Circle of life

"生生不息 — translated here as Circle of Life — is one of the most profound concepts in Chinese philosophy, drawn from the I Ching (Yijing or Book of Changes), where it is expressed as “生生之謂易” (“the generation of life is what is called change”). Philosophically rooted in classical Chinese thought, especially interpretations of the Yijing, it views this perpetual becoming as the fundamental character of reality — the “great virtue” of heaven and earth, where change itself is the mechanism of ongoing creation rather than destruction. It’s optimistic in tone: life doesn’t just endure against odds; it thrives through inherent creativity and interconnectedness, producing ever more complexity and possibility. 

"This principle highlights resilience and harmony in natural processes — how fragility and strength coexist in endless regeneration, how intervention (human or environmental) can disrupt or restore the flow, but the underlying impulse toward generation remains undiminished. In the context of a river like the Lech, it manifests vividly: from its alpine source it flows onward, eroding, reshaping, nourishing, recovering from floods and human alterations alike, yet never ceasing to create — new channels, new habitats, new cycles of life. No matter the obstacles, the river’s inherent vitality keeps generating, embodying this eternal, unstoppable renewal.

"My piece for the river Lech begins in serene, everyday harmony. It opens with the bright calls of birds — pure voices of the living landscape — joined by gentle flute notes that drift like morning light over water. Beneath them flows the soft murmur of the river itself, interwoven with the relaxed chatter and laughter of people eating and talking at a riverside restaurant. This is life along the Lech as it is today: ordinary, peaceful, and quietly interdependent.

"As the music unfolds, subtle dissonances begin to emerge and grow. They trace the long story of human intervention — the straightening of channels, the building of dams and embankments, the gradual encroachment of cities and farmland. At the same time, they echo the river’s own restless nature: centuries of erosion carving new paths, floods reshaping gravel bars, the constant migration of the channel as it discovers fresh routes across the valley floor. Layer by layer, these tensions accumulate, reflecting countless transformations — both natural and imposed — that have sculpted the Lech into the river we see now.

"Yet after every wave of change, the music does not break. Instead, it circles back, returning to the same calm opening textures, now deeper and more resonant. The bird calls reappear, the flute line floats once more, and the river’s voice flows on, gently carrying the sounds of human life with it. Through every difficulty and every alteration, the Lech remains unstoppable. It embodies 生生不息 — Circle of Life — ceaseless generation, endless renewal. No matter how much we constrain or redirect it, the river’s vital force keeps creating new possibilities, new habitats, and new cycles of life. What appears as disruption is, in truth, part of an eternal becoming."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Anna Vienna Ho. 

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.