The traveller dreamt in Qilian a hundred million years ago
Beyond the fortress in Qilian
The hangover traveller woke up from a dream
He forgot that this was a foreign land
For days he had been thinking
Why not cease the wandering, here and now?
The promised years pregnant with poetry and wine
Dwelling in the mountains and rivers, living the life of Li Po
Faintly inside the cracks of Amidongsuo,
Tsangyang Gyatso dropped faithful tears
Was he crying out for ecstasy?
Perhaps he was crying out for ecstasy.
Lost my words towards the frozen rivers and mountains,
For their beauty made my heart pause.
Like the meditators dropped their gaze deep in Samadhi.
No need to hide oneself in thousands and thousands of cosmoses.
The wind held the sound of the Qiang flute on the rising and falling steppe.
Across this vast land,
The Sun penetrated the rainy dew, illuminating the past and the inner realm
We shall tell the world that people here were never lost
The rolling steppe never needed any path
Far away, it is already far away
Why depart for the land far away?
Longing for that on the tip of the cloud
No longer able to tell the world and the heaven
Withdrawing from love and hatred
Contemplating the Heart Sutra on the other side of the Arou Temple
Hundreds of millions of meteors
Once hung on the treetops a hundred million years ago
The traveller’s heart was one of the meteoroids
It fell in Ebao
And became the protector of this desert city
Silently guarding the extending darkness
Together with the fleeting time elves
Letting the long hair sweeping the ground
Slowly and meticulously, counting the soundless smiles at dawn
And then came across me incidentally in a dream.
Poems grow on Drow Mountain
A hundred million years ago
The tribe migrated
The last bonfire, leaving behind the last person
The drained Garuda
Feathered into the snow mountain
A hundred million years later,
The missing wolves
Went to the Drow Mountains for love as told by legends
They had abundant to live on since
And manifested their savageness
Today
The Xianbei knights who ran after the deer
Hung up their rusted bows and arrows in the dried thorn field
Never want to go back to the central plains
The living beings
Only trust in the power of the origin
Now, we can bury the books and civilization together into the earth
As we plant the seeds, the poems grow.
This Shore
The tide retreated, the boat remained at this shore
A couple sauntered on the beach
I pretended to turn to the setting sun
My heart was filled with harmony
The waves pounded, and the coconut wood sang
Countless birds gathered beyond the clouds
Bailixi herded cattle along the South China Sea
This world has long lost the sense of longing.
The flower protector bell that blew up the shade
The white horse that woke up the dream
Life has always been sweet like the boundless wind and moon
On this shore, I would rather put on straw sandals and hold a bamboo stick,
retreating into a plain and languid life
Light up the lighthouse on the balcony
The mast that conducted the dancing stars
Love can be indulging as the seven sages of the bamboo forest
But on this shore, I just want to meditate in silence, contemplating upon my love life after life
A little yacht brought a seed
A tiny tree awaited for the return of a traveller
This vast country and land
Does not compare to the harp, the wine, and the blithe talk.
South China Sea
The Dapeng bird from Beiming was actually a Goddess
She flew ardently across thousands of mountains, covering the furthest distance
To seek that homeless man carrying thorns on the earth
One fluttered her wings and circled around, fascinated by this glorious journey
One stumbled, from ascetic practice she started to reflect on herself
The poignant parting song was also sung most sonorously
He struggled to walk, passing countless rivers, rushing unstoppably ahead.
Go to the South China Sea, return the primordial spirit, indulge in mutual ecstasy and the Nirvana of love
Standing and watching, watching and standing,
there is a castle on the harbour of the destination.
All is one and one is all, the sandy ground is covered with exotic plants.
Love, does it belong to the mundane world?
But in this worldliness, there are also pristine monks.
Not knowing one’s ambitions nor feelings
Is truth-seeking not the fulfillment of a beautiful lie?
In this cosmos, philosophy, belief or all forms of civilization have blinded human’s instincts.
Everything, is it whale’s singing?
But it can also be just the light and shade
Everything can arise and fall apart in the endless misty waves
Seal the mind, drop the thinking, the only key is the ecstasy from the ever-changing rain and clouds.
The wanderer suddenly fell
He spread his long hair and laughed towards the sky
“Hey, pilot, I saw your belly!”
Thus, the waves roar, the heaven and Earth struck.
The Mountains Knew
The mountains knew, but never pronounced the truth.
The rivers knew, but only wept with faith.
Light up the fire, and follow Gods’ purpose.
Drop the stones, the snakes and elves are hiding beneath the stream.
You were born beautiful,
No need to explain yourself to many people.
Monsoons come and go,
The forgotten seeds became legends as they grow.
Tender heart, open up the palace floating upon the clouds.
The worldly paths, thousands of them lead to bliss.
I am you, you are me, countless of I must pass through the ego.
I am the mountains; the mountains are me.
All the mountains are mother Earth.
——————
Han Xiaohan was born in 1974, and began his professional music career in 1993. He’s a musician and composer of contemporary music that adopted folk music elements from Northeast Asia. From 1996 to 2002, he formed the band “Plag of the Doom”. At that time his music was known for its poetic lyrics, smooth and aesthetic melody, as well as close attention to people living at the bottom of society.
