Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Ballad of Lan Huahua played by Yu Hongmei

Posted on April 21, 2014September 27, 2020 by Dharma Documentaries
A traditional Chinese ballad played on the Erhu by Yu Hongmei.

Yu-Hongmei

This is a traditional ballad played on the Erhu by Yu Hongmei, accompanied on the Yangqin by an unknown artist.

The emotion and artistry involved in her playing is hard to describe until you have heard her.

The following synopsis of the story is based on comments by Allen Zhou:

The folk story depicts a farmer’s daughter whose name is Lan Huahua (literally a kind of flower in Chinese), she is probably 17 or 18 years old, presumably very beautiful, leading a poor but simple life.

3:00 she is playing in the mountains, maybe with flowers, happy and innocent.

4:25 she hears news she will be forced to marry a wealthy landlord because her father could not pay the rent.

6:09 weeping and sobbing by herself, she wants to resist fate, but in vain, this is the saddest part of the piece.

9:44 she escapes from her husband and is chased by servants of the landlord.

10:40 running uphill, the road becomes narrower and suddenly she is facing a cliff.

10:44 she jumps and falls into the river under the cliff and dies.

11:50 the author’s feeling for Lan Huahua.

12:25 in the village people still remember her as in the past, but they will never see her again.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, China, Music

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2oc

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • Hermits, Modern Chinese Practitioners
  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life
  • Life Beyond 1, Alien Life
  • Bhutan, Change Comes to the Happy Kingdom
  • The 108 Lokesvaras in Nepal
  • Survive (the Khmer Rouge)

Related Posts

  • China Cultural Heritage: Qingtian Stone Sculpture
  • The Golden Age of the Arts in China, 1
  • Dunhuang, Soul of the Dances (8 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Lost Music of the Stone Chamber (7 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, The Heavenly Dance (6 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Costumes in the Dunhuang Caves (5 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Reviving the Heavenly Music (4 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Exotic Music and Dance (3 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Playing the Pipa Behind the Back (2 of 8)
  • Dunhuang, Flying Apsaras (1 of 8)
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme