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Cliff Buddle

Young Hong Kong musicians are recreating the “lost music” of ancient China through unique compositions and have performed the pieces in the West for the first time with groundbreaking concerts in London and Paris.
The recent tour by the Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is part of wider efforts by the city to forge cultural ties overseas.
Since 2018, the group has performed more than 60 concerts in Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as one in Tokyo.
It played at the international Museum Summit on March 27, as Hong Kong wrapped up a month of high-profile cultural events.
But the “Go West” tour was a landmark, allowing audiences in Europe to experience such music for the first time.
Leonie Ki Man-fung, founder and honorary director of the ensemble, said the musicians had realised her dream of reviving music featured in murals and scores from the caves of ancient Dunhuang in Gansu province, located in northwest mainland China, that date back as far as the 4th century.
“Music has feelings. The murals are dead, but when you hear the music, it touches your heart,” she said.
Now, the mission is to take it to the world, showcasing Hong Kong, increasing awareness of the cultural treasures of Dunhuang and inspiring young people to embrace Chinese culture.
“Culture and civilisation should be boundless. It should not have a border,” Ki said.
She told guests at a reception for the first concert, which was held at the British Library in London, that the opportunity to perform in front of a European audience was invaluable.
The concert, co-presented by the ensemble and Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in London in late February, featured 10 original works created by resident composers Kam Shing-hei and Chu Kai-yeung.
Ancient Dunhuang was a lively oasis town on the Silk Road trading route, with a diverse mix of cultures. Parallels have been drawn with today’s Hong Kong, a multicultural city seeking to play its role as China’s “superconnector”.
Ki said: “Our mission is to keep the culture and protect it and to make it progressive. We need to move with the times and the thinking of young people. We want our young people to like Chinese culture.”
Composers Kam and Chu said their work had helped them answer questions about their identity and that of Hong Kong people.
Chu said: “I was having an identity issue. I was not sure why I was writing music. I was looking for my own language and style.
“Everyone says Hong Kong is a cultural desert. But it has all the cultures in one place. What is that culture doing?”
Kam said the identity issue was integral to the composers’ creativity, with Dunhuang having helped him to better understand the value of being an artist in Hong Kong.
“Through our music, we try to pursue the authenticity of culture or of music itself,” he said.
Buddhism provided Dunhuang with its cultural texture, he added, and this philosophical element was the “biggest selling point” for Hong Kong youth.

The compositions complemented an exhibition of more than 50 relics from the cave at the British Library, many displayed for the first time.
Luisa Elena Mengoni, head of the British Library’s Asian and African collections, said the ensemble was a perfect fit for the cultural programme tied to the exhibition.
“It was very good for the audience in the UK to see the use of traditional instruments and their diversity. It was a great opportunity on many different fronts,” she said.
Mengoni added that Hong Kong’s cultural scene was “extremely vibrant”.
“We are very committed to continuing to engage with institutions in Hong Kong and to draw on the experience of past years, building on some of the connections we’ve established so far,” she said.
The concert was attended by Wang Qi, minister at China’s embassy in the UK, and the local ETO’s then-director general, Gilford Law, as well as academics, museum representatives, members of international Dunhuang projects and the general public.
Law said it was especially significant given the many historical and cultural ties shared by Hong Kong and the UK. He added: “The concert exemplifies the power of music in celebrating international friendship.”
Hong Kong’s role in “deepening international collaboration and exchanges” was highlighted in Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s work report at the key “two sessions” political meetings in Beijing last month.
Law said the ETO ran 26 cultural projects last year, ranging from fashion to film, music and theatre, to promote understanding of Hong Kong and its cultural scene.
The ensemble, featuring students from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, took part in sharing sessions at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University College of London before wrapping up the trip with a one-hour concert at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Paris.
Ki said the tour had allowed the group to open new doors and make fresh connections, and it had received invitations to return to Europe.
She said the group would continue to strive to be a “cultural ambassador” through its recreating of the lost music of Dunhuang.


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Recent tour by Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is part of wider efforts by city to forge cultural ties overseas


Recent tour by Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is part of wider efforts by city to forge cultural ties overseas.


Hong Kong culture

Chinese culture

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hongkongers perform ‘lost music’ of ancient China in the West for the first time

Recent tour by Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is part of wider efforts by city to forge cultural ties overseas

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