Hakuna Matata：成长的另一种叙事逻辑——观歌舞剧《狮子王》

Hakuna Matata：成长的另一种叙事逻辑

Hakuna Matata: An Alternative Narrative Logic of Growth

——观歌舞剧《狮子王》于伦敦 Lyceum Theatre

— Watching The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London

钱  宏Archer Hong Qian

2025.9.30 -10.1· London-Cambridge University Library

说伦敦城里歌剧院林立，也不为过，世界十大歌剧及各种新剧目，长年轮番上演。

上一次来伦敦经济学院参加由英国社会学会举办的“马克斯·韦伯与中国国际研讨会”，是2013年，到现在已经12年过去了。这次再来伦敦相对闲适，不看一场歌剧似说不过去。本想看《浮士德》或《魔笛》，可惜都不在档期，《费加罗的婚礼》《艺术家的生涯》《乡村骑士》《卡门》《图兰朵》《阿依达》《茶花女》《弄臣》《托斯卡》《奥赛罗》《蝴蝶夫人》也不巧，唯一想看的，只有《The Lion King》，而且这部由动漫改编的歌剧，二十多年前碰巧在上海大剧院看过（似是1997年版百老汇音乐剧），这剧算是经受了时间的考验，重温一遍想必别有意味！

一、舞台的第一声心跳

伦敦Lyceum Theatre 的大幕缓缓拉开，鼓点像心脏一样轰鸣，随之而来的合唱让全场瞬间沸腾。光影投射出草原的曙光，长颈鹿、斑马、大象、羚羊、狮王狮后及小狮子降生??依次登场，这并非一场宏大的仿生秀，而是用极具艺术张力的匠心面具与肢体表现，形成了一种象征性的地球生命群舞。

这一刻，观众仿佛不是坐在剧院里，而是被置入大自然的心脏搏动中。舞台上所有的个体，带着各自的生命节奏，在大自然（非洲）鼓点声中汇聚成一场万物共生的盛典。它预示了整部剧的内核：成长并非孤立的个人冒险，而是生命在生活生态链中的修复与重生。

二、与常规成长叙事的不同

我们习惯的成长叙事，往往强调“奋斗改变命运”或“考验完成成人礼”。莎士比亚《哈姆雷特》是王子复仇记，柴可夫斯基《天鹅湖》是成年礼试炼记。

但《狮子王》走了一条不同的路。辛巴的旅程，不是英雄式的奋战，而是天赋生命自组织连接平衡的重生。

? 在父王去世后，辛巴被内疚压垮，选择逃离。

? 在丁满与蓬蓬的陪伴下，他被一种轻松、友善、自由自在的生活方式环抱，学会了 Hakuna Matata——忘却烦恼，接纳过往。

? 这并不是懦弱，而是一种生命自愈：透过友情、玩笑与自然的滋养，弱小的生命重新找回内在活力。

这种逻辑超越了“努力与奋斗”的常规叙事，强调的是：释怀与和解，不与自己过不去，是生命成长的必经体验。

三、Hakuna Matata 的哲学

Hakuna Matata 在剧中不仅是一句欢乐歌谣，更是一种生命智慧：

1. 释怀与陪伴

辛巴不是靠孤胆奋斗走出创伤，而是在丁满和蓬蓬的友善陪伴中，学会给自己时间余地，学会让伤口自然愈合，适应中获得生存技能。

2. 自组织平衡

在无忧的日常里，生命自身的平衡逐渐恢复，辛巴不再只是逃亡的孤儿，而是一个自由自在的青年。

3. 和解与重生

真相揭开时，他选择与父亲的灵魂对话，与自己和解，从而完成奇迹般的重生。

四、乐不思乡与被唤醒的责任

然而，《狮子王》并没有停留在“智者无忧”的层面。辛巴在与丁满、蓬蓬和自然生灵共处过程中，逐渐适应并乐不思乡，仿佛生命就此可以轻松而自在逍遥。

真正的转折点，是他与儿时女伴娜娜（Nala） 的意外重逢。娜娜带来的讯息，让辛巴不得不面对家园被篡权者毁坏的现实。而智者拉飞奇（Rafiki）的一句 “Who are you？”更是点燃了他心底的火焰。

