Trip to China: Experience that Benefits the Whole Life

Mr. Hamori Jozsef is the member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, former head of the Ministry of Culture and general consultant of science policy for the present premier. He led a delegation to visit China last September. They took part in the Hungarian Culture Day events in Beijing and other cities. And he signed the 1999-2001 Hungary China Culture Cooperation Plan with Mr. Sun Jiazheng, the head of the Ministry of Culture in China. To meet the requirement of this magazine, he spoke glowingly about the impressions of trip to China.

"After the last sound, from the boots stamping the floor during the men's soldier recruiting dance performed by National People Art Ensemble, crossing the stage of Beijing 21st Century Theatre, the bursts of applause by the audiences still cannot be forgotten so far." The Minister Hamori Jozsef was glad to mention the performances given by the two joined art groups, Hungarian National People Art Ensemble and Ewald Puintet Band. "That was really a success like storm bursting. Chinese audiences rose up to applaud to congratulate on the successful performances. My hosts nodded their head again and again to show their appreciation. The scene like shouting loudly and applauding enthusiastically, which has seldom happened to Chinese audiences recently, is a precious gift."

The Minister also mentioned the performances given by Toth Aladar Children Chorus early in Hong Kong and Beijing. This children chorus showed several Kodaly Zoltan's works there. Specialists gave favourable comments to their performances. China is more and more interested in Kodaly's works and his teaching method. Therefore, he indicated: "We are planning to support the work of the China Kodaly research society. We will send out our experts and receive Chinese students in Kodaly Music Institute in Kecskemeten."

He said: "In China, we can always meet those marvellous vestiges of several millennial culture, and samples which show how people are interested in Hungarian culture. This is very pleasant. I think it is important for both our countries to value, protect and treasure the cultural roots, when facing those real attempts of 'no need for culture' in the name of the 'culture globalization' slogan."
"I feel especially proud that the coorperation of film workers in two countries is expanding in the art area of the same generation. A worldwide famous Hungarian film director Meszaros Marta will coorperate with international well-know Chinese filmmakers to film 'Marvellous Mandarin'. This film will show that different cultures meet then penetrate and mix to enrich each other from both reality and implied meaning point of view. The link of literature is also helpful for this. Personal contact and cultural understanding to each other are very important. I hope everybody, including myself, views the trip to China as experience that benefit the whole life."

Minister Hamori Jozsef recalled: "In historical ancient city Xi'an, Qin Terra-Cotta Soldiers preserved wonderful handicraft traditions and the time print of past years. In Beijing, the capital of a country that is as big as a continent in the world, besides those treasured cultural historic sites and towering palaces, countless modern and post-modern architectures were built up in recent 50 years. In developing area of Shanghai, the impression of it really seems as in Manhattan. In this big metropolis, the newly established opera will be compared favourably with Sydney National Opera. I hope Hungarian opera associations will win new fans there for world famous Hungarian music and dance in the near future. Anyway, this is a marvellous country with unimaginable people. I will always happily recall those days in China and tell my acquaintances: Go to visit China. It's worth!"