Noah’s story retold through Cantonese opera

Jacky Wong and Teresa Leung rehearse a scene from 'Noah’s Ark'
Despite criticism from other performers, Christian opera star Jacky Wong who is better known as “Man Chin-sui,” and his wife Teresa Leung say they still intend to promote evangelization through traditional Cantonese operas. The curtain on Noah’s Ark, their first “gospel opera” was staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on September 14-15.

Jacky Wong, the renowned 70-year-old actor, began performing Cantonese operas when he was 13 and has appeared in numerous operas and TV dramas since the 1960s. After being baptized in a Protestant Church in 2006, the couple decided to end their traditional Taoist style performances and pursue an inculturated path of singing and acting the Gospel. Noah’s Ark will be the first opera by the Holy Family for Cantonese Opera Artists group which the couple founded. Besides serving as the producers, composers and screenwriters, they will also play Noah and his wife, in ancient Chinese costume. The other roles will be played by the Guangzhou Hongdou Cantonese Opera Troupe, a secular troupe in southern China.

In a recent interview with ucanews.com, the couple talked about the changes in their lives after discovering Jesus, their plans to produce Cantonese gospel opera and the challenges they have faced.
Q: How did the idea of interpreting Bible stories through Cantonese opera come about?

Leung: After listening to several hymns, I found that many people couldn’t pronounce the lyrics properly and that melodies were very limited. Hymns therefore can’t express the Bible fully. So I encouraged my husband to write hymns in the style of traditional Cantonese opera songs. Even people who don’t know the Bible can understand the lyrics since they are sung more clearly.

Q: Why did you choose Noah for your first gospel opera?

Wong: We’re telling the story of the ancient flood to remind people to repent their selfish acts against God’s creation such as pollution and abortion. Since Noah’s story is short, I have included a modern-day twist involving illegal hunters stealing animals from the ark to bring out the message of environmental protection. Also the procreation of Noah’s family and the animals after leaving the ark is a message against abortion. Noah’s story is very relevant in this day and age. There are lots of disasters occurring; they are also warnings to us.

Q: Have you tried screenwriting before?
Wong: I’ve written several gospel songs in traditional melodies since I became a Christian, but this my first gospel opera. The Bible and prayers have inspired me to be an instrument of God.
Q: What difficulties are there interpreting the Bible through Cantonese opera?

Leung: Finding someone to write the script and the songs, since he or she must be very familiar with both Cantonese opera and the Bible. We were careful and consulted a pastor to check every verse in the lyrics. I hope our upcoming performances earn good reviews so more people will realize the Bible is a treasure and accept gospel operas in the future.

Q: Won’t traditional Chinese opera as medium of evangelization only attract elderly people?

Leung: I don’t think that will be the case. Chinese opera is being promoted in primary and secondary schools, as well as universities nowadays. Many young people are learning it. Our target audience is not only the one or two thousand opera fans, but also young Christians who are interested in Bible stories. This is the first attempt to interpret Bible stories through Cantonese opera, and should interest them. I hope Christians who come because of the Noah story can get to like Cantonese opera, while non-Christian opera fans can get to appreciate the Bible.

Q: How do you foresee the future of Gospel opera?

Wong: It could be difficult as people don’t know how to write a script for a gospel opera. Many performers are also coming out against what we are doing. Opera artists have a tradition of worshipping Hua Guang, legendary founder of Cantonese opera and a Taoist god. My wife and I have been labelled traitorous and called many hurtful things for worshipping Jesus instead of Hua Guang following our conversion. When we organized Cantonese opera evangelization assemblies in Europe, they mocked at us. Yet, we will persist in promoting Gospel opera despite the difficulties as we strongly believe in God. - Courtesy: UCAN

Catholic Publishing Houses in China

It is not easy to publish a Catholic book in China. Bibles, for example, cannot be sold openly like in any other country. Bookstores cannot sell the Bible.

In the last years millions of Bibles were distributed in China. How was that possible? Here are the conditions: The book has to be approved by the government; it cannot be for profit; and the Bibles should be distributed from pre-approved places of worship (parishes approved by the government).

That is the way we distribute our Bibles in China. Slowly we see n opening, less restrictions, more flexibility, but still the process is slow.

Something similar happens with religious books. Used to publish up to 100 titles per year through Claretian Publications in the Philippines, the situation in China is completely different.

There are three Catholic publishing houses in China. And these past days we had important meetings with two of them: Faith Press (in Shijiazhuang) and Guanqi Press (in Shanghai).

Can we, then, publish a religious book in China?

Yes, if you follow the rules:

The manuscript has to be presented to the competent government authorities for their approval.

Distribution is “private”—that is though pre-approved parishes. Religious books cannot be sold normal bookstores.

The book has to be published by an approved publishing house. Claretian Publications, from Macau, cannot directly publish in Mainland… we have to go through one of the Catholic publishers.

