Guan Guimin
Tenor Guan Guimin rose to national prominence during his distinguished career in China, and is a favorite among Gala audiences. He was interviewed by our media partner, The Epoch Times for the 2005 Gala.
Mr. Guan talked toThe Epoch Times
about his career, and the impact of Falun Gong cultivation on his
singing. He attributes his recovery from cirrhosis to the spiritual practice. ET: You wrote and composed the song At Such a Memorable Time. What are you telling the audience through this song?
GG: My state of mind is more peaceful and calm. Ancient Chinese music consisted of pure and elegant songs that were meant to improve people’s moral character; that is why ancient music was slow and peaceful and helped people to calm down. After listening to such music, your heart became peaceful. I think some of today's music is not conducive to good health.
In ancient times, drums were beaten to rouse soldiers to fight during battles. The Chinese character for music, yue, consists of a metal bell with a string on each side and a wooden support underneath it. What was the purpose of such an instrument? To call back the souls of the dead soldiers who were lying on the battlefield. The soldiers came to life when their souls returned to their bodies. The word was created based on this story.
Also, during those times, music was used to cure illnesses. Later, it was found that herbs could also be used to cure diseases. So a symbol indicating herbs or grass was added to the top of the word yue, and a new word was created that referred to medicine. In some areas, the Chinese characters for music and medicine have the same pronunciation– yue.
ET: Confucius said that music should be very elegant and graceful.
GG: [Chinese] music is for cleansing the souls and hearts of human beings and it is beneficial for human life. It's not like some of today’s music that stimulates people’s demonic nature. Some people become uncontrollably excited when they listen to music- this is harmful to their health.
ET: When you were learning music in China, did your classes include any reference to the kind of understanding you just discussed? In ancient China, as you said, it was believed that music can make people happy and peaceful. Did the school teach these principles?
GG: Not in my generation. There were no music classes that taught this when I went to school. I've learned this through reading a lot about music.
ET: What is your preferred style of singing, Western or Chinese?
GG: I learned Western style singing at school but I like to sing Chinese folk songs.
ET: Are you saying you sing Chinese folk songs using Western techniques?
GG: Right.
ET: Do you think it changes the songs to sing them this way?
GG: In fact the methods of producing sounds are quite similar. You could use this style to sing either folk songs or foreign songs. I even listened to some young sheepherders in the countryside of North Shanxi Province. They sang really well. Their method was unique and the sound produced was in a very high range.
ET: In ancient China, there were three categories of music: songs, elegant songs, and songs sung as eulogies. Which category did the sheepherder’s songs belong to?
GG: Of course their songs weren't elegant because they hadn’t received music training. In ancient China, it took a long time to learn music and how to sing. Did you know that such training methods are still used in India today? You start as a teenager and only become an independent signer when you are over thirty years old.
ET: Do you think that music upgrades one's moral character, or does moral character improve one's musical abilities?
GG: I think they complement each other. Of course, your character has to be improved first.
ET: Have you had any breakthroughs in musical expression or comprehension after you started practicing Falun Gong?
GG: Before practicing Falun Gong, I was a bit excitable; now I think I act more rationally. Musical expression is not judged by how excited you are when you sing. It's most important to express the good- not to bring the audience to a frenzy.
ET: Thank you for granting this interview.
GG: You're welcome.