Song Of The Phoenix is the final film directed by master Chinese filmmaker Wu Tian Ming. The story of a family of traditional Chinese musicians who struggle to preserve and advance a dying art form, the film is also a powerful metaphor for the universal tragedy that inevitably unfolds when traditional art forms and long-standing cultural traditions are swamped by the irresistibly rising tides of advancing technology and cultural and economic globalization

As the film begins, Jiao is searching for an apprentice to carry his legacy of artistic excellence through China’s rapidly-changing cultural landscape and into an uncertain future. A master of the suona, the traditional Chinese woodwind instrument whose high, melancholy pitch is the most recognizable component of Chinese folk music, Jiao continues to doggedly perform his ancient compositions at weddings and funeral, even in the face of the growing indifference to traditional Chinese culture of China’s youth. Facing the very real possibility that his treasured art form will die out altogether, Jiao vows to save his music for future generations by searching out an apprentice who can carry the legacy of suona mastery deep into the 21st century.

电影《百鸟朝凤》由著名导演吴天明执导，是吴天明导演酝酿多年的感怀、言志之作。讲述了民间艺术和民间艺人的故事。表现了在社会变革、民心浮躁的年代里，新老两代唢呐艺人为了信念的坚守所产生的真挚的师徒情、父子情、兄弟情。师父焦三爷对唢呐的追求、坚持、忠守细腻沉厚。在社会发生变革后，他仍然坚守唢呐代代延续的婚丧传统。他虽对唢呐技艺的发展前景心怀忧虑，但始终希望品性德行俱佳的徒弟能将唢呐技艺传承下去。焦家班的兴衰和游家班的难以为继，组成了全片的叙事线索。焦三爷对唢呐的不舍，对焦家班的担忧，徒弟对师父的深厚情感，都是这部电影扣人心弦的感情链。影片深刻表现了当代中国城市化进程中商品经济大潮对中国传统文化的冲击，歌颂了民间艺人对传统文化的热爱与坚守。

《百鸟朝凤》这部影片是吴天明导演人生中第三个艺术里程碑的开始，也是遗憾的结束。这部影片寄托了导演的意志，讲述的不仅仅是师徒情，还探讨了中国传统文化在日新月异的社会中传承的问题。在焦三爷这个任务角色的刻画上，熔铸着吴天明对人生、对艺术、对电影的深切感悟，熔铸着他对中国优秀传统文化的认识和传承，熔铸着他对底层人物的血肉真情。

Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Union