The Bulgarian public’s meetings with Chinese arts and culture are most often held in connection with various festive occasions[1]. The Chinese New Year is a significant holiday celebrated with various events in Bulgaria. As is known, it occurs with the first new moon of the calendar year, and in the current 2025 – on January 29[2]. Various events, organised with the support of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Bulgaria, help Bulgarian admirers of Chinese culture communicate with both known and relatively little-known Chinese traditions and arts. Bulgarian visitors to such events engage in activities of a cognitive nature: they cut out symbols from paper that portend success; they write hieroglyphics for health, longevity, and well-being; they make Chinese lanterns; they enjoy Chinese tea and specialties from Chinese cuisine; they look at books and souvenirs related to the Chinese language, arts, and culture; they touch characters, costumes, masks from the Chinese traditional opera Xiqu (戏曲).
In concerts and performances that precede the holiday this year, singers, instrumentalists, and dancers from the Guizhou Cultural and Performing Theater Concern[3] cause vivid impressions among residents of various Bulgarian cities: Varna (on January 10 in the Plenary Hall of Varna Municipality), Plovdiv (on January 11 in the Regional History Museum – Plovdiv), Sofia (on January 12 in the Chinese Cultural Center and on January 14 in the City Mark Art Centre), Pernik (on January 15 in the Palace of Culture). Bulgarian schoolchildren and students studying Chinese language and culture participate in festive events in Sofia (on January 22 at the Embassy of the PRC in the Republic of Bulgaria, on February 8 at the Confucius Institute – Sofia), Stara Zagora (on 18 February 2025 at the Cultural Center – Stara Zagora) and in other Bulgarian cities[4].
Among the interesting creative results of joint work between Chinese and Bulgarian musicians, one should mention the performance of a fragment of the work Wujia po《武家坡》 by Peking Opera Jingju (京剧). It was presented on January 12 at the China Cultural Center in Sofia by the young performers Zhana Todorova – interpreting a female character of the type Qing Yi (青衣), Cheng Feihuang – a male character of the type Xiao Sheng (小生) and Li Rongchi – performer of the Chinese traditional musical instrument jinghu (京胡). The three young musicians are students at the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music – Sofia. Li Rongchi prepared the performance of the fragment[5].
A vivid expression of creative contact between Chinese and Bulgarian musicians is also provided by the concert “The East Meets the West”, held on 8 February 2025 (Saturday) at 5 pm at the “Toplotsentrala” Regional Centre for Contemporary Arts, Sofia, and on February 9 (Sunday), at 2 pm at the Boris Hristov House of Culture, Plovdiv. The Chinese musicians: Shen Runmo – pipa (琵琶) performer, Huang Xiaoqing – erhu (二胡), Zhang Jiawei – “bamboo flute” (dizi 笛子 и xiao 箫), Zheng Yang – sheng (笙), Wang Tong and Wang Meidang – violin performers, Liu Xiaowei – viola, Liu Yanzuo – violoncello and Zhang Hongtao – oboe, who are representatives of the Beijing Traditional Music Orchestra and Beijing Symphony Orchestra, are united in a chamber ensemble called “The harmony between East and West”[6]. The musicians from “The harmony between East and West” presented the works: “Greetings for the New Year”, “Clouds Chase the Moon“, “Toast”, “The Big Fish”, and “The Waltz of Spring Sounds”. “The harmony between East and West” ensemble combine the sonority of traditional Chinese musical instruments with the sonority of musical instruments associated with Western European musical culture – а trend in Chinese musicians’ creative pursuits, which has begun at the end of the 20th century.
All Bulgarian performers in the “The East Meets the West” concert are laureates of the “Ancient Rhymes in a New Voice – The Eternal Classics” song contest. The competition was held on 9 November 2024 at the RCCA “Toplotsentrala” as per the idea of Mr. Guan Xin, Counsellor (Cultural Affairs) at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Bulgaria, and in connection with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and China. Mr. Guan Xin, who is fluent in Bulgarian at an academic level, chose twelve poems from poets of significant importance to Chinese culture from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and commissioned a prominent Bulgarian translator – Assist. Prof. Evelina Hein, PhD, to make poetic translations into Bulgarian for Bulgarian musicians to create and perform the authors’ works. The forum is also planned to be held in the future, and an anthology of poetic translations is planned for publication.
