Held annually in October, the latest SUSS Cultural China Public Lecture, co-organised by SUSS and Singaporean Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, once again recorded a successful showing.
Into its 11th year, the event held in the form of a webinar (with simultaneous interpretation in English) and livestreamed on social media, attracted more than 200 attendees over zoom and no less than 5,000 online viewers.
Mr Tan Chai Puan, a thought leader of the Malaysian Chinese cultural scene and co-founder of 24 Festive Drums, was the keynote speaker for this talk. He recounted the birth of the 24 Festive Drums performance, and discussed its dissemination across the globe and its future in the post-pandemic world.
Mr Tan Chai Puan, co-founder of 24 Festive Drums
In his welcome remarks, Associate Professor Foo Tee Tuan, Director of SUSS Centre for Chinese Studies, said that among all the speakers of the annual lecture, Mr Tan Chai Puan was the first speaker from outside of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This marked the broadening of the event’s horizon and was especially meaningful.
A/P Foo added that the 24 Festive Drums embodied the concept of ‘Cultural China’, crossing geographical boundaries and encompassing the rich history of ethnic Chinese in China and overseas alike. The 24 Festive Drums is a performing art that fuses the 24 festive solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar, Chinese calligraphy and the drums of lion dance. In 1988, Mr Tan Chai Puan and the late Mr Tan Hooi Song, a renowned musician, co-founded the 24 Festive Drums. Its dissemination had been astonishingly far reaching, to the extent that scholars incorporated the phenomenon into their research works.
Performing arts at the 24-Festive Drums
Over the lecture, Mr Tan Chai Puan talked about the notion of creating the 24 Festive Drums and how the performance piqued the interest of many from the very beginning. Today, more than 400 24 Festive Drums troupes can be found worldwide, marking the milestones of its evolution as it flourished over the last three decades.
Foreign students in Malaysia and the 24 Festive Drums troupes in Singapore had contributed to the dissemination of the art and technique of the performance, added Mr Tan. He also explored the possibilities of further developing the 24 Festive Drums ecosystem, post the pandemic.
After the enriching lecture, Mr Pan Cheng Lui, former editor of Shin Min Daily News and Singapore poet, joined Mr Tan to moderate the concluding Question and Answer (Q&A) segment.
Questions from the audience ranged from the relationship between the 24 Festive Drums and community service/social benefits, reasons behind its popularity among young people, to publications on the 24 Festive Drums. It was a well-received and successful event to say the least.
Scroll down to watch the lecture.
新跃社科大学和《联合早报》在2021年10月23日联合主办的第11届新跃文化中华讲座邀请到马来西亚著名文化创意人陈再藩先生来分享二十四节令鼓从诞生的机缘乃至传遍五大洲的历程。
今年的讲座再次登上互联网的虚拟讲台，以网络研讨会（附带英语同声传译服务）及在社交媒体直播的形式进行。同步观看讲座的人数超过200人，社交媒体的累积总观看人数不下5,000人。
新跃中华学术中心主任符诗专副教授在致欢迎词时表示，陈再藩先生是新跃文化中华讲座举办了11年以来，第一位来自中港台以外的主讲人，让本次的讲座显得特别有开拓性且深具意义。二十四节令鼓体现了‘文化中华’的概念，即在地理上超越疆域，同时也涵盖了中华民族在海内外的千年历史底蕴。
二十四节令鼓是结合了二十四节气、书法和广东狮鼓的鼓艺表演。1988年，陈再藩先生与音乐家陈徽崇先生合创二十四节令鼓。在这33年里，节令鼓的传播力令人震撼，如今甚至有学术研究者以这个现象作为探讨的课题。
陈先生在讲座中分享了创作节令鼓的理念，以及节令鼓在初期开始吸引人们的兴趣到后来发扬光大，世界各地组织节令鼓队的各个里程碑。他表示，到马来西亚留学的学生回国后，以及新加坡的节令鼓队都对推广节令鼓作出了贡献。陈先生也探讨了在新冠病毒“后疫情时代”如何发展节令鼓生态的观点。
本场讲座是由《新明日报》前总编辑、诗人潘正镭先生担任主席，并主持观众问答环节。问答环节的内容包括节令鼓与社会公益的关系、节令鼓受到世界各地年青人热爱的原因、关于二十四节令鼓的书籍等话题。
新跃文化中华讲座是新跃社科大学与《联合早报》在每年十月举办的常年活动，这些年来所讨论的课题包括媒体、影视、文化、民间信仰、文化遗产保护、社会政治发展等等。