PureInsight | March 1, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Before the 2003 Chinese New Year, I was assigned to the temporary task of writing a stage comedy play about the Monkey King and Pigsy [These are characters in the mythological novel, The Monkey King. Also known as Journey to the West, it is one of the most popular Chinese novels of all time. It tells of the adventures of a Buddhist monk and his three disciples on their way to India to acquire Buddhist scriptures.] for the Chinese New Year Gala. Even though we didn't have much preparation time, a fellow practitioner, Xiao Wang, did a very good job of directing the play. The performance was very entertaining and won lots of laughter from the audience. [Note: In China, "Xiao" is a common Chinese nickname for younger people appended by their last name. For example, a young man with the surname Wu would be called Xiao Wu by his friends and colleagues].
Since this year is the year of the monkey, having a play with a monkey theme was especially appropriate. So I wrote another comedy script about Monkey and Pigsy welcoming the new year and gave the script to Xiao Wang whom I thought would be this year's director again. I was surprised when Xiao Wang apologetically said, "Nan Shan, I'm sorry. I have to coordinate the whole gala this year, so it is impossible for me to direct the comedy. Could you please take on the responsibility of director this year?"
"No, no," I waved my hand in protest, "I can't direct."
Xiao Wang patted me on the shoulder encouragingly and said, "You can do it. It will be no problem at all."
I was about to add something when four or five people came up to Xiao Wang and started discussing the gala. I sighed, and began to cast actors for the play. Thus I started my "career" as a director.
I was pacing in worry after having only found actors for the roles of Monkey and Pigsy. I did not have an actor for the other chief character, "Nian" (or "New Year"), a legendary Chinese monster. Nor did I know where to find children to play the little monkeys. In addition, I hadn't figured out what type of choreography would display the monkeys' mischievousness and agility, old Pigsy's sluggishness, and monster Nian's pretentious fierceness.
At that moment, a teenage girl with almond-shaped eyes passed by and smiled at me politely. All of a sudden something hit me, "Wasn't she the multi-talented little Ye Jin? Maybe she would have some ideas."
Then I asked her, "Ye Jin, do you know how to perform a monkey play?"
"Yes, I helped with a monkey play rehearsal for the Minghui School."
"That's great!" I was so thrilled, as though I had found a lifesaver. I told her about the challenge I was facing and asked if she could help me with the play.
Ye Jin asked me to wait for a moment and said she would be back soon. After about 5 minutes, she came back with one teenager and five little kids. She had already helped me cast for roles of the monster "Nian" and the little monkeys. Soon thereafter, we started play rehearsals.
Little Ye Jin wore a smile on her face while showing everyone how a monkey would hop, how Pigsy would perform the "little swan dance," how "Nian" the monster would scare people and so on. All the children were seriously practicing and doing very well. At the end of the evening, the play started to take shape. As the director of the comedy, I was finally able to relax and gave a sigh of relief.
Ye Jin may only be a student in junior high school, but she has been cultivating in Falun Dafa for nine years. Soon after Ye Jin was born, she was diagnosed with the same incurable illness that afflicted her mother, Hepatitis C. Both mother and daughter sought medical treatment everywhere, but their condition only deteriorated as time progressed. When they had fallen into the depths of despair, a friend introduced Falun Dafa to them and brought them a ray of hope. Thus they tried to cultivate in Falun Dafa. After only a few months, both of their cases of Hepatitis C disappeared naturally without a trace.
But the magnificent Falun Dafa, which saved their lives, was subject to Jiang Zemin regime's persecution in China since July 20, 1999. Countless Falun Gong practitioners have been and continue to be thrown into forced labor camps and prisons. Such news struck little Ye Jin with shock and disbelief. She decided that she would do her best to end the persecution.
In August 2001, Ye Jin heard that Jiang Zemin and his henchmen had escalated the brutal persecution in China, and she started a one-month long protest in the form of sitting meditation in front of the Chinese consulate to call for the end of the persecution against Falun Gong.
It was a scorching summer and, in fact, the hottest summer in 10-odd years. But the little Ye Jin was impervious to the heat. She sat under the boiling sun everyday with sweat flooding her suntanned face. This little girl's righteous deed touched many people's hearts. On the 20th day of her peaceful protest, the host of a San Francisco radio program did an interview and asked why she wasn't spending her summer vacation having fun and why did she chose to have a painful vacation doing sitting meditation under the blazing sun.
Ye Jin answered in a peaceful and feminine manner; "I wish to do the Falun Gong sitting meditation in front of the Chinese consulate because I know for a fact that it is wrong for the Chinese government to persecute Falun Gong. Falun Gong is not at all what the Chinese government has portrayed. It transforms Falun Gong practitioners into healthy people of high morality. Since the Chinese government started to persecute Falun Gong, at least 270 Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death [884 by February 12, 2004, but this is only the number that could be confirmed; the actual number is thought to be much higher] while thousands of practitioners have been illegally incarcerated. By doing the sitting meditation in front of the Chinese consulate, I hope to urge the Chinese government to end the persecution and to release all detained Falun Gong practitioners."
While more and more Falun Gong practitioners began to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution against Falun Gong, the little Ye Jin joined forces with them and started to call the Chinese people to clarify the truth. She often picked up the telephone after finishing doing her homework, and called one Chinese resident after another, telling these Chinese grownups the magnificence of Falun Dafa and the truth about Jiang Zemin regime's persecution against Falun Gong in her innocent and sincere child's voice. This little girl's compassion has touched the hearts of many, who silently and patiently listened to her telling the truth over the phone.
Ye Jin not only excels in academics as the first in her class, but also exhibits talents in singing and dancing. In fact, Ye Jin is one of the child actresses in "Lotus Performance Art Group." At the Inaugural Chinese New Year Global Gala hosted by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) in January 2004, Ye Jin acted as one of the flying goddesses spreading the heavenly flowers in the large singing and dancing performance, "The Heaven's Gate Opens for the First Time in the History of Universe." This refreshing and pure little goddess dressed in a feathery Chinese costume hovered over the stage like a little butterfly. She descended from the clouds in the sky with a flower basket in her arm, and flew among heavenly officials and goddesses, spreading the colorful flowers symbolizing good fortune all over the human realm.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/2/10/25759.html