New publishing projects

Projects are always plenty. The most important one is to prepare a new translation of the Bible into Chinese similar to the “pastoral Bible” we have in other languages. A translation faithful to the original languages; using today’s Chinese common language (easy to understand for the people); and—as the Church asks from us—with pastoral commentaries to help the reader to connect life and faith following the big Tradition of the Church.

This new edition will also have the Lectio Divina guide *following the style of the recently published by us “The Catholic Prayer Bible”. We shall publish by parts/books. Already out of the press is Luke and Acts of the Apostles. The other Gospels are ready for the press now.

With P. Joseph Zheng Wenxi an Fr. John Fei. Both of them are teaching Bible at the seminary in Shijiazhuang, The largest seminary in China.

Fr. Zheng Wenxi is the first Chinese from Mainland to get a Doctorate in Biblical studies. He just graduated from The Catholic University of America (USA). He is our good friend and he is already part of our editorial team. Fr. Fei, also a biblical scholar, is also helping in the final editing of the Chinese biblical text.

The first published volume of this project can be found in our web page: www.bibleclaret.org (go to ‘Chinese’).

The Spanish Bible “Our People’s Bible” in Chinese

Following the Gospel’s instruction that “new wine should be placed in new wineskins” we have decided to present the new Bible text along with the commentaries of the Spanish Bible that we have also published recently. There are about 1000 computer pages, single space, of commentaries and before translating them to Chinese, we had to translate them into English… the common known language of Chinese translators.

The English translation is already finished; and we already have translated into Chinese several of the commentaries… but we still have a long way to go.

Guangqi Press, in Shanghai, is one of the Ccatholic publishing house. They will soon publish 9 booklets about Consecrated Life. This is the work of Claretian Fr. José Cristo Rey García, and already published in English.

New presentation of our WEB page

Take a look at our new presentation of: www.bibleclaret.org Now you can select your language as you enter the page: English, Spanish or Chinese. And, as it has always been, everything there is for free. This is how the entrance to our new web page looks like:

Only one child policy in China?

China has over 1.3 billion people. The 30 year old disposition to have one child per family is slowly changing and we see many exceptions. In my last trip to Shijiazhuang, capital of the Province of Hebei, I stayed with a family friend of ours. As you can see in the picture, there are three children: a girl of 8 years old, and two naughty twins of five.

New Chinese bishop pledges loyalty to Pope

Father Peter Wu Junwei was ordained the third bishop of Xinjiang (Yuncheng) diocese with both papal approval and government recognition on 21 September 2010, on the Feast Day of St. Matthew. In his speech, Bishop Wu thanked Pope Benedict XVI for his appointment and trust. “I am determined to be loyal to the Pope forever,” he said.

He also urged his flock to follow the example of Saint Matthew the Apostle, whose feast was celebrated on the day of his Episcopal Ordination, to give up everything to follow Jesus and spread the Gospel.

Newly ordained Bishop Peter Wu Junwei of Xinjiang

The former rector of the Shanxi Montecorvino Major Seminary is also concerned about laity formation. Though the local Church baptized many in recent decades, the number of Catholics remains small, he said. The diocese now has 28 priests and about 40 nuns serving 15,000 Catholics, two-thirds of whom are farmers. The 48-year-old bishop comes from a staunch Catholic family. His brother is a priest while his sister is a nun. Their great granduncle, Saint Peter Wu Anbang, was martyred during the Boxer Uprising of 1900. He was canonized among the 120 Chinese martyrs in 2000.

About 140 priests concelebrated the Mass at the cathedral in Xinjiang county for about 2,000 people.

Religious official visits Taipei archbishop

The head of Taiwan’s Bishops’ Conference and the Director of China’s Religious Affairs have agreed on mainland priests going for further studies in Taiwan. The Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan, president of Taiwan’s Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, said that the Taiwan Church is very happy to assist in this regard.

Wang Zuo’an, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) in mainland China, met with the prelate in his office on Sept. 16. The Chinese official was leading a 15-member delegation on a weeklong visit to Taiwan during which he also met with Buddhist, Muslim, Protestant and Taoist leaders.

Wang Zuo’an meets Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan

The hour-long meeting between Archbishop Hung of Taipei and Wang was the first since the later assumed office in September 2009. Archbishop Hung said he spoke to Wang about the development of the Catholic Church in Taiwan. Wang also praised the work of Church people in Taiwan and other places in training mainland China priests.

Archbishop Hung said their discussion did not touch on Beijing-Vatican relations. The Taiwan-born prelate said he has never been to mainland China but is willing to visit it and the Vatican-recognized clergy there. Wang also met with Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, retired bishop of Kaohsiung and his successor Archbishop Peter Liu Cheng-chung on Sept. 19 to discuss cross-strait religious matters.

