of course, it goes far beyond food, music and dance. It goes into values and ways of thinking about the world.
Once upon a time, or so my teacher told me, a Chinese boy and an American girl had a squabble.
Both wanted to keep a bunny rabbit they had found in the garden.
Surely you've seen a rabbit sunning himself in the grass.
Nothing is more lovable, nothing more natural. No wonder they wanted him.
The Chinese boy played his er-hu. Happiness and joy, longing and passion, filled the air. The little rabbit swayed gently and began to move his ears in the direction of the music. He liked what he heard.
The girl then took out her violin and played it to produce beautiful melodies of her own.
The rabbit began to bounce in her direction.
So intent were the children on their own music that neither paid the other any attention.
The competing melodies confused the little rabbit and he did not know which way to turn .Unable to attract the little creature, both children gave up ;they walked away, in different directions, leaving the rabbit. . .alone.
But, what if they listened ,what if they really heard each other's music, instead of always playing their own tunes?
When I hear the music of a violin ,rich with the joys of men and women who came together and sang and danced.. . I hear echoes of the music of the grass lands, of the hills, of the rivers...of my own native land.
Is music mine and yours, or is it ours?
What I want to hear is the er-hu and the violin played together, in rhythm and in tune. Together, we can produce new and beautiful music, rich with textures and sounds that can only be made in harmony.
The rabbit sits in the grass in the ever-warming sun. Waiting for us to play, waiting for the symphony to begin.
Will he have to wait forever? The