We live in an age that constantly demands innovation—a time where we’re pushed to “perform,” to “produce,” often to the point of mental and emotional depletion. Many believe that inspiration matters only to artists—musicians, painters, writers. But actually, the need for inspiration shows up in every aspect of everyday life. It’s there when we’re facing a difficult decision, when we’re trying to solve a challenging problem at work or trying to find a new idea, when we’re raising a child, when we wish to help someone we deeply care about, or simply when we need the strength to keep moving forward through a tough week. Everyone reaches moments where thinking harder doesn’t help anymore, when effort stalls, and what we truly need is something else: a signal, a shift, something that cuts through the fog and opens a path forward.
Most of us don’t paint a ceiling like the Sistine Chapel, or compose a symphony like Beethoven or Bach. But each of us, every day, is shaping something—a life, a family, a direction, a sense of meaning. And in these efforts, we inevitably reach points where our own resources feel thin, where effort and talent alone aren’t enough.
It is at precisely those edges that the idea of inspiration moves beyond an artistic concern to become a fundamentally human one. Throughout history, artists across many cultures have taken these moments very seriously. They understood that the highest forms of creation do not arise solely from personal will, but often emerge from a state of contact with something greater than the self. Across cultures, this state has been called many things—what we might call, collectively, a state of ecstasy: when the creator is no longer the origin, but the instrument, receiving what has already existed in a higher realm.
This principle echoes through every great civilization—East or West, ancient or modern. In the most transcendent moments of expression, human beings have sought connection with the divine, with Heaven, with a realm more sacred, more luminous than this one.
And that is precisely what Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s piece titled “Divine Inspiration”—a work centered around the erhu, embodies—both in name and in essence. For me, this became clear not as an abstract idea, but as something deeply tangible the moment I listened to the music. It is a piece that not only demonstrates musical mastery, but earnestly explores a belief that has persisted through centuries: that what is most beautiful, most true, and most profound in our expression does not come from effort or intellect alone, but from connection to a higher source—purer, vaster, and infinitely more luminous than us.
As expressed in the original lyrics of Divine Inspiration, composed by D.F., Artistic Director of Shen Yun: “This song is not of the human realm; this dance seems to come from the heavens”. This line encapsulates precisely the spiritual core of the work—its sincere reflection on where the most perfect inspiration truly originates.
The State Before Inspiration Arrives
From its very first notes, this piece gently opens with a refined interplay between clarinet and flute. The clarinet, with its clear tone, immediately enlivens the atmosphere and draws listeners toward heightened awareness. The flute then joins, its timbre pure and crystalline, as if gently stirring the listener’s thoughts and opening an inner space—quiet, expansive, and ready to receive the sacred inspiration toward which the music seems to lead.
The flute releases each tone with measured clarity, every note lingers just long enough that it seems to encourage the mind toward a serene, contemplative state—a mental space of purification, preparing the listener for the gift of divine inspiration about to unfold. This unfolding leads naturally to the harp, offering gentle cascades of sound through precisely executed glissandos—a smooth slide across the strings—introducing a sense of transitions from ordinary consciousness to something more open and refined.
Meanwhile, beneath these brighter instrumental colors, the string section gradually enters through carefully restrained use of tremolo, the strings create a warm and grounded sonic foundation. This layer of sound gradually rises, slowly enriching the texture and deepening the musical space, evoking a sense of stillness filled with anticipation.
The tightly woven dialogue among the instruments—clarinet’s inviting tones, flute’s intellectual brightness, harp’s ethereal glissandos, and the strings’ supportive resonance—is orchestrated with intention. Together, they form a unified emotional field in which the listener becomes distinctly aware of a growing sense of expectancy and curiosity. It resembles that familiar state we often experience just before inspiration arrives—when something feels palpably near, already pressing at the edge of consciousness, yet remains just out of reach, not yet formed into language or shape.
The Erhu’s Entrance: A Journey of Contemplation and Reflection on Civilization
At ((0:58)), following the contemplative introduction set forth by the harp, the three erhus enter seamlessly into the musical narrative. Their phrasing is constructed in long, unhurried lines—restrained yet richly expressive—each contour imbued with a sense of deep introspection. Beneath this main melodic layer, the pipa delicately interjects with ornamental flourishes, while the string section employs refined pizzicato.
