Common views and belief
In November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on French President Emmanuel Macron to carry forward the traditional China-France friendship and push relations to a new level.
Both countries are willing to treat the 60th anniversary as an opportunity to intensify high-level exchanges with each other and deepen exchanges and cooperation in fields like education, culture and scientific research, according to a phone call between the two leaders.
China and France have a long history and friendship in cultural and people-to-people exchanges and their exchanges and mutual learning can be seen a model for exchanges between China and Europe and exchanges with global civilizations.
The Le Festival Croisements has seen active cultural exchanges between China and France in the areas of fine arts, performing arts and more for a dozen years. Renowned Chinese artists such as Fan Zeng and Wu Weishan all have close connections with France and play active roles in people-topeople exchanges.
The summer of 2023 in France meant a lot for Liu Nuoyi and Liu Nina, Liu Ye and Martane’s children, as the two staged their own version of Flowers in the Mirror in Avignon and Paris with other Chinese children. The stage production was inspired by the classic Chinese fantasy novel written by novelist Li Ruzhen in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and adds a sense of fairy-tale enchantment to the original text.
The protagonist is meant to be a flower fairy, who descends to the mortal world as the fisher girl Tang Xiaoshan. Tang then goes on a series of adventures to the Country of Black Teeth, the Country of Two-faced People, as well as many other countries, with her uncle Lin Zhiyang in search of lost flowers.
Passing down the torch from generation to generation, the peoples from the two countries, such as these children, are carrying the flame of mutual learning and cultural exchanges.
“In China, everything is possible and it is full of opportunities,” Martane told the Global Times, noting that she hopes to introduce more Chinese theater productions to France and stage more French dramas in China.
Love and be loved, kindness and courage are the foundation of human nature. It is the power of love and courage to break through the fog that Wang wanted to express in Les Misérables.
“Theater is the stage for China and France to express human civilization. Mutual learning and exchanges among civilizations are based on our common view of human nature and belief in the power of drama.”