How traditional culture scored aces
By Lu Feiran |
October 27, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE annual Tennis Master Cup earlier this month was not only a festival for lovers of the sport but also a grand court for Minhang to display its traditional yet endangered culture.
Paper-cuts from Zhuanqiao, crochet from Xinzhuang, shadow plays from Qibao and traditional music from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River formed a cultural backdrop to the sporting classic.
Even the players got into the swing of things.
Three stars, including Andy Murray from the United Kingdom, Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia and Zhang Ze from China tried their hand at making traditional paper-cuts under the instruction of Zhou Ruomei, an expert in the art.
They tried to do the pattern of a tennis ball and then the Chinese characters for "Shanghai" and "Master." Zhou finished off their work by adding exquisite scenery of the Bund and the Huangpu River.
Murray said he tried British-style paper-cuts when he was a child. Mastering the Chinese art was "even harder than winning an Olympic gold medal," he confessed with a smile.
Zhou said traditional Zhuanqiao paper-cuts usually have themes as animals, human profiles and water town scenery. She created new patterns especially for the Master Cup.
"I cut some profiles of the players and other tennis themes," said Zhou. "Traditional culture can survive only by the energy of creation."
Zhou, 68, is a retired teacher who has been doing paper-cuts for more than 10 years. Her representative masterpiece was a version of the Chinese painting "Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival."
Zhou said this was not the first time she had tried to teach foreigners about this ancient art. She participated in paper-cut demonstrations at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and once visited the United States to show off the craft.
"What I want is more people to become interested in paper-cuts and pass the art form down the generations forever," she said.
Audiences attending the Master Cup games at the Shanghai Qizhong Tennis Center could hardly miss the Minhang cultural display in the square outside.
Jin Longhua, a veteran of Xinzhuang crochet work, presented new needlework fashions in honor of the match. On the day tournament kicked off, a Xinzhuang crochet fashion show was held in the square, drawing many onlookers.
"Both Chinese and foreign fans showed great interest," Jin said. "It was a new window for Xinzhuang crochet."
Performances of traditional music from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, however, didn't fare as well. Few visitors stopped to listen to classical pieces such as "The Song of Joy."
Some passers-by said it was too alien to the ears.
Ye Xiaoshan, one of the musicians, sighed and said traditional music has yet to regain much of a foothold, despite great efforts at popularizing it.
"The music was widely accepted in the 1930s and 1940s, and even as late at the 1980s," Ye said. "Minhang once had nearly 10 classical music ensembles, but today there are only two."
Zhang Naiqing, an expert in traditional cultural preservation in Minhang for more than 20 years, agreed that it's hard to interest the modern generation in what is perceived as "old" music.
"Many parents urge their children to learn traditional musical instruments, but that often springs from a desire to give their kids an edge in getting into good schools," said Zhang. "Once in, they give up practice."
But it doesn't hurt to keep plugging the cause of traditional music, he added.
"The tennis event actually helps bind Western and Eastern culture, which is another healthy way to hang on to heritage," he said.
Paper-cuts from Zhuanqiao, crochet from Xinzhuang, shadow plays from Qibao and traditional music from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River formed a cultural backdrop to the sporting classic.
Even the players got into the swing of things.
Three stars, including Andy Murray from the United Kingdom, Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia and Zhang Ze from China tried their hand at making traditional paper-cuts under the instruction of Zhou Ruomei, an expert in the art.
They tried to do the pattern of a tennis ball and then the Chinese characters for "Shanghai" and "Master." Zhou finished off their work by adding exquisite scenery of the Bund and the Huangpu River.
Murray said he tried British-style paper-cuts when he was a child. Mastering the Chinese art was "even harder than winning an Olympic gold medal," he confessed with a smile.
Zhou said traditional Zhuanqiao paper-cuts usually have themes as animals, human profiles and water town scenery. She created new patterns especially for the Master Cup.
"I cut some profiles of the players and other tennis themes," said Zhou. "Traditional culture can survive only by the energy of creation."
Zhou, 68, is a retired teacher who has been doing paper-cuts for more than 10 years. Her representative masterpiece was a version of the Chinese painting "Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival."
Zhou said this was not the first time she had tried to teach foreigners about this ancient art. She participated in paper-cut demonstrations at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and once visited the United States to show off the craft.
"What I want is more people to become interested in paper-cuts and pass the art form down the generations forever," she said.
Audiences attending the Master Cup games at the Shanghai Qizhong Tennis Center could hardly miss the Minhang cultural display in the square outside.
Jin Longhua, a veteran of Xinzhuang crochet work, presented new needlework fashions in honor of the match. On the day tournament kicked off, a Xinzhuang crochet fashion show was held in the square, drawing many onlookers.
"Both Chinese and foreign fans showed great interest," Jin said. "It was a new window for Xinzhuang crochet."
Performances of traditional music from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, however, didn't fare as well. Few visitors stopped to listen to classical pieces such as "The Song of Joy."
Some passers-by said it was too alien to the ears.
Ye Xiaoshan, one of the musicians, sighed and said traditional music has yet to regain much of a foothold, despite great efforts at popularizing it.
"The music was widely accepted in the 1930s and 1940s, and even as late at the 1980s," Ye said. "Minhang once had nearly 10 classical music ensembles, but today there are only two."
Zhang Naiqing, an expert in traditional cultural preservation in Minhang for more than 20 years, agreed that it's hard to interest the modern generation in what is perceived as "old" music.
"Many parents urge their children to learn traditional musical instruments, but that often springs from a desire to give their kids an edge in getting into good schools," said Zhang. "Once in, they give up practice."
But it doesn't hurt to keep plugging the cause of traditional music, he added.
"The tennis event actually helps bind Western and Eastern culture, which is another healthy way to hang on to heritage," he said.
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