The Timeless Truth in Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Proverbial Teaching

Chow Fan-fu

The purpose of the concert, The World Is For All, which is to honour the historical importance of the 1911 Revolution through music, is shared by the many activities and events commemorating the centenary of the Revolution. But as we see it today, perhaps the practical significance far outweighs its historical importance.

The concert, under the clarion call of commemorating the Centenary of 1911, has brought together the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra from Hong Kong, the Chinese Orchestra of the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group from mainland China, and the Zhonghua Chinese Orchestra of the Chinese Music Association from Taiwan, and artists no less illustrious than Song Fei, Tung Hiu-lo, Wei Jinying, Yan Huichang, Wang Aikang and Su Wen-cheng for a rare and highly meaningful occasion of artistic exchange. The theme of 1911 has lent the concert series a remarkable focus while the excitement thus generated would, of course, be reflected in the ticket sales – a practical matter that one just cannot brush aside.

But what is of even greater relevance of the Centenary to the modern world should be Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s words in his last will and testament: “the revolution is not yet successfully accomplished, and comrades must work harder still.” If the intention behind the revolution that Dr. Sun initiated is really what is inscribed on the lintel of the main gate to his much visited mausoleum in Nanjing, and that being Dr. Sun’s own handwriting, that “The World Is For All”, the second part of his teaching “comrades must work harder still” definitely rings true. The striving efforts, when seen from a practical angle, will mean, in the main, the raising of the quality of the people. Making Chinese music heard in more places and enhancing music education are major tools to this end. On this premise the work of countless musicians and music educationists is not yet done, and a lot more efforts are still required.

In point of fact, whether the revolution led by Dr. Sun was a success or not, the first gunshot in Wuchang which sparked off the 1911 Revolution a hundred years ago, and which overthrew over two thousand years of dynastic reigns, is the fruit of the first martyrs of the revolution, which they have planted with their blood and which has now been handed down to us. For this reason another practical and realistic significance of the 1911 Revolution is “succession”. In the programme of this The World Is For All concert, there is an early work by Liu Tianhua, Song of a Promising Future, and a new work by Kuan Nai-chung, specially written for this concert, his erhu concerto A Heroine and a Martyr. The solo parts are being performed by Song Fei, certainly a master virtuoso who has taken the art of erhu performance to its heights, and the young virtuoso Tung Hiu-lo of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, where the new eco-huqin series is developed. This type of performance by a full-sized Chinese orchestra is, structurally, gradually derived from the past century of performance practices, which in turn are the result of a long succession of early modes of performance in ethnic music. The ‘success’ factor behind today’s concert therefore gives a more practical and modern meaning to the Centenary of 1911 observations today.

Music is a potent instrument to divert people’s emotions. The present programme, based on the theme of the Centenary of 1911, allows the listeners to feel for themselves the sad and dolorous fate of the Chinese people in the past hundred years, and the history of how this people never cease to struggle for a better life. As we survey the present generation, we must say that those living nowadays are enjoying the fruit of the arduous efforts of their forefathers during the past hundred years. Be that as it may, one can still sense that today, in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, there are still problems which need to be resolved, and which await the continued efforts of the various parties concerned.

Be that as it may, as we have a deep feeling for the trials and vicissitudes that our country has suffered during the past century, and as we look forward to a time of prosperity, whether our task lies in the raising of the quality of the citizens, the spreading of music, the implementation of music education, maintaining the succession in music, or the resolution of various political and social problems, we must bear in mind the words of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, that “the revolution is not yet successfully accomplished, and comrades must work harder still.” From the angle of the infinite search for excellence in the realm of the arts, everyone involved in this grand concert should indeed reflect on the famous teaching of Dr. Sun, that “the performance is not yet successfully accomplished, and everyone must work harder still.” This is also the most relevant meaning of this Centenary of 1911 celebration when it comes to self-added value.