On June 6th, the Chinese Folk Music and Chu Opera Concert was held in WHU to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The concert opened with the classic My Motherland. The unchained and passionate tunes demonstrated the aspirational and fearless spirit of the Chinese people. The lyrics, vivid and inspirational, reflect the theme of an age and express the wishes of the masses.

The concert reached its climax when the Chu opera was performed by Liu Danli, the dean of the Art School of Wuhan University. She and her students jointly performed A Praise to Red-plum and Embroider Red Flag, two episodes of Sister Jiang. The song lingered in the air, charming and powerful, profoundly delivering the revolutionary integrity and bravery of the glorious martyrs of the Chinese nation.

Liu Danli performing with her students

Sing a Folk Song to the Party, the memorable folk song, was the last song to be performed by the Chinese orchestra of WHU. The song holds the structure of a trilogy. The first episode of the song was full of passion and enthusiasm, while the second episode was wistful and melancholic, representing a strong contrast between the old and the new society. The last episode pushed the music to a climax, reproducing the theme of the first episode and expressing the deep love for the nation again.

“I’m impressed by their performance. The rhythms keep lingering in my head. I can feel the great longing for a bright future conveyed through the lyrics. With twists, resplendence and downturn, one hundred years have gone past since the founding of the Communist Party of China,” a student from the School of Foreign Languages and Literature remarked.

Finally, the audience and performers jointly sang the song Without the Communist Party there would be no new China. The passion and enthusiasm of the audience were ignited during that night.