Musically, the erhu is an instrument uniquely capable of expressing emotion in a way that closely resembles the human voice. Its tone is rich in depth and highly sensitive to emotional nuance. The long melodic lines in this passage are carefully structured by the composer, with just enough rests and intentional, gentle movement—clearly reflecting the quiet introspection we experience in moments of seeking creative inspiration. This is a mental state that any of us may have experienced in modern life—a time that constantly pushes us to keep creating something groundbreaking and new. Over time, this relentless demand often leaves us mentally drained, as though our minds have reached their limits, where nothing more can be forced. In such moments, what do we often do? The most natural response is to look back, referencing what already exists, drawing from it, hoping to find fresh insights, and reshaping it into something new.
This is what the erhu trio is offering in this passage—an invitation to reflect, to explore the rich treasury of past human achievements. Humanity has indeed embarked on a remarkable journey, rich with history and filled with civilizations of extraordinary depth and grandeur. Among the world’s oldest and continuously recorded civilizations, the Chinese civilization stands uniquely prominent, with its unbroken historical records stretching back over five millennia. Across that vast historical span, ancient peoples have left behind countless masterpieces—architectural wonders, inventions, profound poetry, exquisite music, drama, and endless artistic achievements across every field.
When we look back upon such an extraordinary cultural legacy, one can’t help but wonder: Could these achievements simply have arisen from human effort alone? History consistently shows us that civilizations, regardless of geography or era, have continually turned their gaze toward something higher—toward the divine—for pure inspiration. In traditional thought, art was never created solely for beauty or entertainment. Its purpose was to purify, to awaken, and to uplift the human spirit. True artistic creation does not arise from the imposition of the ego, but from a sincere effort to harmonize with something greater than oneself. This very principle is also the ideal and mission that Shen Yun’s artists hold at the core of their work. Each of their performances is not just a display, but a transmission—a return to the origin through art, reviving timeless values that once helped humanity stay connected to Heaven, to the Tao, to the Divine.
Listening attentively to the erhus, we can sense how they lead us through this expansive cultural history. Within its contemplative yet intimate tone, the erhu trio not only evokes a sense of resonance with bygone eras, but also mirrors an internal process familiar to many of us—the quiet, personal journey of seeking inspiration and wisdom. We almost see ourselves immersed in thought, turning over questions, searching inwardly for a path forward. The erhus don’t merely evoke nostalgia; they offer a subtle undercurrent of hope, revealing a potential openness, a glimpse of a breakthrough. That is the upward path, leading toward a realm of higher awareness.
From this perspective, we can also draw a direct connection to the artistic spirit embodied by Shen Yun on stage. Each of Shen Yun’s short story dances is crafted from precise excerpts drawn from China’s vast historical record, spanning from the ancient Yellow Emperor, across dynasties, right through to the modern era. What makes this heritage especially remarkable is that Chinese civilization has maintained an unbroken historical record for over 5,000 years, with many periods documented in vivid and meticulous detail. This continuous thread of cultural memory has provided Shen Yun with a vast reservoir of material, allowing them to bring ancient civilization back to life on the stage of the twenty-first century. Each short dance work brings vividly to life timeless legends, historical heroes, classical literature, and celestial realms, carefully embodying virtues that have defined Chinese civilization for thousands of years—loyalty, courage, compassion, piety, and profound reverence for the divine.
In listening deeply, we find a shared emotional connection. We recognize our own personal quest for true inspiration and wisdom is not an isolated experience, but rather a universal path—one that all people, across civilizations and across time, have had to walk. Through its sincere voice, the erhu reminds us that our greatest breakthroughs occur not through sheer willpower or intellectual effort alone, but through an open heart, from alignment with something broader, higher, and purer than ourselves. This is exactly what the composer seems to lead us toward—a state that the musical developments reveal in the following sections.
From the Individual to the Collective Resonance: The Dialogue Between Erhus and Orchestra
At around ((1:35)), the melodic theme initially expressed by the erhu trio is now taken up by the entire orchestra, richly restated with clarity and fullness. This moment of melodic imitation serves to reinforce the main theme and create a greater sense of unity and coherence across the piece.
But beyond this act of imitation seems to carry an additional layer of meaning. The original melody, introduced by the erhus in a highly intimate and contemplative manner, now expands into a collective voice—one that speaks across boundaries and resonates with greater force. In this, one might sense a reflection of the piece’s deeper message: that true inspiration is not confined to one voice or form, but is something that can flow outward, embraced by many, and echoed through many layers of sound and multiple human hearts.
On a technical level, this transition significantly broadens the emotional and spatial scale of the music. When the entire orchestra—including strings, woodwinds, and brass—joins together to project this theme, the sonic landscape instantly becomes more expansive, powerful, and enveloping.
