The inspiration for this piece is taken directly from the title of the song《见山是山》which is based on the idiom of the same name. “见山是山，见山不是山，见山还是山” is a saying from Chinese Buddhism to describe the process of metaphorical thought and representation. It depicts moving from a superficial understanding of the world, to a state of pure mind. First one develops the ability to see the mountain through a viewpoint of deeper connections and meanings. Beyond that is a place of mind where one can still see the mountain as a mountain, but with great depth of understanding.
I was additionally inspired for this act by research into the art form and process of Chinese calligraphy (中文书法）, which shares much in common with this thought process and wanted to evoke the feeling of quiet preparation that leads to a sudden burst of ink flowing ceaselessly across the page before once again coming to rest.
Original act description:
This act represents the bulk of how I spent 2021—learning hoop juggling and Chinese—in combination. Many thanks to everyone who made this act possible with their support of these endeavors, including Dani Bobbi Lee, 曹舒越（Shuyue Cao), and particularly Mckenzy Brooke Simper and 张梦雯 (Mengwen Zhang), and of course, Nick.
《见山不是山》（See the Mountain not as a Mountain) is an act in three phases, based on the idiom “见山是山， 见山不是山， 见山还是山” （see the mountain as the mountain, see the mountain not as a mountain, see the mountain still as a mountain) exploring artistic perception and inspiration.
中文：
《见山不是山》 是一场三阶段的表演，出自一条成语：见山是山， 见山不是山， 见山还是山。这场表演意在发掘笔意和灵感。
这场表演代表了我上年大部分时间是如何度过的—学呼啦圈戏法和中文—二者结合。多谢大家对这场表演和这些努力的支持：感谢Dani Bobbi Lee, 曹舒越；特别是 Mckenzey Brooke Simper 和张梦雯，当然还有 Nick.
(谢谢张梦雯帮我翻译）
《见山不是山》was first performed in New Haven, CT in 2022.