10-08-2008, 12:09 AM
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 -- of 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 ###### 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 âYou and Meâ, 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 â itâs 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 worldâs biggest
event in four years and a nationâs longing for glory.
www.easyforbuy.com
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 -- of 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 ###### 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 âYou and Meâ, 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 â itâs 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 worldâs biggest
event in four years and a nationâs longing for glory.
www.easyforbuy.com
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