As is known, Chinese poetry has been performed with singing and accompanied by traditional Chinese musical instruments since ancient times. It is believed that Confucius created, evaluated, selected, edited, and studied the influential power of the Chinese poetic works by singing and playing the qin (琴)[7]. Unfortunately, the majority of the melodies of Chinese poems have not reached the present day. Still, their inherent melodic qualities[8] provides a field for new creative ideas and interpretations in the 21st century. It is a joy for Bulgarian culture that sophisticated Chinese poetry inspired Bulgarian creative teams even before the “Ancient Rhymes in a New Voice” song contest to take place. (For example, in 2012, Prof. Snezhina Tankovska integrated Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty into an entirely Bulgarian interpretation of the following Peking Opera work: “The Confucius Disciples” or Kongmen Dizi 《孔门弟子》[9].) The “Ancient Rhymes in a New Voice” song contest, held at the end of 2024, encouraged many Bulgarian musicians to create and perform new Bulgarian original works. Some of these works sounded on 8 February 2025 in Sofia and 9 February 2025 in Plovdiv.
Bulgarian musician Ilin Papazyan NINIO presented his original song “Lotus” – for voice and guitar, inspired by the work “In summer at the South Pavilion thinking of Xing” by the Chinese poet Meng Haoran (孟浩然; 689/691–740) from the Tang Dynasty. Ilin Papazyan NINIO also performed his song “Will You Be with Me” together with Chinese musicians Huang Xiaoqing (erhu) and Zheng Yang (sheng).
Kristina Topalova KEYA and Stefan Goranov presented their song “The Most Beautiful Song in the World” – for voice, keyboards, and percussion. Kristina Topalova Keya and Stefan Goranov, supported by the Chinese musician Shen Runmo (pipa), also performed their song “The Long River” – for voice, keyboards, percussion, and pipa, inspired by “Song of Divination: I live at the Long River’s head…” by the Chinese poet Li Zhiyi (李之仪; 1048-1117) from the Song Dynasty.
Bulgarian musicians from “Oratnitza”, Hristian Georgiev – flute and synthesisers, Georgi Marinov – didgeridoo, Stefan Tsekov – percussion instruments, and Asya Pincheva – vocals, presented their author’s work “Nostalgia” based on the work “Silk-washing Stream” by the Chinese poet Yan Shu (晏殊; 991-1055) from the Song Dynasty. Together with the Chinese musician Zhang Jiawei (bamboo flute), the musicians from Oratnitsa also perform their work “Tranka, Todorka”.
Musicians Violina Dotseva and Teodor Stoyanov share with the audience their author’s work “Longing” – for voice, guitar and violin, inspired (like the song “Lotus”) by the work “In summer at the South Pavilion thinking of Xing” by the poet Meng Haoran. Violina Dotseva and Teodor Stoyanov also presented their work “Teach Me” – for vocals, violin, guitar, erhu, pipa, bamboo flute and sheng, together with Chinese musicians Huang Xiaoqing, Shen Runmo, and Zheng Yang.
For the joint performances of Bulgarian and Chinese musicians to take place, the Bulgarian musicians sent sheet music materials to their Chinese counterparts. Inspired by the music of Bulgarian authors, Chinese musicians developed their own creative ideas. The final versions of the arrangements, which sounded at the concerts on February 8 and 9, were reached in joint rehearsals in Bulgaria preceding the concerts[10].
It is noteworthy that the concert program is well thought out. Its very structure seems to illustrate the fruitful “meetings”, the peculiar fusion of creative ideas from the East and the West – three types of performances take place one after the other four times: a work performed by Chinese musicians, a joint performance by Bulgarian and Chinese musicians, and a performance by Bulgarian musicians.
Prof. Andronika Màrtonova, PhD, cinematographer, film critic, and long-time researcher of Chinese arts and culture, who was the elegant and sophisticated host of the concert, contributed to the in-depth communication between the performers and the numerous audiences in the crowded halls, which encompassed Chinese and Bulgarian connoisseurs of both cultures. With her in-depth knowledge and rich experience in presenting Chinese arts and culture to a Bulgarian audience, she created an incredibly intimate and cosy atmosphere; she introduced the attendees to the specifics of the celebration of the Chinese New Year, also called the “Spring Festival” (春节); recalled the fact that since 4 December 2024, this holiday has been included in the UNESCO Representative List for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
It was evident from the various events related to the celebration of this holiday in our country that it not only finds a lasting resonance in our country but also becomes an occasion for more and more frequent encounters of the Bulgarian public with Chinese arts and traditions. Consistent with the culmination of the festive events reached with the approach of the fifteenth day after the holiday, “The East Meets the West” concert presented to the audience interesting arrangements covering the sound of Chinese traditional musical instruments, provided a forum for the promotion of new works by Bulgarian authors inspired by Chinese culture, and contributed to the more immediate, full-fledged, creative communication between the two cultures.
