The large-scale stage play National Treasures of Liaoning jointly created by the Liaoning Provincial Museum and the Liaoning Song and Dance Ensemble, is currently undergoing intensive rehearsals and is set to grace the stage of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province in May. Performers from the Liaoning Song and Dance Ensemble will transform into “scroll unfurling narrators”, bringing ancient paintings to life on stage and vividly presenting historical scenes depicted on cultural relics.
The “national treasures” showcased in National Treasures of Liaoning are recreated based on 20 exquisite cultural relics from the collection of the Liaoning Provincial Museum, including the jade pig-shaped dragon, the Jiuxiaohuanpei guqin, Zhou Fang’s Painting of Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers, Zhao Ji’s Painting of Auspicious Cranes, the Painting of the Nymph of the Luo River (a copy of Song Dynasty), the mural of Drum and Music Scene, the silk tapestry Painting of Camellias and Butterflies, the Dasheng chime bells, the tri-colored glazed mandarin duck-shaped pot, the tree-shaped gold shimmering headdress, the blue and white octagonal jar with pine tree, bamboo and plum blossom design, and more.
The Liaoning Provincial Museum boasts a rich collection of cultural relics that witness the ever-enduring Chinese civilization, making them unique on the global stage. Spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and encompassing calligraphy, painting, and artifacts, these relics are the cream of the crop. Ma Yuli, the chief director of National Treasures of Liaoning, stated, “We use the language of stage art to depict the elegance of these cultural relics, forming a ‘relic’ matrix on stage and presenting a diverse and three-dimensional cultural landscape.” The stage play National Treasures of Liaoning primarily features dance, integrating various artistic forms such as ethnic musical instruments, acrobatics, and poetry recitation to showcase the beauty of these relics. Through meticulous design in stage art, costumes, and props, the play unfolds the stories behind these relics in tandem with the plot.
Make cultural relics “come alive”! The joint creation of the stage play National Treasures of Liaoning by the Liaoning Provincial Museum and the Liaoning Song and Dance Ensemble is a rewarding endeavor amidst the booming development of cultural tourism in Liaoning Province. The play can not only be staged in theaters, but also presented as immersive in-house performances within museums, allowing audiences to enjoy elegant artistic performances while viewing cultural relics.
What kind of scene would it be if these distinctive “cultural relics” all appear on stage at the same time? Then come to the live performance of the stage play National Treasures of Liaoning and let the artists take you on a journey through time and space, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of cultural relics and bask in the light of civilization.
