A Recording in a Cave of a Billion Years

A wisp of devout incense (《一瓣心香》)

Performer: TAM Po-sherk (Chinese vertical bamboo flute, 譚寶碩—洞簫)

Live concert recording of MA Changsheng (馬常勝) and TAM Po-sherk's "Qin and Xiao (琴蕭吟游)" cave concert.

November 2025, Lianhua Cave (蓮華洞), Dazhan Mountain (大鄣山), Wuyuan (婺源)

July 2025.

Mr. Zhu Jiang (朱江) said to me, "Let me take you to see an ancient cave."

After a long drive and a climb halfway up the mountain, we arrived at Lianhua Cave on Dazhang Mountain in Wuyuan County, Shangrao (上饒), Jiangxi (江西).

This karst cave, formed hundreds of millions of years ago, is vast in scale and can accommodate thousands of people — a sight that left me in absolute awe.

Inside the cave stands a stalactite approximately 7 meters tall, which the villagers reverently call the Grand Supreme Elder Lord (太上老君).

The Grand Supreme Elder Lord sits solemnly within the cave, his form resembling silver hair draped over the shoulders, one hand as if entwined with a dragon, the other as if cradling a gourd.

Know that this is a wonder of the world, formed over hundreds of millions of years through the gradual accumulation of dripping water, drop by drop.

Through thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions of years, the cave remains in eternal silence, broken only by the rhythmic sound of dripping water.

I took out my dongxiao (洞簫, Chinese vertical bamboo flute) and began to play.

The echoes within the cave and the resonant power of nature imbued the flute's sound with an extraordinary energy unlike anything I had experienced before.

Wave after wave of echoes reverberated around me; the sensation of playing was subtle and profound, each phrase stirring the soul.

It was a breathtaking experience unlike any other — I look forward to holding a cave concert here someday.

Nature has concentrated all its wonders here, and the mountain's shaded and sunlit sides divide dusk from dawn.
(造化鐘神秀，陰陽割昏曉。)

—— Du Fu (杜甫, 712-770)

Calligraphy by Tam Po-sherk

November 2025.

Through the efforts of Mr. Zhu Jiang, Mr. Ma Changsheng and I held a concert called "Qin and Xiao" at Lianhua Cave.

The resonance of the cave carries a magnificent natural power — every piece and every note of the concert moved me deeply, filling me with profound emotion.

Once again, I expressed my hope to make a studio recording in this cave.

Leisurely, the distant mountains at dusk; alone, I return toward the white snow.
(悠然遠山暮，獨向白雪歸。)

—— Wang Wei (王維, 699-761)

Calligraphy by Tam Po-sherk

March 2026.

My wish has finally come true.

Accompanied by Mr. Zhu Jiang and several companions, we returned once again to Lianhua Cave.

Inspired and blessed by this cave formed over hundreds of millions of years, I completed the recording of all twelve pieces of music for the album "

Roams the World with Xiao (簫行天下)" in just two and a half hours.

At that time, the Lantern Festival (元宵節) was approaching, and bursts of firecrackers echoed up from the foot of the mountain.

The cave's silence of hundreds of millions of years, intertwined with the sound of the xiao flute and the clamor of the human world, merged into a symphony of overlapping echoes — all captured within this album.

The paths we walk, the people we meet, the regrets we carry — all are life's most precious revelations.

Calligraphy by Tam Po-sherk

The deep, secluded cave, the solemnly seated Grand Supreme Elder Lord, the gentle pitter-patter of dripping water…

This rendezvous transcending hundreds of millions of years has finally come to pass today.

If fate has brought us together in this mortal world, how can we not cherish it?

The echoes within the cave seem to linger still.

The unforgettable emotion lingers in my heart for a long, long time.