这一呼唤，让辛巴回想起父亲的教诲——狮子王并不仅仅是王权的象征，而是大地的守护者，有责任保护广袤土地上的众生灵免受特权与掠夺的侵害而行公义。

此刻，Hakuna Matata 获得了另一层意义：它不仅是释怀与自由的象征，更是一种愛之智慧（Amorsophia）与力量。正因为愛，他才有勇气承担作为狮子王的生命责任；无惧过去的创伤心底阴影，选择“go home”。

五、超越复仇与成人礼

因此，《狮子王》绝不是私人理性的“王子复仇记”，也不仅是个人勇气的“成人礼完成时”。它讲述的生命成长逻辑是：

? 先释怀，后担当：只有先学会放下，才能真正肩负起责任。

? 先和解，后重生：只有与自我和解，才能实现真正的复活。

? 责任即愛的延伸：狮子王的身份不是权力的奖赏，而是守护共生秩序的使命。

这种逻辑，既超越了传统叙事的“斗争与胜利”，也呼应了更普遍的生命经验：成长就是在失衡—平衡—再平衡中，完成自我超越。

六、结语：生命的再平衡

走出剧院时，伦敦夜色里依然回荡着那句熟悉的旋律：Hakuna Matata.它并不是“逃避现实”的借口，而是一种超越刻意的Philosophy（智慧之爱）的平和的Amorsophia（愛之智慧）——

? 让创伤获得自愈的时空意间安抚；

? 让生命恢复自组织连接平衡的活力；

? 让责任在交互主体共生的感召下自然生长。

这正是《狮子王》留给观众的最深启示：成长不是背负，而是放下；不是强迫改变，而是让生命在共生的爱之智慧（Amorsophia）中复活。

最后说一句，伦敦的观众确实热情，整个Lyceum Theatre几无虚席，而且，每次转场至终，始终报以热烈的掌声和欢呼声，这和我在圣彼得堡小剧院看《天鹅湖》时的现场感受一样，多少有些不可思议。

Hakuna Matata: An Alternative Narrative Logic of Growth
— Watching The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London

Archer Hong Qian
September 30–October 1, 2025 · London – Cambridge University Library

London is, without exaggeration, a city of opera houses. The world’s top ten operas and countless new productions are staged in long-running rotations.

The last time I came to London was in 2013, when I attended the “Max Weber and China International Symposium” at the London School of Economics, hosted by the British Sociological Association. That was twelve years ago. This time, my visit to London is more leisurely. To leave without watching an opera would feel like a missed opportunity. I had hoped to see Faust or The Magic Flute, but they weren’t in season. The Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, Carmen, Turandot, Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Tosca, Otello, and Madama Butterfly were also unavailable. The only one left on my list was The Lion King.

This musical, adapted from the animated film, I had coincidentally seen more than twenty years ago at the Shanghai Grand Theatre (likely the 1997 Broadway version). It is a work that has stood the test of time, and to revisit it promised a unique resonance.

I. The First Heartbeat on Stage

As the curtain slowly rose at the Lyceum Theatre, London, the pounding drums beat like a heart. A chorus erupted, and the entire hall ignited. Light and shadow cast the dawn over the savannah: giraffes, zebras, elephants, antelopes, the lion king and queen, and finally the newborn cub—each appeared in turn.

This was not a grand bio-mimetic spectacle but rather a symbolic earth-life ensemble, crafted with ingenious masks and physical performance. At this moment, the audience seemed no longer seated in a theatre but placed within the heartbeat of nature itself. Every figure on stage, carrying its own rhythm of life, merged in the African drumbeats into a great festival of coexistence.

The scene revealed the drama’s essence: growth is not an isolated adventure but a process of healing and renewal within the ecological chain of life.

II. Different from Conventional Growth Narratives

The growth stories we are accustomed to often stress “struggle changing fate” or “trials completing a rite of passage.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a prince’s revenge story; Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is a tale of trial and coming of age.

But The Lion King follows another path. Simba’s journey is not a heroic conquest but the rebirth of life’s innate self-organizing balance.

After his father’s death, Simba, crushed by guilt, flees.

With the companionship of Timon and Pumbaa, he is enveloped in a carefree, friendly, free-spirited lifestyle, and learns Hakuna Matata—to forget worries and accept the past.

This is not cowardice but a form of life’s self-healing: through friendship, humor, and nature’s nurture, a fragile life regains its inner vitality.

This narrative transcends the conventional “effort and struggle” trope, emphasizing instead that release and reconciliation—learning not to fight against oneself—are indispensable to growth.

III. The Philosophy of Hakuna Matata

In the play, Hakuna Matata is more than a cheerful refrain; it is a wisdom of life:

1.Release and Companionship

Simba does not overcome trauma through solitary struggle, but by allowing himself space and time within Timon and Pumbaa’s companionship—letting wounds heal naturally, adapting and gaining survival skills.

2.Self-Organizing Balance
In the carefree everyday, life’s balance gradually restores itself. Simba ceases to be merely a fugitive orphan, becoming instead a free, spirited youth.

3.Reconciliation and Rebirth
When the truth emerges, he chooses dialogue with his father’s spirit, reconciles with himself, and thereby achieves miraculous renewal.

IV. From Carefree Wandering to Awakened Responsibility

Yet The Lion King does not remain at the level of “carefree wisdom.” Living joyfully with Timon, Pumbaa, and the creatures of nature, Simba adapts and grows so content that he almost forgets home.

The real turning point comes with the unexpected reunion with his childhood companion Nala. Her message forces Simba to face the devastation of his homeland under the usurper’s rule. Rafiki the wise one’s question, “Who are you?”, ignites the fire in his heart.

This call recalls his father’s teaching: the lion king is not merely a symbol of royal power but the guardian of the land, responsible to protect all living beings from privilege and plunder, and to walk in justice.

At this moment, Hakuna Matata acquires a deeper meaning: it is not only a symbol of release and freedom but also of Amorsophia—the wisdom of love—and strength. Precisely because of love, Simba gains the courage to assume his responsibility as lion king, to face the shadows of past trauma without fear, and to choose to “go home.”

V. Beyond Revenge and Rite of Passage

Thus The Lion King is neither a private rationality of “a prince’s revenge” nor merely the personal courage of “a completed coming-of-age trial.” Its logic of life-growth is:

Release first, then responsibility: Only by letting go can one truly shoulder duty.

Reconcile first, then rebirth: Only through reconciliation with oneself can genuine renewal occur.

Responsibility as the extension of love: The identity of lion king is not a reward of power but a mission to guard the order of coexistence.

This logic transcends the traditional narrative of “struggle and victory,” echoing instead a universal life experience: growth is the journey through imbalance → balance → rebalance, completing self-transcendence.

VI. Conclusion: Life’s Rebalancing

Leaving the theatre, the London night still echoed with that familiar refrain: Hakuna Matata.

It is not an excuse for “escaping reality,” but a serene Philosophy (philosophia—love of wisdom) and Amorsophia (wisdom of love):

offering temporal and spatial comfort for wounds to self-heal;

restoring vitality through life’s self-organizing connections and balance;

letting responsibility naturally arise under the call of intersubjective symbiosis.

This is the deepest insight The Lion King leaves for its audience: growth is not about carrying burdens but about letting go; not about forced change but about allowing life to be reborn in the wisdom of symbiotic love.

One last note: London audiences are indeed passionate. The Lyceum Theatre was nearly full, and at every transition through to the end, the crowd responded with thunderous applause and cheers. It was not unlike what I felt in St. Petersburg’s small theatre during Swan Lake—a sense of wonder that was hard to believe.