Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    COMMISSIONED and composed in Shenzhen, “Ode to Humanity” is a choral symphony by contemporary Chinese composer Wang Ning. Shenzhen scholars Yi Heng and Han Wangxi wrote the lyrics.

    The magnificent, grand composition took more than six years to complete, and uses classical music as a tool to offer a modern perspective on Confucian philosophy.

    Inspired by the core concepts of Confucianism, which are ren, yi, li, zhi and xin — benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness — the symphony consists of a prelude, five movements and a coda. Over the five movements, the spirit of ren, yi, li, zhi and xin are explored and interpreted through the music.

    Wang Jingsheng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and head of the committee’s publicity department, proposed creation of the symphony around 2006, hoping to better introduce Confucian philosophy and Chinese civilization to the world.

    Lyrics for “Ode to Humanity” were published in Shenzhen in 2010, and the Shenzhen Municipal Government invited Wang Ning to compose the symphony.

    Wang Ning, a well-known Chinese composer and director of the composition department at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, accepted the task immediately. In order to collect material, find inspiration, and better understand the spirit of Confucius and Confucianism, he went to Qufu, hometown of Confucius, six times. He finally finished three versions of the symphony, and after consideration it was decided the version with the chorus at the end best exemplified the intentions for the symphony.

    The lyricists said they wanted to make the end like “Ode to Joy,” and the lyrics show the theme of the symphony — a world of universal harmony.