A fusion of Chinese and Western traditions

The "Macao figure" on the cultural stage

Zhang Lixin Wang Pan Hu Yao

Performers perform a parade at the Macau International Youth Dance Festival in front of the Macau Rose Hall. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Jinjia

Macau has opened its port for more than 400 years, forming a unique cultural outlook where Chinese and Western cultures meet and merge. In the 20 years since returning to the motherland, Macao cultural workers have created a unique cultural figure in Macao with excellent works and wonderful performances, rejuvenating the cultural accumulation of more than 400 years.

A large-scale cultural and arts event, "Arts and Cultures, Macao", which lasted for half a year, came to an end. The 41 arts and cultural activities include 21 international art exhibitions, 6 outdoor art installations integrated into urban attractions, 11 large-scale performances, etc., creating an atmosphere of "City Art Museum, Art Park Everywhere" in Macau, attracting visitors As many as 16 million people.

"Macau is not only the gambling industry, but also excellent artists and cultural works." Said Mu Xinxin, director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government. Linked together, it provides Macau with an internationally consistent art exhibition platform.

As a famous historical and cultural city, in addition to numerous museums and public cultural institutions, Macau also has two professional art groups, the Macao Orchestra and the Chinese Orchestra, and the Macao Academy of Performing Arts and the Polytechnic College of Art.

On the Broadway in Macau, the Macao Chinese Orchestra is using traditional folk instruments to practice ensemble classics such as the Legend of the Condor Heroes, the Confederate Reporter, and Ning Ning Mei.

Speaking of the orchestra's works, Cai Jialin, the general manager of the Macau Chinese Orchestra, is most proud of the fusion of Chinese music and the traditional Portuguese form of music "Fado". "Fado" has a history of more than 150 years and has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

According to reports, in July of last year in Macau, the Chinese Orchestra and the famous Portuguese "Fado" singer Moutinho joined hands to perform, performing a wonderful performance of Chinese and Portuguese music and art intertwined. Last September in Portugal, the Chinese folk music version of "Fado" also caused the audience to boil.

"The fusion of Chinese silk bamboo and Portuguese 'Fado' has already begun to bear fruit and is well received by the audience. We are still exploring more and better integration possibilities and trying to combine Chinese music with more Portuguese-speaking countries' music. Cai Jialin said that this cultural integration is the characteristic of Macau.

Looking for creative inspiration and positioning Macao characteristics between Chinese and Western history and culture, and between ancient and modern art forms, has become the cultural consciousness of many Macao artists.

The 80-year-old Macau artist Chen Yifeng still maintains a vigorous creative vitality. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Portugal and the 20th anniversary of the return of Macau, his original musical "Macao Cannot Love" brought the historical story of the famous Portuguese poet Jámez to Macau more than 400 years ago.

"James' Macao story is actually a story about the community of human destiny. To make such a musical, I want to create a fine art piece created by Macao with international perspective, sense of time, and historical depth." Chen Yifeng hoped that After the performance in Macau, the work can tour the Greater Bay Area and then perform in Portuguese speaking countries.

Twenty years ago, in celebration of Macau's return to the motherland, Chen Yifeng directed the large-scale historical stage drama "Affection for the Bright", telling the theme of the return with the story of the national treasure. Since then, he has also directed the large-scale historical poetry drama "Xin Hai Feng Yun", commemorating the 100 years of the Revolution of 1911; he directed the first local film "Love Time" after the return of Macau ...

Looking back on his artistic career, Chen Yifeng, president of the Macau Film and Television Performing Arts Association, lamented: "The Macau market is small, lack of talents and resources in the field of culture and arts, and the development of the cultural industry has been difficult for a long time. The hope of breaking the dilemma is reached. "

Unlike older generations of artists who are fond of traditional stages and screens, a group of young people in Macau are trying to use new technologies to tap Macau's cultural resources, use the Internet to spread, and create brand-new Macau cultural products. Du Zhi, founder of Viking Macau, is one of them.

Du Zhi defined Viking Pictures as "a new type of" culture + "type cultural and creative enterprise", focusing on deeply exploring the cultural connotation advantages of Macao, and building a unique enterprise fusion of "cultural + figurative industry" and "cultural and creative + scientific and technological innovation". The road to development. "Viking's main operation is cultural IP, not just film and television dramas. Film and television is just one of the carrying methods to achieve this goal."

"Food God of Macau" is currently the main product promoted by the company. As a long-term IP film and television drama project, the content is based on the culinary experience of the protagonist Mr. M, and explores the authentic interaction of restaurants and food to showcase the Macau food culture. "We hope to show the most intensive part of Macau's food culture to the audience for a long time. This is also a tribute to Macau's 20 years of development." Du Zhi said.

At present, Viking Pictures, in conjunction with Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises, is building an international digital vision center in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Industrial Park. Du Zhi believes that Macau is on the eve of the outbreak of the entertainment industry. Only by combining new technologies and using new space can we promote a moderately diversified and sustainable economic development.

The Macau Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Center, where Viking Pictures has settled, is the first national filing and creation space in Hong Kong and Macao. At present, more than 100 entrepreneurial projects have settled in, most of which are technology and cultural projects.

In recent years, the cultural and creative atmosphere in Macau has gradually become stronger. Statistics show that from 2014 to 2017, Macau's cultural and creative enterprises rose from 1038 to 2088, an increase of 101%. The total value added of Macao's cultural industry's service income to the overall economy is growing at an annual rate of about 7%. At present, four types of cultural industries, such as creative design, cultural performances, art collections, and digital media, have reached a certain scale.

Zhu Miaoli, acting chairman of the Executive Committee of the Macau Cultural Industry Fund, said that the development of Macau ’s cultural industry is not only to promote industrial diversification, but also to respond to the development plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. A multicultural coexistence exchange and cooperation base "promotes the overall direction of multicultural communication and regional cooperation.