The dance drama Yan Zhenqing takes Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew as its creative core, the latter is celebrated as the “second-greatest work of running script under heaven.” Through Yan Zhenqing’s recollections as he writes the elegy, the production traces his turbulent life and his devotion to family and country. Its dance narrative is structured around the five qualities of brush and ink: moistening the ink, setting down the brush, driving the brush forward, drying out the brush, and exhausting the ink. It brings calligraphy technique, human emotion, and historical upheaval together, revealing the powerful mentality embodied in the manuscript by utilizing expressive stage aesthetics. Led by renowned
choreographer Hu Yan, the creative team uses dance to illuminate Yan Zhenqing’s integrity as a scholar and his enduring loyalty, offering a contemporary expression of fine traditional Chinese culture .
