Impression Putuo

You may remember the opening of the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Much of the opening was designed by Zhang Yimou, who is probably known better for directing Hero, but he also designed about a dozen other live shows around China that focuses on the local landscape and history. Below is one of my most favorite depictions of Guanyin from during Olympic opening. All the performers are deaf.

Next, I must introduce you to the specific show: "Impression Putuo" that I saw on a neighboring Zujiajianzhen island, but first please watch this video before reading the rest of this post, too much of this experience is ineffable -so please watch! Also, enjoy the site -it's awesome.

It's not easy to say a stage with 2,000 seats moves, but it does! Below is the entrance to the entrance to this show. Guanyin which gave us a slight hint of what we were in for. The significance of Mt. Putuo or in Chinese Putuoshan is that it is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. The mountain itself is a good size island covered in temples and shrines devoted to Guanyin.

One character in our group was interesting in acquiring a responsible amount of alcohol before the show, which proved to be difficult. A five minute walk down the road to a shack with one lightbulb selling unlabeled jars of what we would basically moonshine in the US turned out to be a successful excursion. The smallest bottle was a liter of baijiu, for some reason the did not sell pijiu (beer.) This stuff smells like gasoline mixed with sharpies and runs somewhere in the 45-55% range and costed around $2 US. We made it through less than a quater of the bottle before we were both buzzed, then poured the rest out.

After the show the bus driver held up a few jars as examples of plum wine that he offered to get us at the special price of 15RMB each ($2.50 US - a deal for plum wine.) We mentioned we were interested but the jars never came through. Ultimately, we hoped he had not been drinking those when he was waited for us. We made it back safely.

Our tickets costed around $26 which was rather on the high side for China, but considering there are about a hundred live actors it suddenly didn't seem so bad. The government also pumps a ton of money into this show to keep it running smoothly. We wandered in past the gates down a long path to the circular stadium. We walked in across the first set which was a small temple or shrine, the other sets were not in view. They told us nothing about what was going to happen, only that it was a show about Buddhism. In other words, I had no idea what was about to happen.

We waited about 15 minutes. The best way I can describe the seating arrangement is imagine sitting in a circular movie theater about 150 feet in diameter with walls 30 feet high enclosing about 3/4 of the way around. 

Soft music began to play which grew louder and louder. Suddenly massive panels 15 feet wide and also thirty feet tall rolled in from around from the perimeter of circular seating arrangement and completely enclosing the audience, which blocked any view of the set -much like curtains would. The lights turned on, a dozen actors emerged, and the show began.

Each of the actors who came out pretended to be everyday citizens of China explaining their woes in life. Suddenly they began to project images on the rolling walls that enclosed us, the music and the cries of the people grew louder. My friend translated bits and pieces of the different woes but it had become too late! The baijiu had kicked in and each translation made less sense than the previous. The pinnacle of the pain emerged at the top of the wall - a man ready to jump, to take his life, as he was so deeply in pain.

The other actors quickly talked the man down, perhaps with words of the Buddha. The images grew crazier and the overdramatic music grew even louder.

The panels opened up and the music stopped to exhibit the scene of a tranquil mountain side with a temple perched at the top. 

Hundreds of hot red tips of incense wandered in on stage carried by the many actors. The red hot offerings glowed as they wandered up to the temple. Lord Buddha appeared at the top of the steps in an illuminated figure next to the temple, the glowing incense striving toward him, longing to shed impurities.

The walls enclosed us again, the audience was slowly rotated to a new stage. As we moved I watched the constellations turn around us, it was the only time I saw stars during my cumulative 3 months in China.

The walls reopened to a scene of a small village on a lake. People flouted around in small boats and a short story unveiled itself within the mock village.

Below is a another story that was entirely projected. A Buddhist master and his apprentice (to the right,) wander in the woods find an attractive young woman trying to cross the river (the blue thing to the left.) The master breaks his vows by picking up the woman and carrying her across the stream. The young woman thanks the master and they part ways. Several hours later the young apprentice ask his master why he broke his vows by carrying the woman. The master is confused for a moment, then remembers and says: "I only carried that woman for a minute across the stream, while you have carried her for several hours." The moral being that monks further down the path can break vows and precepts as they gain the ability to control them.

Next, groups of people with high power flashlights danced. It was perhaps the simples part of the show but definitely one of the most visually entertaining.

Much of the show was simply playing with light, another interesting part was when the monks would leap from behind rocks to be met by a flash of light illuminating the saffron robes.

The large rocks they hid behind were moveable and at one point they all spun together. In combination with projecting on them there was the metaphor transfered of impermanence. The rocks shook and crumbled and mashed together with impressive power and formed new rocks, endlessly cycling.

A dramatic ending began to tie up the 70 minutes show. Emphasis on life and projections of animals and the hundred or so actors began to go everywhere. The strage rotated a full 360 degrees with the panels open to exhibit the various sets.

Prayer cards handed out before the show which we filled out, they were then collected in these glowing lotuses carried by the actors and were to be placed in the temple for three days. The format of the prayer card was to wish a particular person well.

"Impression Putuo" finally closed with spectacular light show.