Cultural festival builds a bridge across the Strait

The Zhejiang Cultural Festival is back, bigger than ever and determined to deliver the very best of Chinese heritage.

Since the first Taipei-hosted festival kicked off in 2007, it has displayed a myriad of exhibitions and showcased Zhejiang Province’s cultural development and protection. Highlights included Hemudu and Liangzhu Neolithic relic sites, Yueju and Wuju operas and local crafts.

This year, the festival is divided into five sections: Taishun wooden bridge craft, tourism promotion, Zhejiang Drama Troupe, an exhibition curated by Zhejiang Art Museum and Zhejiang professional folk team’s dragon and lion dances.

The exhibition is hosted at Taiwan Normal University and lasts through Thursday. Fifty-five works of art, from woodblock printing to calligraphy, are on display to showcase the theme of “water.”

Painters and calligraphers used water-based painting materials to present their thoughts on water. Their drawing skills and conceptions penetrated the paper and were taken on through colors, strokes and lines.

Sixteen paintings depict the rivers and seas, expressing the harmonious relationship between human beings and nature.

An ink-wash painting from Kong Zhongqi portrays the choppy Qiantang River. The majesty of the river is vividly presented through several different shades of black strokes. The theme is also reflected through poetic paintings.

Cai Rong’s ink-wash painting reminds people of summer when West Lake is covered with undulating lotus flowers. Two mandarin ducks are cleaning their feathers underneath the lotus. The mild color and smooth lines conjure up a feeling as if they are bathing in the summer breeze.

Zhejiang is dotted with watertowns, which epitomize the classic Jiangnan (south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) scenery. He Zhisheng and Wu Delong used watercolors to depict crisscrossed watercourses, arch stone bridges and folk houses with black-tiled roofs and white walls through mild hues.

Another highlight is a wooden bridge. The craft of building a wooden bridge is an intangible cultural heritage in Taishun County of Zhejiang. The inheritor of this craft, Zeng Jiakuai, led a team to construct a Taishun-style bridge over a 16-month period in Nantou County, Taiwan.

The bridge is designed according to the local climate and geological environment. All of the workers and building materials came from Taishun County. More than 3,000 Taiwan locals attended the opening ceremony, including many Taishun residents who have lived on the island since the 1940s.

The bridge is 43.5 meters long and 5.5 meters wide, covered with pavilions and up-turned eaves. It is expected to be a landmark symbolizing friendship across the Strait. It is the only wooden bridge in Taiwan.

Zhejiang Drama Troupe has staged three performances, giving a boost to the cultural exchanges shared between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

The first drama was adapted from a novel written by Bi Shuming. It tells a story of five young people lost in a desert. The performance reflects modern people’s changing philosophy of life. The other two dramas were adapted from true stories of well-known public figures. One is a love story between Shi Liangcai, a newspaper tycoon in Shanghai during the Republic of China period (1912-49), and Shen Qiuchui. The other reflects the ups and downs of writer Yu Dafu from the same period.

The cultural festival is also an ideal platform for Zhejiang Province folk performances. This year, Changxing County baiye dragon dance and Yongkang County nine-lion dance brought their ancient performances from across the Strait. Baiye dragon dance was recognized in 2006 as a national protected intangible cultural heritage. Baiye literally means “100 leaves” in Chinese. The dragon is covered with hundreds of scales in the shape of lotus petals. Locals perform the dance to show braveness fighting against nature.

The nine-lion dance is often performed during ceremonies and festivals, especially in temple fairs on the Lantern Festival.

Dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), natives started to perform the dance to pray for harvest and better life.