The photos
were kindly provided by the Embassy of the PRC in the Republic of Bulgaria, the
Chinese Cultural Center in Sofia, and the Xinhua Agency, with the valuable
mediation of Prof. Andronika Màrtonova and Mr. Li
Rongchi.
[1] Personal observations related to my studies on the chronology of performances of traditional Chinese opera in Bulgaria and the reception of these performances in Bulgaria. See Tzenova, Miglena. Reception of traditional Chinese opera performances in Bulgaria. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2024, p. 255–491.
[2] According to Mr. Veselin Naydenov, an interpreter from the Chinese language, in 2025, the holiday comes with the new moon – at 14 h 37 min Bulgarian time (and at 20 h 37 min Beijing time). Correspondence with Veselin Naydenov held on 28 January 2025
[3] Personal impressions of the performances in Sofia; “Hear the voice of the mountains and springs. The Year of the Snake gives us prosperity.” Leaflet. Sofia: China Cultural Center, 2025.
[4] Concert at the Embassy of the PRC in the Republic of Bulgaria on 22 January 2025; Conversation with Mariana Pencheva, held on 22 January 2025. M. Pencheva is the director of Maxim Gorky Secondary School, Stara Zagora, where Chinese language and culture have been studied since 2014–2015, and the Confucius Institute in Sofia supports the school.
[5] Conversation with Li Rongchi, 12 January 2025; correspondence with Li Rongchi, 17 February 2025; personal observations.
[6] “The East Meets the West”. Leaflet. Sofia: Embassy of the PRC in the Republic of Bulgaria, 2025.
[7] See, for example, Shneerson, Gregory. Музыкальная культура Китая [Muzikalnaya kultura Kitaya]. Moscow: Musgiz, 1952, pp. 30, 34, 79; Shestakov, Vyacheslav Pavlovich. Музыкальная эстетика стран Востока. Памятники музыкально-эстетической мысли. [Muzikalnaya estetika stran Vostoka. Pamyatniki muzikalno-esteticheskoy misli] Moscow: Muzika, 1967, pp. 141, 167, 222; Tzenova, Miglena. Мит, Космос, Ритуал в музикалната система и музикалния инструментариум на Древен Китай (върху трактати от V–II век пр.н.е). [Myth, Cosmos, Ritual in the Musical System and Musical Instrumentarium of Ancient China. On treatises from the 5th – 2nd centuries BC. Bachelor’s Degree Thesis (Diploma Work). Manuscript. 59 p.]. Sofia: “Prof. P. Vladigerov” National Academy of Music, 1997, pp. 35–36; Michels, Ulrich. Atlas “Music”. Vol. 1. Systematic section. History of Music from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Plovdiv: Lettera, 2000, p. 169; 中華思想文化術語 Basic Concepts in Chinese Writing and Culture. Book 1. Translated by: Petko T. Hinov. Sofia: East–West, 2017, pp. 105–106; Tsankova, Antonia. По следите на поетичното слово [Po sledite na poetichnoto slovo]. – In: Tsankova, Antonia (ed.). 詩經 Книга на песните. Най-древната китайска поезия. [Shijing Kniga na pesnite. Nay-drevnata kitayska poeziya]. Sofia: East–West, 2023, p. 7–8.
[8] “Ancient rhymes in a new voice – the Eternal Classic” Song Contest based on ancient Chinese poems. Leaflet. Sofia: Embassy of the PRC in the Republic of Bulgaria, 2024.
[9] Directed by: Prof. Snezhina Tankovska, scenography and costumes: Assoc. Prof. Marina Raychinova, composer: Prof. Rumen Tsonev, choreographer: Prof. Petya Tsvetkova, photographer: Stefan Marinov, transl. by Prof. Iskra Nikolova, premiere: 15 and 18 June 2012 at NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov”. The performance featured: Anna Simova, Anton Grigorov, Yonko Dimitrov, Yordan Rasin, Martin Smochevski, Petya Boycheva, Hristo Ushev, and Yana Bobeva. In this reading, the achievements of all Bulgarian performers and actors are significant. Prof. Rumen Tsonev realised the idea of creating new original Bulgarian music for the work. For more detailed analyses, see Tzenova, M. Reception of traditional Chinese opera performances in Bulgaria…, 2024, pp. 369–372, 470–471.
[10] Correspondence with Andronika Màrtonova, 12 February 2025.
