Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

 Until the film reeled its last acknowledgment and the lights came on, nobody in the cinema moved or left. They were still immersed in the visual-audio feast of A Tapestry of a Legendary Land. The flying verdant colors, the melodious folk orchestra, and the story of Song Dynasty (960-1279) painter Wang Ximeng's quest to create the painting Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers, lingered in the heads of moviegoers.

During the recently concluded National Day film period, A Tapestry of a Legendary Land stood out as a unique gem despite not being the highest earner. It started from a low box office take and screening share on the first day, but quickly became the highest-rated and most acclaimed film during the Golden Week holidays.

The film is an adaption of the dance drama of the same name, which was inspired by the legendary Song Dynasty painting. A national treasure now kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing, the painting has only been exhibited several times in the past century due to its fragile nature.

A poster of the film A Tapestry of A Legendary Land Photo: Courtesy of China Oriental Performing Arts Group

All we know is that Wang, the painter, was 18 years old when he finished the painting. However, his life was a mystery, and anything other than creating this painting has gone undocumented. Experts speculate that he soon passed away after creating this masterpiece. Inspired by the painting when it was briefly exhibited in 2017, modern day Chinese artists created the dance drama, presenting the arduous work of Wang in creating the painting. The dance drama was adapted into a stage show and performed live at the 2022 Spring Festival Gala, making it nationally known overnight. The second leap for the dance drama, this film utilizes artistic cinematography to more profoundly present the dance and the culture connected to it.

Having watched it, I recommend this film to anyone of any age and any cultural background. I'd like to share my own review here with our readers. No worries that this will spoil the film, as the sensory presentation and rich cultural connotations in it transcend language.

Watching it in the cinema, I sensed with pride how it allowed me to view the culture I live in from a third-person vantage point and become self-conscious and appreciate how beautiful this culture is. It certainly will be greatly helpful and even a shortcut for people from other countries and cultures to delve in and better understand Chinese aesthetics and the philosophy behind it.

The visuals in this film are exceptional. The film resembles a delicate ink painting, with colors such as vermilion, indigo, and lilac intertwining on the screen like a river. Each frame is like a meticulously carved artwork, with the grander of the architecture and the ethereal beauty of the landscapes presented to the fullest by the director's exceptional aesthetic standards. Especially in the dance scenes, every movement of the dancers is precise and in place, as if they themselves are part of the scenery.

The plot of the film is ingeniously presented. It adopts the perspective of a modern cultural relics researcher, taking the audience on a journey through time to witness the arduous process of Wang creating Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers. This narrative method, being both subjective and objective, not only retains a sense of historical depth but also provides modern audiences with a sense of immersion. While watching the film, audiences can not only appreciate Wang's artistic pursuit and life experiences but also gain an understanding of the extensive and profound nature of traditional Chinese culture.

It depicts the growth and creative struggles of a painter and also showcases every technique involved in serving the creation of the painting, embodying Eastern aesthetics through brush making, ink tempering, making silk, seal carving, and more. Together, they collaboratively made the creation of this masterpiece possible.

Looking at the painting, one can only marvel at the mountains depicted in verdant colors, and also at the imagination of the contemporary stage artists who brought the painting to life with women's towering hair buns and outfits representing the endless mountain hills.

Wang's life may have stopped at a young age but his creation and other true masterpieces of art will be carried on, being amplified and evolved through the efforts of generations and generations of artists.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn