SHU DAO A Symphonic Poem（2026）

The Shu Dao (“Roads to Shu”) refers to a network of ancient pathways that began to take shape around the 4th century BC. For over 2,300 years, these routes have connected the Guanzhong Plain with the Sichuan Basin, cutting through the formidable Qinling and Daba Mountains—with some sections even winding along near-vertical cliffs, where perilous trails and plank roads were carved high into the rockface, bearing witness to humanity's triumph over geographical extremes. Many of their significant stretches lie in my hometown of Guangyuan, Sichuan. Growing up on the Shu Dao, I have walked these still-traceable paths since childhood. The region’s deep history and the cultural memory have long nourished me.
On the occasion of the Guggenheim Fellowship’s centenary and driven by a deep attachment to the Shu Dao and my homeland, I composed this symphonic poem, Shu Dao.
The work draws its inspiration from the vast sweep of time and spirit embedded in the Shu Dao: from the ancient myths of Shu and the legend of the “Five Giants Cleaving the Mountains,” to the fertile yet forbidding “Land of Abundance”—an epithet for Shu/Sichuan whose riches and strategic location long made it a focus of contention; from the clash of arms and thunder of hooves—epic battles fought with countless arrows unleashed across its strategic passes—to the poignant legacy of ZHUGE Liang, Marquis of Wu (181–234 AD), and his unfulfilled destiny. In evoking his final days, the musical motif of “Relighting the Seven Stars” emerges as a gesture of remembrance and hope—inspired by the romanticized story of his attempt to prolong his life to complete his mission by tending seven lamps aligned with the Big Dipper, a ritual tragically interrupted on its final night with the lamps extinguished, yet here symbolically rekindled. The musical journey culminates in the modern transformation of “natural barriers into thoroughfares.”
Cast as a single continuous movement, the work is unified by a limited set of core motifs. It unfolds through four interlacing sections (rehearsal marks 1–36, 37–49, 50–59, 60–72). More than a portrait of the Shu Dao and its lore, this piece is a tribute to the enduring human spirit—the resilience that, against all odds, forever seeks to bridge the unbridgeable and illuminate the path ahead. Together, these elements form the emotional core and soundscape of the work.