Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting

China Oriental Performing Arts Group

The acclaimed dance drama The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting offers audiences an unforgettable experience with the spirit of classical Chinese art.

A Timeless Artwork Reimagined for the World

Inspired by A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the Northern Song Dynasty’s monumental landscape scroll and unparalleled treasure of the Palace Museum, the piece has been rarely exhibited and never permitted abroad. Finally, this dynamic production brings a national masterpiece to life. Rendered in vivid blue-green mineral pigments and created by the prodigious 18-year-old artist, Wang Ximeng, the original scroll remains an emblem of classical Chinese aesthetics and artistic transcendence.

Through a lyrical, time-traversing narrative, the drama follows a modern cultural historian who journeys back nine centuries to meet the young artist. Together, they illuminate the creative odyssey behind the painting. Structured in seven poetic chapters—Unfolding the Scroll, Inquiring into Seals, Chanting Silk, Seeking Stones, Practicing Brushwork, Preparing Ink, and Merging with the Painting—the performance becomes a profound meditation on the devotion, ingenuity, and artistic legacy of ancient creators. It is, above all, a reverent homage to the universal spirit of craftsmanship, artistry and cultural continuity.

An Aesthetic Offering from the East to the World

Lauded as a “pinnacle of Chinese aesthetics,” The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting premiered in 2021 at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and rose to international prominence following its captivating “Green Waist” performance during the 2022 Spring Festival Gala. In fewer than four years, it has garnered over 700 sold-out performances, celebrated for its exquisite synthesis of stagecraft—costume design, scenic composition, hairstyling, musicality, and choreography—all meticulously attuned to traditional Chinese artistic sensibilities.

Rooted in the refined culture of the Song Dynasty—often regarded as the “Eastern Renaissance”—the production evokes an era where humanism, artistic elegance, and intellectual exploration flourished. More than a visual spectacle, the drama presents a living philosophy: a vision of harmony between humanity and nature, simplicity and sophistication, daily life and poetic imagination. These themes, eternal and borderless, continue to resonate with contemporary audiences across the globe.

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