The long dragon was danced, its scales twinkling with the dim lights. The old country artist stretched his muscles and bones, but the falling drumsticks followed the rap beats, singing and dancing together, and the dragon scales rolled.
Family, friends, ancestors; past, present, and myths are all blended together in this ancient and mysterious cave.
Recently, "Longyou Grottoes: The Endless Cave" had its world premiere in Germany, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The film is a new attempt by Discovery Channel and the cultural tourism marketing of a small town in western Hunan, China. It uses an innovative form of documentary to give the purpose of tourism The brand-new experience and endless imagination space of Dilongyou Grottoes attract audiences, especially young people, to come and visit Longyou.
"Longyou Grottoes: The Endless Cave" poster
In the documentary, rapper Xiaohuo and American musician Liang Kailun teamed up with folk artists from Longyou to launch a unique new media performance at the Longyou Grottoes in Quzhou, Zhejiang. The huge grottoes that were once hidden underwater are still uncertain about the age and function of their excavation, triggering endless conjectures.
The program did not explore the reasons for the existence of the grottoes. Instead, it brought together a rigorous scholar and an unbridled rapper, causing two completely different fields that seemed to have no overlap to collide and blend. Serious science and willful free play collided. Yes, all kinds of wonderful ideas keep popping up.
Little Tiger sings:
Dragon, please swim endlessly
Endlessly singing and endless dancing
Village children and:
Longyou Grottoes
Every life can join
Caves have always been mysterious. Darkness can stimulate people's thinking and symbolize unlimited potential and imagination. It seems that this place is very different from the outside world, but in the long history, caves have been the first place where people gathered.
Why are we gathering here?
The cave is the first permanent container owned by human beings, which can house the young, old, sick, weak, tools, food, and even people's thoughts. The most primitive human settlement so far is a hollow dug underground in the soil, which is as hard as bricks after being exposed to wind and sun. The cave is also an excellent place to worship the gods. The respect for the dead of the same kind is more powerful than actual life in prompting people to find a fixed gathering place.
From temples to astronomical observations, from theaters to universities, they all originated from the ancient gatherings held by humans around ancient tombs or cave paintings in ancient times. In the process of people gathering together, the emperor gradually occupied the central position and became the magnetic pole of the magnet. As a result, the cave witnessed the changes of human dynasties and experienced countless bloody storms.
American archaeologist Shi Hanwen, who works at the Dunhuang Academy, also hopes to join the gathering at Longyou. Since villagers discovered numerous underwater caves in the 1990s, Longyou has sparked heated discussions in the archaeological community: Who built them, why were they built, and how should they be used?
The wide grotto inside seems to be a natural storage space, and the few stone carvings in it are similar to the birds and horses of the Neolithic period. Isn't it just like the sacrificial place decorated by primitive humans in the shape of a horse? The densely distributed large and small caves are like a group of underground pyramids. Like many existing megalithic ruins in the world, they inspire people's endless imagination about ancient civilizations and even outer space.
However, Shi Hanwen's imagination is based on physical evidence. What he paid attention to were the chiseled marks on the roof of the cave that were as regular as razor blades, the tall columns formed by triangular fans inside the cave, and the red sandstone evidence scattered in the Yuan Dynasty courtyard and the Ming Dynasty city wall. After visiting villages, will the story about King Xu Yan hiding his soldiers in the small paintings on the walls of houses become another kind of historical evidence?
The little tiger's song sounded in Shi Hanwen's ears:
The sword is unsheathed while listening to the rain in the cave
The first sword cuts the moonlight to bandage the wound
The second sword slashes the stars and lights up the eyes
The third sword cuts off the words in the wind
…
Forge weapons, cook corn
Lurking here with the dragon
Many animals need to live in groups in order to survive. However, the gathering of humans has an additional layer of spiritual needs above survival. The seemingly empty Longyou Grottoes are filled with a rich historical atmosphere. It is like a cultural field. Every exchange, discussion, and dispute that takes place there has carved a clear mark on this ancient cave. And this encounter was so strange that this little-known town in western Zhejiang, which was once hidden in the mountains, actually led to an archaeologist and a rapper traveling together! Since electronic instruments can play together with traditional drums, Chinese Youlong has joined the beat of hip-hop for the first time. In Longyou, what is impossible?
Longyou Grottoes is a huge container, absorbing science, art, countryside, modernity, past, future... It is absorbing everything, and more fresh creations are also emerging. When daily life reflects the shadow of history, people gather together again in ancient grottoes, and they will gather together forever.