Since 2003, Han Xiaohan has been committing to the study of Manchu traditional music and recreation based on its original structure. In order to research into mythological Manchu Shaman music, he has been visiting dozens of remote Manchu villages in three provinces in Northeast China and inner Mongolia autonomous region, and making some field recordings there. Under the situation of the Manchu culture and music being unknown and disappeared day by day, Xiaohan has been insisting on learning Manchurian language, and he’s been making a great deal of experiment, mix, and integration on his music creation. Finally, Xiaohan created four musical Manchu mythological tales according to the lyrics of “ulabun” (Traditional Manchu Folk Music that combines talking with singing).
"abka" is a musical group formed by Han Xiaohan in 2013 for playing music that relates to Manchu Shaman mythology ulabun. The group is composed of percussion, vocals, sound effects, color instrument, video and dance. Besides Han Xiaohan himself, core members of this Group include well known performance artist Ma Fei, and members of "Liaoning Wind Orchestra": percussionist Xu Yueming and bass bass player Zhang Bo and etc. The name "abka" is derived from the creator of the world in Manchu traditional Shaman myth: Goddess abka
Most of Han Xiaohan's music works were inspired by old Manchu myths and legends (Traditional Manchu Art ulabun). The compositions were made according to the logic of Chinese ethnomusicology, meanwhile they integrated artistic conception of the East and modern composing technique of the West. They are filled with a mysterious, desolate, and ethereal aura as a whole, and the fluidity in those works often enables admires to think with vivid pictures in their minds.His music works are mainly about three different types: The first category is adapted from Manchu Shaman myth, and traditional “Holy Songs” series from ulabun, including stage production "golmin xanyan shaman --- boodejim", "enduri buku", "gaxan melody" and "Tale of the Nisan Shaman"; The second category is a combination of poetry and art songs; the third category is original sound track for films and TV plays.
Publications
1998
Plag of the Doom
2012
Glacier
The Golden Age---Xiaohan 1993-2003 Self-selected Album
2013
Tree God
Mammoth Dream
2015
Taiwan 3128 “The mountains and seas of nurhachi”；"seven prayers of the galaxy"
2018, KinTaii from Japan participated in the recording and production of the two singles "send happy strips" and "wind and arrow" from the album "manchurian shaman".Singapore experimental label "A New Hai" single
2019
“Door album shaman in the fork of a tree”
Performances
1995
China's first "Unplugged" concert, Beijing Exhibition Center, Beijing
1996
"Artists’ Spirit Party", "Say You Say Me" Bar, Shenyang
1997
"Puzzling, Perseverance, Craziness" Rock Concert, Peace Cinema & Theater, Shenyang Tiexi District, Shenyang
1998
"This is how the steel was made" Series of University Tour, Shenyang
1999
"Lei Feng Stadium Concert", Lei Feng Stadium, Fushun
"Outdoor Rock Concert at Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts", Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang
2001
"Monument of Youth" Theme Concert, Shenyang Jiaotong University, Shenyang
2005
"Singapore-China New Media 'Scratch' Art Exhibition“, Nasha Art Space, Shenyang
"Archaeology of the Future / The Second Triennial of Chinese Art ", Nanjing Palace Museum, Nanjing
2006
"Behold India and Listen to the East" Folk Music Concert, Beijing
"From the Polar to Tiexi", 20-Year Retrospective Exhibition of Northeast Art,
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
"Looking up in September" Concert, Liufangyuan Park, Guangzhou
2008
"Lit a Match and Warm the Hearts" Charity Show for the Donation to Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan, Middle street, Shenyang
2010 – 2011
"Northern Song Movement", in collaboration with some old friends Abai, The Dharma Bums, Sedimentary Season and other old music partners launched four humanitarian music reflection concerts, Super Fish Club, Shenyang
2014
New Nationalism Music Exchange Concert with Singapore musician Zai KuNing, Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore
Shaman Music Exchange Concert, Prehistoric Pyramid Museum, Sarajevo, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Listen to Xiaohan", Wizard Dargah in Taipei, Six Grains Art Museum in Taichung , Taiwan
"Listen to the Sky", National Centre for the Performing Arts & National Theater, Beijing
2015
"ASIATOPIA", Bangkok Culture and Arts Center, Thailand
"Mekong#5" Series of Environmental Welfare Activities, Bangkok Culture and Arts Center & Wuwen Mekong River Three Thousand Caves, Thailand & Laos
"A Magical Tapestry music festival ", Marina Art Center, Singapore
"Timeless Day of the the Mayan calendar" Series of Small Concerts, Taipei Wizard Dargah, Kaohsiung Tienhe Cultural Center, Taitung Iron Flower Village, Taiwan;
"Purple Air from East " Manchu World Concert, Shichahai Theater, Beijing
"Heart following with the Manchu Music" Manchu World Concert, Yulong Theater, Shenyang
2016
“From City to Island” , Pulau Ubin, Substation, Yogyakarta Performance Klub, Singapore & Indonesia
2017
"Shandong jinan fangyu theater festival", "AT rainbow project outdoor launch exhibition", China Nanjing
Thailand "lanta project" lanta ulakawi folk music exchange Thailand Koh Lanta
2019
Xiaohan Han personally participated in the Spanish Festival De Musica Aisatica Avanzada
Madrid, Spain
Participated in the urban music season of Austrian Viennese musician Hans Tschiritsch and performed with famous European avant-garde musicians Sainkho Namtchylakde and Otto.
Vienna, Austria;
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