Revised Protestant Bible unveiled in Hong Kong

The Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV) of the Bible was published with modern readers in mind and a closer meaning to the original text. Many words in the old Chinese Union Version were different from today’s terms and the translation work done 91 years ago might not be able to bring out the true meaning of Scripture, says Chris Chow, marketing manager of the Hong Kong Bible Society.

He cited an example in which Jesus is described as “rallying” in Galilee (John 7:1) in the old version. “This is now revised as Jesus ‘visits’ Galilee, since the word ‘rally’ nowadays carries the meaning of protest and confrontation.”

Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong unveils the Revised Chinese Union Version of the Bible

The RCUV will also reflect more contemporary understanding of the original text of the Bible, Chow noted. The old version, published in 1919, was translated by Bible societies in Britain and the US as well as some mission societies and Chinese Christians. Over the years, it has become the authorized, canonical version used by 70 million Chinese Protestants around the world.

However, the call for a revision has existed since the 1950s. After consulting Chinese Church leaders in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and in Southeast Asia, the United Bible Societies decided to begin revision in 1983 but later turned it over to the Hong Kong Bible Society in 2000. “Since revising the Bible requires huge resources, it took 27 years and 40 scholars to complete the project,” Chow added.

Dedication ceremony of the Revised Chinese Union Version of the Bible.

Observing that there are more iPhone users, mostly young people, in Hong Kong, the local bible society also hopes to introduce an RCUV app by the end of this year as “we always strive to provide different platforms for Bible readers,” he noted.

The dedication ceremony of the RCUV was conducted by Archbishop Paul Kwong of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (Anglican Church) at the St. John’s Cathedral on Sept. 27. Chow Lien-hwa, the RCUV project’s chief editor, and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, along with representatives of the Bible societies conducted a scroll-opening rite in the ceremony.

Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, Vicar General of the Hong Kong Catholic diocese told the media in the ceremony that the Studium Biblicum have also been revising the official Chinese Catholic Bible for 20 years and the revision of the four Gospels have been finished in 2000.

Welcome to the Macau-China Bulletin: September 2010

Pope donates $30,000 to China flood relief work
Pope Benedict XVI has donated US$30,000 toward relief work following devastating floods in several parts of China. The donation was handed to Jinde Charities, the national Shijiazhuang based Catholic charitable organization, through the Vatican’s Christian and human development agency, Pontifical Council Cor Unum (one heart) on Aug. 21.

Shijiazhuang is the capital of Hebei province in northern China. I’m very moved by the Pope’s concern for China and I’m sure the Chinese people feel the same way too, said Jinde vice-director Father John Ren Daihai. “The love shown by the Pope offers great encouragement to all Jinde staff. We felt so excited and happy at the news of the donation. It will spur us on to do more and better,” he said.

Workers from Jinde Charities deliver relief supplies
to local people in Yushu, Qinghai province

The donation is for all people in need without any distinction, Cor Unum personnel said in a statement. “The Pope mourned deeply for the many victims of the disastrous floods in China, especially in Gansu province. He offered his prayers for their souls, their relatives and all the survivors who have suffered painful consequences,” the Cor Unum statement said.
An Aug. 8 mudslide in Zhouqu county, northwestern Gansu province, claimed 1,248 lives, and more than 400 people are still missing. About a dozen Catholics died in that disaster, according to an “underground” priest who used to serve in Zhouqu. Another mudslide in Gongshan county in Yunnan province on August 18 saw four Catholic families losing several family members. - UCAN News

Teenagers Feel for the Leprosy Affected

The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that Leprosy, a disease already mentioned in Biblical texts more than 2000 years ago, is on the brink of elimination! Today there are only four countries in the world where the prevalence of leprosy exceeds one case per 10000 inhabitants, compared to 122 countries in 1985. Globally, the progress has been tremendous, but the battle is still on in countries like China. Together with the numerous voluntary organizations, the services rendered by the Church in this regard is tremendous. Usually, Leprosy is considered to be more than just an infectious disease. It was regarded to be a malady of the whole body as well as a disease of the soul, with disastrous consequences for those who became infected. It was a shameful affliction, believed to be brought about by wrongdoing in a previous life, through a curse of God or witchcraft – in short, a punishment. Sufferers were ashamed of their condition and tried to hide the disease for fear of social repercussions.

During the third week of August, Together with Fr. Tom Peyton, MM, a veteran Maryknoll Missionary, we have visited a small centre for the Leprosy affected in Guangzhou Province.The Centre is supported by the Diocese. We reached there with the Local Bishop. But what awaited us at this centre was something special.
Fr. Tom did not forget to buy some small gifts for all the inmates as we set out for the Centre, some 35 kms away from Meizhou. As the van carrying us reached the courtyard of the Centre, to our surprise, we were greeted by a group of teenagers. As we began to unload the "gifts", these teenagers came up to the van and volunteered to assist us. The living conditions of the inmates were minimum. We witnessed many of the already disfigured faces of the inmates beaming with joy to see us and of course to receive the small gifts Fr. Tom brought for them.

