Composer Tan Dun's bond with kung fu began with An Lee's movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000. His score for the film won an Oscar Award, Grammy, the Classical Brit Contemporary Music Award and a British Academy Film Award.

Two years later, Tan gained acclaim for Zhang Yimou's epic tale, Hero, collaborating with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman and the KODD Drummers of Japan.

Both soundtracks majestically support the spectacular martial arts action sequences as Tan's music adds dimension to the films.

The two blockbusters have helped to promote Chinese martial arts around the world. Now the New York-based composer is returning to Shaolin Temple, shrine of Chinese kung fu in Central China's Henan Province, to explore how to use music to interpret the balance between martial arts and Zen.

The resulting large-scale open-air night musical ceremony will premiere next October at Daixian Valley in Songshan Mountain, where the 1,510-year-old Shaolin Temple stands. After that, the show will become a regular feature for tourists to Shaolin Temple.

Ambitious project

Now Tan is working with hundreds of kung fu monks at Shaolin Temple and a team of world-acclaimed artists. His collaborators include British sound designer David Sheppard who worked with Tan on The Map; setting designer Zeng Li whose credit includes Zhang Yimou's opera Turandot at the Forbidden City and the ballet Raise the Red Lantern; lighting designer Yi Liming, and dancer Huang Doudou.

"I feel honoured to be invited by the abbot, Shi Yongxin, to create this show for the prestigious Shaolin Temple. The trip to Shaolin is a spiritual journey for me to explore the mysteries Zen and to study the rich and profound culture of Central China where the nation was rooted thousands of years ago," Tan told China Daily last Tuesday at Shaolin Temple.

"I was born in Hunan Province where Taoism is popular and my music is influenced by the folk and Taoist music of my hometown. This is my third trip to Henan, and the more I come here, the more I admire the long history and variety of its culture," he said.

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