Music performance theory,

1. Classical Chinese music and
traditional Chinese painting are twin
sisters. Take, for instance, the
traditional painting for landscapes:
there is no obvious focus in the
picture, but each part seems to have
its own focus in such a manner that
the variety of local character is in
harmony with the whole picture,
including the empty parts. In
traditional Chinese painting, the
empty parts are very important too
in order to give the whole painting
life. If everywhere were painted,
there would be less freedom of
imagination for the viewers in
appreciating the painting. In another
words, the appreciating of painting is
an interactive and dynamic process
between the viewers and the painting.

2. The same is true with classical Chinese music. Each phrase
is one sentence followed by a certain silence in such a way
that the variety of sounds and the silences (and sometimes
noise) are combined harmoniously in forming the sound
poetry, creating a kind of dynamic link between the
performer and the audience. A good performer can create
such a link so that the listeners can experience the power
and the beauty of the music in a way like enjoying a
beautiful poem and painting. To achieve this, only the
perfection of playing technique is NOT ENOUGH. One has
to understand the spirit of the music, and pass that spirit to
the listeners. The best result can be achieved with the purest
heart one can keep. That is, one must free the mind, and be
humble such that the performer becomes the instrument. In
this sense, the live performance is a dynamical and heart-to-
heart process.