"Dong..."
The moment Liu Qingxue's guqin melody began.
The entire venue fell silent.
The guqin was serene, its notes possessing a magical quality that calmed the inner restlessness.
The tempo of this piece was very slow, and combined with the guqin's unique timbre.
It was like a gentle breeze, stirring the audience's hearts.
Liu Qingxue's skill was exquisite; techniques like plucking and vibrato were executed with ease.
The melodious sound of the guqin unfurled a breathtaking landscape painting before their eyes.
A gentle breeze, a babbling stream.
"So ethereal!"
"Exactly, the guqin is truly a divine instrument. The sound it produces makes one feel as if they are in a fairyland."
"Only the guqin can play melodies like this."
"Although beautiful, this style doesn't seem to have much connection to the song title, 'Shui Long Yin' (Water Dragon Chant)."
"What's the rush? Music has intros and climaxes. This is just the beginning."
Amidst the audience's hushed discussions.
As the guqin played, a series of drumbeats gradually emerged.
These drumbeats unfolded rhythmically.
Then, a Xiao flute's melody suddenly sounded.
The murmurs from the audience abruptly ceased.
Just as everyone was savoring the melancholic mood.
Zhou Ningbin took a deep breath.
He slightly closed his eyes, and slowly drew the bow across his erhu!
"Ah~~..."
The moment the erhu began.
The entire venue's lights suddenly brightened.
Then, on the big screen, a faded ancient painting appeared!
In the painting, special effects made each stroke and line emerge on the paper. The originally faded paper slowly revealed a magnificent landscape, the brushstrokes like dragons and snakes, the divine craftsmanship of nature born under the artist's hand!
A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains!
This is one of China's national treasures!
When this landscape was completed.
Everyone erupted!
This was the very rivers and mountains of China, every familiar terrain deeply etched into their bones.
The breathtaking visuals, coupled with the erhu's mournful and desolate sound, lingering and connected, floating like light clouds with no fixed abode.
In that instant, a shiver ran down everyone's spine!
"Magnificent!"
"This is what the erhu should sound like!"
"I've got goosebumps! Compared to this, Xu Ming's piece from last week's city competition was completely outclassed!"
"Now I finally understand why the music god Jiang Qian said that collaborating with Xu Ming was an injustice to Teacher Zhou Ningbin!"
"The ebb and flow, the graceful turns and twists, this piece showcases the erhu's characteristics to the fullest. Furthermore, Teacher Zhou Ningbin's skill is perfectly applied to this beautiful melody."
"I won't say anything else, just... wow!"
"Ahhh! this erhu sound is too damn beautiful!"
Divine arrangement!
This single erhu performance ignited the entire audience.
What is elegance?
This melody expressed elegance to perfection!
In people's minds, the erhu was often associated with street performers, playing mournful tunes to solicit sympathy.
But this melody was entirely different.
It was like an elder who had seen through the world, recounting the winding tales of their youthful adventures in the martial world, drawing hearts into a new realm with its lingering, connected notes.
The winds of the world arise from our generation; once entering the martial world, time urges us on!
Yes, it was the feeling of a bleak and windswept martial world!
Before the audience could recover from the erhu's melody.
The sound of the Pipa followed!
The rapid plucking, combined with the erhu's tune, created a new sensation.
Like hearing celestial music, the ears are momentarily enlightened!
At this moment, it felt like a return from the martial world to the grand landscape, the underlying drumbeat resonating in everyone's hearts.
The Pipa's greatest strength was its compatibility.
It seemed to blend with all instruments.
"I suddenly realized the melody shifted from serene to intense."
"Such a smooth transition, this emotional progression is simply brilliant!"
"It's heating up! This piece, paired with China's landscapes, makes the sense of pride explode!"
"This is music, this is Chinese music!"
"Great music is silent, great images are formless. To evoke national pride through music, Ting Yu's ancient style is undoubtedly at the pinnacle!"
"Indeed, pure instrumental music tests arrangement skills more than songs. Songs have lyrics as support, but instrumental music relies solely on melody to perfectly convey the core spirit. Ting Yu's mastery of ancient style is likely beyond even the music gods!"
As everyone's blood boiled.
The four artists on stage began their ensemble.
The melody grew more intense.
The erhu, sorrowful.
The Pipa, clear.
The flute, ethereal.
The guqin, melodious.
The different instruments blended seamlessly.
When the melody reached its peak in artistic conception.
It was like a taut string suddenly relaxing.
Like a bubble shattering upon touch.
The other instruments abruptly stopped.
Only the guqin continued to play.
On the big screen, the imagery transitioned from the Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains to a series of photographs of China's geography.
The three rivers and five mountains appeared one after another.
The beauty of the landscape was breathtaking!
The melodious tune had not lasted long.
"Clang!"
The sound of a sword being unsheathed echoed through the entire hall!
Like a god or demon awakening from the abyss, or a slumbering behemoth stirring.
Hearing this sword's cry, the audience's minds flashed back to the beginning:
"Listen to the Dragon's Roar!"
Pride!
Honor!
Blessed to be born in China!
The audience was stunned by the vast landscape and proud of thousands of years of culture.
As the entire piece reached its final crescendo.
Many people's eyes were moist.
They were too excited to speak coherent words.
"Heaven and Earth are vast, magnificent and powerful. Who knew national instruments could create such an effect when played together!"
"This piece, paired with the program on Chinese treasures, is absolutely perfect!"
"Exactly. Listening to this piece, recalling the opening remarks of the program, 'Our program is very young, only five thousand years of history,' I was absolutely fired up!"
"Haha, full of national confidence."
"Thank you, Ting Yu, for making me realize how awesome traditional culture is!"
"Ting Yu has truly made great contributions to traditional culture. He is not just a music producer; from popularizing opera culture, then ceramics and traditional Chinese medicine, later calligraphy, and now national instruments, he has consistently worked to contribute to these cultural aspects!"
"I believe Ting Yu's song 'Ben Cao Gang Mu' (Compendium of Materia Medica) already showed his commitment to promoting traditional culture. This child not only has talent but also a love for culture."
"Therefore, we must have cultural confidence. It's not that we lack good things, it's just that we haven't experienced them properly."
"Indeed, looking back at history, five thousand years, even a superficial understanding can benefit us immensely."
National confidence is what people lack most today.
Countries like Korea and Japan are coveting our culture, wanting to claim it as their own.
And today's youth do not value our precious culture.
However.
Everyone believes.
As Ting Yu gradually presents China's traditional culture to everyone, they are increasingly feeling its charm.
The confidence derived from cultural heritage is something foreigners cannot comprehend.
Faith comes from inheritance, the consistent teachings passed down from generation to generation.
When those forgotten, abandoned cultures are revived,
Everyone will be proud to be Chinese!