Yao An, deputy head of the gorgeous Temple of Heaven in southern Beijing, couldn't conceal her excitement while talking about the upcoming performance of ancient music.

During the Temple of Heaven Culture Week to be held January 22 to 27, nine ancient sacrificial musical pieces will be performed for the public in the South Divine Kitchen, located to the east of the famous Echo Wall.

Yao said that 11 years ago she was engaged in collecting musical scores of this kind of music. She and her colleagues selected more than 30 musical scores from among 10-million-word materials of which nine classics will be presented to audiences this year as a complete program representing sacrificial offering at the temple.

The performances include Burning Firewood to Welcome God, Sun Rises Above the Sea, Song of Enjoying Bliss Together, Music of Peace and Song of A Thousand Years, of which the first will last more than four hours.

"This music was played in ancient sacrificial ceremonies and requires performers to know 17 different kinds of musical instruments such as jiangu (ancient Chinese drum), chi (ancient bamboo flute with eight holes), panpipe, bell, qing (chime stone), qin (seven-stringed plucked instrument similar to the zither) and se (25-stringed horizontal harp)," Yao says. "It is hard to find a proper player," she adds. Musical instruments such as the chi and jiangu are even more difficult to find these days. This time, the Temple of Heaven has invited 18 musical players, some of whom are academicians solely devoted to the study of ancient music.

During the culture week which has a total investment of over 1 million yuan (US$121,000), visitors will also see song and dance staged in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, as well as an exhibition of flags, weapons, etc. carried by guards, just as emperors went there in ancient times, on the Bridge of Cinnabar Steps. "The value of ancient music lies not only in its historic sense but also in its artistic attainments," Yao says. "We expect our visitors to appreciate a specific culture during the Spring Festival. The Temple of Heaven can present to them not only imposing buildings, but also cultural treasures."

Difficulty in sorting musical scores

Looking back over the past 11 years, Yao An would likely describe it as "tough."

"The working team had only five people, so we threw ourselves into museum and archive research every day, searching for song and dance material related to the emperors' ancient sacrificial offering to Heaven during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Sometimes we needed to consult rites and musical parts from official historical references including Historical Records (by Sima Qian (about 145 or 135 BC - 86 BC) of the Western Han Dynasty) and Book of Song Dynasty (by Shen Yue (441-513) of the Kingdom of Liang of the Southern Dynasties)," Yao said. The group she worked with was frequent visitors to the Capital Library, Palace Museum, National Library and the library of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In ancient Chinese music, one word represents one tune and one physical action exactly, so later generations have had to fix every word to ensure accuracy. They consulted every possible expert to translate or verify musical lines. They have been known to consult more than 10 experts to verify a single word.

Two years ago, the Temple of Heaven began to look for ancient musical experts to experiment playing the music and finally produced nine pieces. The performance will create quite a stir among audiences. "This year we are trying to pursue the artistic, entertainment and historic values of ancient music and make this rarefied music more accessible," Yao said.

Imperial ceremonial music center expected

According to Yao, the Temple of Heaven has improved its service by reviving ancient music that had almost disappeared. "We are trying to create a harmony of man with nature so that our visitors will feel enjoyment rather than emptiness while strolling through the park. It is the most ideal state for our visitors," she said.

Yao's desk is piled high with various design drawings. One depicts a sacrificial offering to Heaven scene, restored according to historical record, featuring rich, colorful and clear drawings. Yao said the real ceremony from the Qing Dynasty was much more magnificent and splendid: the musical players, civil and military officials, princes, emperor as well as attendants and eunuchs all had a place in the ceremony.

Now the office of divine music is being rebuilt in the Temple of Heaven and expected to be open to the public next year. By then, visitors will enjoy ancient music not only on Spring Festivals but also throughout the year. Besides the great hall specially used for playing ancient music, the new office of divine music will also include eight showrooms respectively devoted to qin (seven-stringed plucked instrument similar to the zither), se (25-stringed horizontal harp), drum, dance, musical scores, temperament, xun (egg-shaped ancient wind instrument made of clay pottery with one to six holes on it) and the words and music of songs.

"I have always cherished a hope that China could set up an imperial ceremonial music center. In this way we could preserve the treasures of ancient sacrificial music and carry it forward," Yao said.

To date, Japan and Thailand have already set up their own imperial ceremonial music centers and applied for world culture heritage listing. Yao said she wished the day would come soon to China.

(China.org.cn by Li Jinhui and Daragh Moller January 21, 2004)