The natural sounds of birds and insects, the wind in the pines that line Juyongguan Pass beside the ancient Great Wall provides an unforgettable sonic landscape.

Three traditional master musicians gather to commune – with the spirits of Heaven and Earth.

Qin master Zhao Jiazhen uses the strings of her instrument to paint a sonic picture in the sky, a melody borne on a breath of simplicity.

Master Sound Engineer Li Dakang has carefully recorded each nuance of these songs within songs.

The entire production is a realization of the vision of esteemed pure music producer Ye Yunchuan, to capture in sound the essence of Zen – a place where body and mind join the ebb and flow of millennia.

 

The bright moonlight pierces the early evening sky. Crickets and cicadas have begun their autumnal song outside your window; from a distance, the sound of a neighbor’s chickens and dogs. Further still, from the mountains and valleys are the sounds of rushing waters and gusts of wind. The fall colors have begun to cast their blush on the trees and the nights have become chilly. All these diverse sounds, splendid in their diversity and extravagance, blend with the chiming of a distant temple bell, telling us of the cycles of life from its splendid seclusion.

This universal mind has been passed down for thousands of years, from the cottage of Zhuge Liang the great ‘Sleeping Dragon in Shu Han, to the drinking cup of Ruan Ji, (one of the Seven Sages of the bamboo Grove, famous for his drinking bouts) in Wei Jin; From Zhuangzi’s, the great Daoist philosopher’s ecstasy in the dream of butterfly, to the fisherman’s lonely hermitage, or the acolytes straw mat at the feet of a Zen Masters’ pedestal… the sounds of music emanate from every myriad hidden place on this quiet mountain, in the study, and from the fingertips and breath of the two master musicians and their silk and bamboo instruments.. The sun and moon rise and set, the seasons change in endless cycles; what remains the same is the universal heart that contains the heaven and earth, and the union the spirit with mind and nature.

 “Harmony of Nature and Man - Zen • Mind” continues the spiritual journey begun in the previous album, “The Harmony of Nature and Man.” Once again, we trekked to Juyongguan Pass to record in a natural setting, in the shadow of the Great Wall. Joining us were the summer cicadas, autumn insects, the murmur of clear mountain springs, and the soughing of the wind through the ancient pine trees; all the sounds of nature have become transformed into Si Zhu – silk and bamboo music.

Zhao Jiazhen, a professor of guqin at the Central Conservatory of Music, uses the strings of her instrument to paint a melody borne on a breath of simplicity. Wang Ciheng, the famous dizi soloist, and Li Congnong, the well-known percussionist, provide her with a dignified and heartfelt accompaniment.

Distinguished recording engineer Li Dakang displays his extraordinary skill once more in harmonizing the sonic worlds of man and nature. And celebrated Chinese traditional brush painter Zhao Yuepeng (赵跃鹏) has provided his painting, 外师造化，中得心源 (“Learning from Nature; Feeling from the Heart") for our cover, to create a total work of art - combining sound and image and nature. It is the hope of producer Ye Yunchuan, that “Harmony of Nature and Man – Zen • Mind” will provide an anodyne to our busy, noisy world.

     The atmospheric soundscape of insect songs and autumn dews, evening rains and Zen bells calm our anxious thoughts and awaken the Zen Mind within; as placid as deep waters, knowing neither place nor time. Even though my body has departed from this world, my mind continually seeks that quiet, empty mountain every time I hear this music. And when the music ends, the mountain is once again shrouded in timeless stillness and I see the moon shining on a solitary pine tree.