By Joanna Liu
On April 18, CALex (Chinese Americans of Lexington) participated in the Lexington Patriots’ Day Parade. Their marching unit, totaling over 100 people, was a marvel: a handmade dragon ( twenty-five feet long), a Chinese Lion Dance, and eye-catching martial arts and traditional Chinese music demonstrations.
Organizers and various members of the Lexington Chinese American community began planning for the event in early March. Their goal was to create a display that celebrated distinctive facets of Chinese culture while portraying the festive and exciting nature of the Lexington Patriots’ Day Parade.
Most of the organization’s efforts focused on creating a dragon for the dragon boat. Participating volunteers, many of them high school students, cut out over fifteen hundred golden scales for the dragon body as well as additional pieces for the head and tail. The process took dozens of volunteers over one hundred and fifty hours just to complete dragon body.
“Every scale had to be individually cut and pasted… the workload was enormous,” Nancy Dou, the volunteer from CALex who led the creation of the dragon, said.
However, volunteers like Dou believe the dragons’ construction was essential to represent an important aspect of Chinese history and culture. For one reason, dragons are widely depicted in Chinese celebrations and festivals, which aptly fit the Patriots’ Day Parade. More important is the Dragon’s symbolism: though they’re widely associated with destruction and evil in traditional Western Culture, Eastern dragons represent good fortune, power, and resilience. Dou and others hope this aspect of the event encourages their audience to consider diverse cultural perspectives while illuminating the unique and rich history of Chinese cultural traditions.
Organizers of the event also sought to incorporate Chinese culture through other methods. One of these was music: participating members played iconic Chinese and American tunes on Chinese classical instruments like the Suona, Hulu Si, Yangqin, and the Guzheng.
Yazhi Guo, a Chinese musician as well as the co-founder and founding President of the American Academy of World Music, noted how they specifically chose Chinese classical songs that would be recognizable to both Chinese and American audiences.
“The parade provided an excellent platform to demonstrate the rich cultural background of Chinese culture through traditional music,” Guo said.
Another important component was the Chinese Lion Dance and its accompanying percussion instruments. Nafang Zhu, the parent volunteer who organized the lion dance performance, noted how this event allowed her two children, Sophia and Eric, (who played Guzheng and performed the Lion Dance respectively) to engage with the artistic roots of Chinese culture. However, it also allowed other kids, especially younger ones, to gain volunteer opportunities and learn more about their heritage by playing various instruments.
Yu Wu, who helped create t-shirts for volunteers marching in the event, said that teamwork was essential throughout the preparations. Though her team was unable to outsource the t-shirt making because community members offered their resources and skills to support the project, they were able to create enough shirts for the parade while staying under their budget.
“This event was a great chance to build connections with the community…I’m glad to see community members take leadership roles,” Wu said.
Houze Xu, the president of CALex and an organizer of the parade unit, was extremely thankful to see community members stepping up to help throughout the process.
“I’d like to extend a big ‘thanks’ to all performers, volunteers, and participants….I am delighted to see many volunteers step up and demonstrate their leadership from planning and preparation to performances,” Xu said.
As a whole, the CALex Patriots’ day parade unit was well-received by members of the larger Lexington Community. It proved to be a great success.
“CALex’s involvement in the parade… demonstrates how Asian Americans can be represented as well,” Richard Liu, a student volunteer from Lexington High School, said.
Joanna Liu is a Sophomore at LHS and an Op-Ed editor for The Musket, LHS’s school newspaper. She has studied writing at the New York Times and Iowa Young Writers Studio (IYWS), and has published both creative and academic work.
CALex和LexYouth联合举办的爱国者日游行于2022年4月18日精彩亮相
作者: Joanna Liu （英文）/ Amara Wang (中文）
4月18日，CALex（列克星敦华裔联盟）参加了列克星敦爱国者日的游行。他们的游行方阵有100多人，最引人瞩目的是队伍首端的一条手工制作的神龙，有着足足25英尺长，形态美轮美奂，惟妙惟肖。除此之外，还有各种各样的节目，如中国舞狮，引人注目的武术，舞剑，以及中国传统音乐表演，令围观群众叹为观止。
组织者和列克星敦华裔社区的各成员在三月初就开始规划这次活动。作为中华文化的海外传播者，他们的目标是借喜庆和令人激动的爱国者日弘扬中华传统文化，加深世界对中国的了解和认知。参与该组织的志愿者，其中许多是高中生。他们不辞辛劳，为了给龙身剪出1500多片金黄威武的鳞片，并将龙头和龙尾的形态塑造得更加生动，几十名志愿者不惜花费一百五十多个小时才完成龙身。来自CALex的志愿者Nancy Dou说: “每一片龙鳞都必须单独切割和粘贴，工作量巨大。”她作为团队的领导者，为组织龙舟的设计和建造付出了大量的心血。以Nancy Dou为首的志愿者们一致认为，龙是代表中国历史和文化的至关重要的形象。不仅因为龙在中国的传统节日庆祝和艺术创作中受到尊崇，符合爱国者日游行的要求，更重要的是龙在东方的象征意义。虽然它们在传统的西方文化中被广泛地与破坏和邪恶联系在一起，但东方的龙却代表着尊贵、吉祥、力量和坚韧，是华夏文化的凝聚和沉淀。CAlex希望本次活动可以阐明中国文化传统的独特和丰富的历史，从而鼓励他们的观众了解不同的文化底蕴。
该活动的组织者还试图通过其他方法宣扬中华文化，比如用丝竹管弦描绘锦绣中华。参与活动的成员用中国古典乐器如唢呐、葫芦丝、扬琴和古筝演奏标志性的乐曲。 拥有“天下第一吹”的中国音乐家，同时担任美国世界音乐学院的联合创始人和创始主席的郭雅志指出，他们如何选择了中国和美国观众都能识别的中国著名古典歌曲。郭雅志指出：”游行提供了一个很好的平台，通过传统音乐展示中华的丰富文化背景。”
另一个重要的组成部分是中国舞狮和其配套的打击乐器。组织舞狮表演的家长志愿者Nafang Zhu指出，这个活动让她的两个孩子——Sophia和Eric（分别演奏古筝和表演舞狮）感受到了中华文化的艺术魅力。它不仅让其他年龄较小的孩子，通过演奏各种乐器，获得了志愿服务的机会，也接触到了中华文化宝贵的艺术遗产。帮助为参加活动的志愿者们制作T恤的Yu Wu说，在整个筹备过程中，团队合作至关重要。正是因为社区成员提供了他们的资源和技能来支持这个项目，才能让他们在有限的时间内为游行制作足够的T恤，同时不超出他们的预算。”这个活动是一个与社区建立联系的好机会，我很高兴看到社区成员发挥领导作用，”Yu Wu说。
CALex的主席和游行单位的组织者Houze Xu也非常感谢各位社区成员在整个过程中挺身而出，提供帮助。Houze Xu在演讲中表示：”我想向所有表演者、志愿者和参与者表示衷心的感谢，我很高兴看到许多志愿者站出来，展示他们从计划、准备到表演的领导能力。”
总的来说，CALex爱国者日的游行队伍成功赢得了列克星敦社区成员们的欢呼和喝彩。列克星敦高中的学生志愿者Richard Liu说：”CALex参与游行，很好的展现了亚裔美国人的文化背景和民族形象。”
