Datong: The Chinese Utopia 大同

A trail-blazing political reformer and visionary thinker at the turn of the 20th century, Kang Youwei (1858–1927) envisioned a global utopia of human equality and solidarity. However, his advocacy of a constitutional monarchy, instead of a revolution, has caused him to become the bête noire of modern Chinese history. Datong: The Chinese Utopia focuses on this Guangdong native’s years of exile in Europe, Asia and America, as he and his daughter Kang Tongbi campaigned for a better future for their compatriots at home and abroad―which culminated in an anti-American boycott (1905–1906) to beat back the Chinese Exclusion act, and two meetings with a conciliatory Theodore Roosevelt. Writer/filmmaker Evans Chan, a descendant from Kang’s hometown, used his award-winning film Datong: The Great Society (2011) to develop the libretto for this chamber opera. 康有為，中國政治家、思想家、教育家，因政改失敗而流亡海外16年，卻在印度完成一本重新啓動「禮運大同篇」，以設想人類未來烏托邦的奇書──《大同書》。香港旅美導演陳耀成於2011年所拍的紀錄戲劇片《大同：康有為在瑞典》，榮獲國內《南方都市報》首屆年度華語電影大獎。他以這衝擊國際影評及漢學界的電影為藍本，創作出戲劇性的新文本。透過康有為橫跨四大洲的海外功業；他與女兒康同璧會見美國總統羅斯福，有關民主和人權的對話；以至孫女羅儀鳳背負大同夢的酸甜辛澀；釀成一齣從清末躍至現代，詠嘆百年中國悲歡的歌劇。重新呈現中國歷史上這位具有精神高度與深度的哲人，以及他一生所追求平等、共有、共享的理想世界。

HKUP Spring / Summer 2016