture. And I was so touched by the beauty and feeling of nature of the ethnic dances such as dances of the Miao and Dai.

"In a nutshell, I absorbed a lot of Chinese culture through watching the show."

Born in Macao, a Chinese city previously under Portugal's control, Ms. Tang said that she has witnessed the change in the city since her birth.

"Nowadays, Hong Kong and Macao are dramatically different from how they were a decade ago," said Ms. Tang. "At that time, Hong Kong belonged to Great Britain and Macao belonged to Portugal--under Western governments, these two cities enjoyed genuine freedom. Yet upon their returning to the Chinese Communist Party recently, more or less they are now under the regime's influence and censorship."

At the same time that one of Shen Yun's companies performs in Fort Lauderdale, another equally renowned Shen Yun company was scheduled to play in Hong Kong for seven shows starting Jan. 27. However, the shows faced last-minute cancellation as the Hong Kong Government refused to grant visas to six of Shen Yun's key technical staff.

"In theory, Hong Kong and mainland China are in such a relationship that they are of the same country but under different policies. Therefore Hong Kong has no reason to block Shen Yun.

"I think that since we live in the United States, our thoughts are much broader. The United States is a place that promotes freedom of thought. You can see that many of tonight's audience members have their own faiths, yet they are very happy to watch Shen Yun, because they respect each other's belief. That's why they love Shen Yun."

Chinese Professor Touched

Xiao Wang, a senior professor of the English campus at Broward College.

Also among the appreciative audience was Ms. Xiao Wang, a senior professor of the English campus at Broward College, who is also the adviser to the Asian American Club. Of Chinese ancestry herself, she attended with 12 others, seven students, as well as friends and colleagues.

"I enjoyed the artistic part of the show very much, especially the stories from the classic Chinese novel, Chinese mythology," she said. "The dancing, the color and the use of color is just amazing."

"Beautiful, beautiful! I love Chinese culture, that's where I'm from," she said. "I love it, yes, very much, the very classic part of the performance is about Chinese culture, especially the stories from mythology and the classic Chinese novel, like the Monkey King's Journey to the West. Yes, I loved the last part, because he is where I'm from. I enjoyed that part very much."

Professor Wang was referring to the performance, The Buddha's Teachings Spread Far and Wide. After years of trials and tribulations, the monk Tripitaka [known also as Tang Seng or Xuan Zang] returns to the Imperial Palace triumphant and the entire land rejoices, according to the program.

Shen Yun's entire show resonated with her, as stories that were familiar to her came alive.

"Everything's beautiful," she said, calling the performances an "aesthetic experience." Shen Yun's unique orchestra, composed of Western classical and Chinese traditional instruments, also touched her heart. "I love the erhu--very touching, very soulful," she said.

Source:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/28761/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/28739/