Soliloquy of the Ocean
Shenzhen, China
2018, Senior, Performing Arts
Reflection
In the Chinese mythical love story “Big Fish & Begonia,” humans and undersea creatures are essentially interrelated. While the mermaids are looking forward to the human’s world, their curiosity sometimes leads them to lethal death - rampant huntings target them and thousands of fishes and dolphins lose their lives. The climate change that leads to extreme weather also causes disorder in nature. These large scale massacres hurt so much, but they haven’t given up in their faith and belief. They are waiting for a day that humans become good again like they were in the past. In order to better emotionally convey the idea that sea creatures are suffering from hunting and climate change, I specially created background music to evoke the feeling of peacefulness at the beginning and the end, which greatly contrasts the expression of sadness and suffering at the middle. While the Chinese mythology is reflecting the oceanic issues, people should be more aware of the severe oceanic pollution along the South-Asia coastline, e.g. the plastic resin pellet pollution and factory contaminant pollution from industrial factories. I chose to participate in music because of my interest in traditional Chinese music and my concern for environmental issues. On one hand, I grow up in a coastal city in China and have done many coastal cleaning projects with my environmental club. On the other hand, I like playing Guzheng and want to have more people listen to Chinese folk music.