We were curious to know what these teenage boys and girls were doing here at the centre for the Leprosy affected. They were all University Students from different parts of the neighbouring town. They had volunteered to spend a couple of weeks with the less privileged of their brethren all on their own! Initially I was of the impression that participating in some social work projects must be part of their curriculum in the University. But, it was not so. They had decided on their own, to have a hand-on experience of the plight of the Leprosy affected and more importantly to bring in some amount of joy and consolation into the lives of the inmates here. They share the same living conditions there - they sleep on the floor and eat the food served in the Centre! 15 of them had already stayed one week and they had one more week of stay before they would return to their homes. Fr. Tom was interested to know if they required some cash for their expenses - which they refused! They said, they are staying with a budget of 100 Yuan per head per week- i.e. approximately US $ 15 per week. We spent a couple of hours at the Centre with the inmates and the students and returned to the comforts of our Hotel Rooms in the City, a few questions still lingering in my mind.

Lone woman brings Tibetans to Catholicism

A Chinese Catholic woman has pulled off a rare feat by encouraging a number of Buddhists to convert to Catholicism in the Sino-Tibetan province of Qinghai. Father Joseph Li Dongsheng, parish priest of Xining Church, praised the woman’s achievement in a region that has only 4,000 Catholics in a total population of one million. “I never even thought of converting ethnic Tibetans myself as they are so deeply rooted in Buddhism. It’s almost impossible,” he said.

Father Joseph Li Dongsheng blesses converts from Tibetan Buddhism to Catholicism during a recent ceremony

The five new Catholics, aged from 20 to over 50, come from three families of the same clan and were Buddhists since childhood. When the woman married into the family two years ago, she told them about her faith and gave them the Bible and some religious books to read. “They didn’t accept it at first,” said Father Li. “But after reading the books, they got a better idea of our faith and started to feel how great God is. Now, at Lunar New Year, they even hang the icons of Jesus and the Blessed Mother up at home.”
The five were baptized along with five other converts on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, at a ceremony attended by 700 people. Father Li says he plans to give them ongoing care and education to help sustain their faith as “they may have to face discrimination in this Buddhist environment.”
- UCAN News

Diocese to Offer Migrant Workers Legal Aid

Domestic migrant workers in northern China can soon get free legal aid and advice on their rights from a help center run by Tianjin diocese. The venue is scheduled to open in September and an awareness campaign is being conducted in parishes to inform workers about the center’s operations.

Tainjin diocese will start a help center
for migrants in September

“Migrants face many different kinds of problems, from settling into a new environment to economic difficulties”, said center Director Father John Baptist Chai Wei. “They also lack knowledge of government policies and law. “What we can do is let people know their rights and tell them where to go if they have a problem that needs taking further.” The center, whose premises and equipment are supplied by the Catholic Church, is located in the city’s Nankai district. It is supported by the Law School of Nankai University, the Tianjin Volunteers’ Association and other NGOs.

Volunteers from the law school will field inquiries two days a week and select cases to be referred to a professional team of lawyers. “This is a service that is really needed, yet not many dioceses offer it,” said Father Chai. There are 35 regional and diocesan social service centers and 230 million migrant workers in China, according to recent statistics. - UCAN News

Caritas offers hostage trauma counseling

Caritas-Hong Kong has set up telephone hotlines to counsel people who were emotionally disturbed by the televised incident in Manila on Aug. 23 when a gunman took a group of Hong Kong tourists hostage. “We’ve been receiving calls from people seeking help due to sadness, anxiety, anger and even hatred,” said Julitta Leung, a Caritas social worker. “News coverage can be overwhelming these days and some people can feel disturbed by it, especially people with emotional or mental problems.”

As Monday’s standoff in Manila escalated to its bloody end, with nine people dead including the gunman, it was shown live on TV in Hong Kong and throughout the world. “Some people told me the scenes still linger in their minds,” said Leung. “Others are now worried that they might face a similar situation in their future travels.”
“I tell them it’s normal to have temporary worries and they usually subside in time. I also suggest to them that they avoid watching or reading the media reports.” Many Hong Kong residents have Philippine domestic helpers and some callers to the hot-line said they now feel uncomfortable in their presence.
“I tell them the Filipina helpers also feel sad about it and the way their country has handled the crisis,” Leung said. Along with the hotline service, Caritas will hold a talk on emotional health on Aug. 29, to help restore people to a positive frame of mind. The Hong Kong diocese and the Consulate General of the Philippines had jointly organized prayer vigils and Masses to mourn those who died. - UCAN News