Standing on Antarctica to See the Earth, Best Wishes from a Continent of Ice and Snow

Dan Zhu, a well-known violinist with international fame

The surge of the sea waves in Drake Passage, the roaring of glaciers, the seamless combining of sky and sea and dialogues between different kinds of rare lives, all these colors and sounds with unique Antarctic features composed a magnificent Antarctic symphony. Led by seagulls and called by penguins, I seemed to hear one of the representative works of the German composer Mendelssohn-- songs without words. With the subtleness and warmth of ‘riding the wings of songs’, I visited the white paradise again with the Antarctic Forum.

At the beginning of 2013, when I was invited to Antarctica with the advance group at the end of February for the first time, many friends asked me kiddingly: ‘Whom will you play for in Antarctica? To play master pieces of Mozart or Paganini on snow? Won’t you play the violin for penguins?’ They asked such questions that I had never imagined. I also raised many questions to imagine this mysterious continent: What else can I do for others in Antarctica besides playing violin and enjoying rare natural scenery? Can I share the passion of music with the continent covered with snow and ice, just like moving from golden concert hall in Vienna to the white paradise of Antarctica? Certainly there is the core topic put forward by the organization committee of the forum - the spirit of the Antarctic Forum. Is it the spirit of challenge and adventure? Or spirit of eco-friendly environment protection? Or…? I landed on the continent that I had never landed on following the team with excitement, curiosity and my cherished violin. The Antarctic Forum took me to the southern gate of the earth, our great home.

The first response to Antarctica of most people is penguin. I am not an exception. I called penguin ‘the image ambassador of Antarctica’. I still remember after watching the documentary ‘March of the Penguin’, I was moved to tears by the spirit of penguins. Penguins attach great importance to their family and are organized with strong team spirit. Aren’t these qualities what we human beings also pursue and share? Associated with the development of human civilization, especially the development in the last century was just like advancing at light speed and creating a lot of good conditions for our life, but meanwhile also destroying many ecological balances. So it has advantages and disadvantages. After arriving in Antarctica, the deepest perception I had was whether people need to dominate the earth? Does the world we often talk about include the big family of the whole earth or is it just limited to the human world? Currently most people in the society are busy with their work and lives. How many people are aware that we are just one part of all the species that live on the earth and breath and share the fate with billion kinds of other lives? When the technology development of human beings reaches top level, can we abuse these tools to get convenience for ourselves and destroy other lives that have the same rights of survival purposefully or without awareness? I am thinking how to seek unity of everyone’s thoughts. We should do things to serve the earth, the great home where all lives survive together with human beings instead of serving the people only. While they are trying to conquer the earth, do human beings ever consider respecting the earth just as penguins know how to respect the animals such as birds and sea lions which share the same habitat and live in Antarctica without national boundaries in harmony for millions of years? However, human beings have fought for their own interest for thousands of years and damaged too many natural resources. Without a healthy and active environment circulation system, people will pay heavy cost at last, dig grave for the human civilization and even destroy the whole home completely. People who have visited Antarctica all know that there’s one regulation in the Antarctic Treaty that each article such as a stone and each life on the land are forbidden to be taken away. This is contrary to the possessive instinct that man is born with. To protect Antarctica is to protect the live fossil of human textbooks.

During my stay in Antarctica, I forgot the presence of time. This was in sharp contrast with the noisy real society. Especially when I observed that penguins in groups were staring at the scene before them in the cold for a long time, it seemed to warn that I needed to absorb and enjoy the fortune that nature gave us by using the power of peace in heart. The fortune could not be changed for with speed and money. It was priceless and needed being taken urgent care of. When I flew from the remote southern hemisphere back to the northern hemisphere that I was familiar with, I seemed to have travelled through another time and space and have been awaken from a dream. What emerged in my dream was still our expedition to Antarctica. I also often looked at the photos to relive my feelings in Antarctica. When I looked back, even those days I felt seasick seemed worth remembering. When I received an invitation again from the Antarctic Forum this summer and learnt that I would go to this holy land again in late November with the team, my brain was full of different kinds of new expectations and imaginations on the coming expedition. I wondered if it would be as new as the first time. I also anticipated how to retreat safe and sound again after passing the Drake Passage with the strongest winds and waves in the world for 48 hours continuously. In addition, I cruised to Antarctica for the first time at the end of the tourism season in Antarctica. But this time I would take the first ship to Antarctica in the tourism season in Antarctica. I was so lucky as to go to the southernmost of the earth twice in one year. I assumed that only scientists could be entitled to the same opportunity. As a musician, I couldn’t wait to listen to and enjoy the magnificent Antarctic symphony. I was looking forward to being moved by the spirit and soul of the symphony. Meanwhile I wondered whether the boundless greatness spread by music could be only limited to human beings. With more thinking and curiosity, I embarked on the ship to start for the second ten-day visit to Antarctica. The concept of time left me gradually once again when the ship departed from Ushuaia and brought me to another space and time. The landings twice a day proved the feelings of a journey through time and space. I thought I landed on another planet every time. Maybe the view without people before us made the fifth continent on the earth faraway from our society. However, it is the pure island that has never been conquered completely or developed by human beings that reflects the problems in the development of human beings like a mirror so as to save the ecological resources on the earth.

Although there are rich oil, mineral resources and rare animals in Antarctica, we can not take away these resources. This is the precious Antarctic spirit. The spirit is to purify ourselves with every drop of water and every breath of air instead of conquering this holy land so as to influence and spread to more people who have never been to Antarctica. The expedition to Antarctica of the Antarctic Forum did not only let me view the magnificence of the natural world and enjoy the beauty of overtones but also have a new understanding of my outlook on the world and life. It was sublimation of my life experience and baptism on personal thoughts to share the unforgettable experience with the participants of the Antarctic Forum, listen to the talks of experts and communicate with everyone. It composed a new movement of my art career and was really a journey that combined people and nature perfectly!