Then, at ((1:56)), the erhu trio returns as a guiding force, leading the orchestra to build further upon the melody, while also clarifying the musical exchange between the soloists and the ensemble. From this point, a clear musical motif begins to take shape: once the main theme has been embraced, internalized, and expanded by the orchestra, it is handed back to the erhu. And it is through the erhu that the music gathers renewed momentum, propelling the narrative toward a higher emotional and conceptual level. This musical interplay forms a kind of cyclical movement—a continuous, reciprocal exchange between individual and collective, introspection and external resonance, personal inspiration and connection to realms beyond.
At ((2:17)), the erhus return once more, signaling the closing of this section and setting the stage for the next transformation at ((2:47)).
Allegro: The Erhu Trio’s Moment of Technical Brilliance
At ((2:47)), the erhu trio briefly holds back with a delicate tremolo, creating a moment of stillness before the harp signals the transition into the Allegro section. From here, the familiar melodic theme is reintroduced in a new light—faster, more vivid, and infused with a heightened sense of exhilaration.
From a performance standpoint, this Allegro passage demands an exceptional level of technical refinement. Not only must all three erhu players flawlessly execute advanced techniques such as rapid, continuous bowing, intricate left-hand pizzicato, which requires remarkable finger agility, and precise spiccato bow strokes that bounce cleanly off the strings, but they must also synchronize seamlessly. The goal is not simply to play in unison, but to blend so seamlessly that the three erhus function as a single, unified instrument. Achieving such perfect unity in pitch, rhythm, and emotional expression across three distinct instruments is an extraordinary challenge, particularly at the swift tempo presented here. Yet, remarkably, these musicians execute it with clarity and finesse, every gesture crisp without losing the natural flow of the melodic line.
However, what profoundly impresses me is not merely their outstanding technical accomplishment, but the deeper artistic symbolism that this section appears to embody. The investment in such virtuosic execution doesn’t feel like mere showmanship. Rather, they seem to vividly illustrate a particular state—one that many cultural traditions, East and West, have referred to as ecstasy, a moment in which ordinary human limitations momentarily dissolve. Such a state might be described as a rare and elevated moment, where the artist briefly touches a divine source of inspiration.
The fluid shifts in tempo—alternating between rapid bursts and more moderate passages—seem to express this refined alignment. Moreover, the seamless transitions and continuous fluctuations between pitches—moving effortlessly up and down without distinct boundaries—evoke a clear image in my mind. It is as if the barriers between musical notes, much like the boundaries between realms, become indistinct, dissolving gently into one another.
Moments like these—rare, yet deeply meaningful—are what give lasting works of art their enduring resonance. And I believe that through the virtuosic writing and refined artistic intent in this Allegro section, the composer is reminding us once again of the sacred and timeless origin from which true inspiration flows.
Cadenza: Union with Pure Inspiration and the Culmination of a Creative Journey
At ((3:53)), before we even realize it—as if deeply immersed in a tide of inspiration that has quietly swept us into a different state—we find ourselves in the cadenza, performed by the erhu trio. In classical music, a cadenza is a section that allows soloists to freely demonstrate their virtuosity and emotional depth, typically without strict tempo constraints or orchestral accompaniment. Depending on the era, a cadenza may be improvised or composed in advance, but it has consistently served as a pivotal moment of individual expression within the overall structure of a symphonic work. And here, this particular passage becomes a uniquely lyrical space in which the expressive range of the erhu is allowed to unfold in full.
Their melody unfolds gently and unhurriedly, evoking the sense of slowly ascending, softly drifting through layers of delicate, translucent clouds. It feels as though the musicians are guiding us toward a state long sought after by artists and creators alike: the moment when all doubts, hesitations, and internal obstacles dissolve completely, allowing pure inspiration to flow naturally and freely. This is a process wherein the artist, immersed in a state of ecstatic openness, is guided by a pure and higher force, becoming a vessel through which what is revealed is expressed and manifested clearly to the audience.
The gentle tremors, the flowing melodic contours—they seem to mirror the resonance and rapture stirring within the artist’s own soul at this point in the work. We realize that we’ve journeyed through a creative journey from initial uncertainty and contemplation to eventual clarity and peace of mind.
And at ((4:44)), the harp enters again, signaling our entry into the final passage. Here, the full orchestra returns with a restatement of the main theme—but now in a new light. Presented with a moderate tempo and solid, rich harmony, the melody now embodies a sense of completeness and tranquility, vividly expressing the artist’s satisfied and peaceful state upon concluding a creative journey. It captures precisely the serene fulfillment felt after the pure inspiration has been fully embraced and all lingering tensions have been thoroughly resolved.
For those eager to immerse themselves in the world of Shen Yun, their compositions, including this gem, can be streamed online via Shen Yun Creations (Shen Yun Zuo Pin).
