Asian Cultural Topics

[Anonymous]

"In China, Echoes of the Past" is an LA Times story of a musical archelogist, Wang Hong, who has been researching musical instruments which are almost extinct -- in physical form and by those who play them. Living in San Francisco, Wang has traveled his homeland as a cultural detective in the hope of preserving the music and songs which the Cultural Revolution banned.

"For years he has criss-crossed mainland China in search of folk virtuosos, recording impromptu performances on some of the country's 400 ethnic instruments. He has learned to play two dozen himself. There's a banjo-like ruan, or moon guitar, a four-stringed instrument used in the Beijing Opera. There's the xun, a clay vessel flute resembling a beehive with finger holes, and the laba trumpet, which mimics bird songs".

Back in the United States his non-profit "Melody of China" is an ensemble of musicians who play these instruments; Wang organizes performances to give this folk music a spotlight. He lectures and performs around the world as he has made it his mission to locate record and preserve the disappearing ancestral music of his homeland and introduce it to a global audience.

Another aspect to his work is the interviews with musicians who suffered during the Cultural Revolution. Most of these musicians are old and he is frantically trying to locate & reach them before they die. The artlcle tells of many such stories. One discussed Hajab who spent 11 years in jail for the lyrics of one of his songs. "The lyrics evoked a mountain in bordering Mongolia, which became independent from China in the 1920s. Party [Communist] leaders demanded to know why he had immortalized a foreign landmark ... talking of the ordeal, he began to weep".

Such noteworthy work happening today is terrific. I intend to keep my eye out for such a performance ... seeing that Wang Hong is based in California, I am sure that Los Angeles will host such a performance. Hearing the music and seeing people play them is naturally more interesting than seeing the instruments behind glass in a museum.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Kodo, an incense burning ceremony from the Buddhist rituals in the Nara period (710-794), is considered to be one of the three major traditions of Japan (along with the tea ceremony and flower arranging).

This online article from Japan's Daily Yomiuri [www.yomiuri.co.jp] caught my attention since there is so much talk about the famous tea ceremony, yet I have never heard of the term Kodo (although I was aware of the key role incense burning holds in Buddhism).

The author discusses his experience at a monthly Kodo class held at the Yakushiji temple in Nawa, Japan. The person who burns the incense is called the "komoto" and helps the people cup the smoke in their hands and then lift the fragrance to their faces. "In Kodo, participants don't smell the fragrance, they are supposed to "listen" it". The smells are very complex and its effects are just as complicated. Bottom-line, it is the harmony of the fragrance(s) that brings relaxation that allows one to become better in touch with the spiritual world and one's own heart.

The incense is slivers of wood which has been aged, some for hundreds of years, before it gives off an appealing fragrance. There seems to be a great study of all the different smells. Some types of incense have been named after temples, such as "Horyuji in Ikarugacho in Nara prefecture and Onjoji in Otsu". Because of the difficulty of obtaining the complex smelling woods, they are primarily used for Buddhist rituals.

There is a Shino School of Kodo that dates back to the Muromachi period (1333-1568).

Does anyone else have information on incense burning?

[Anonymous]

The presentation was exceptional. It was very informative and brought back previously learned information that I had aqcuired - about Cahina in particular- in the middle school. I also felt that the use of audio-visuals to present the geography of East Asia was effective in reaching students who are visual learners. The discussions were lively - the presenter wasn't pedantic in the least. He has a sound knowledge of his subject and enjoys sharing it with others. This was evident throughout the presentation.

[Author]

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