Shen Yun Review: Dr. Mustafah Dhada, professor of history

“I think what it does is, it actually introduces you not just to the external events of the historical narrative of China, but actually to values, and what really made China an enormously, incredibly impressive civilization…and, you know, through the way in which it blends both spirituality and, to a very large extent, the achievements of Chinese culture through an internal sense of achievement and culture. So it’s not your usual performance, which basically looks at gymnastics, acrobatics, and so on. It’s trying to weave a certain sense of values, and what is most appreciative about the permanent narrative of Chinese culture and civilization, what made it into an enormously valuable and contributing civilization in world history… It fundamentally suggests to you, really, that in the most dire periods in one’s personal life, when you are in the middle of conflict, one thing that is almost always valuable and always can defeat violence, is essentially a sense of internal peace, and using of compassion and care for each other.”