It is a mighty metropolis bustling with energy and excitement.
It showcases China's cutting-edge modern living and its people are
famous for being focused on all that is new. However beneath the
glitz and glamor of life in the fast lane lies a little-known side
of traditional Shanghai.
On this side, you can hear the sound of silk and bamboo music,
savor the unique taste of traditional snacks, and watch cloth
makers spin their wheels. You can also see artist farmers capture
their experiences on canvas.
Last week's Shanghai Folk Culture Exposition showed off local
treasures that are often overshadowed by modern development.
The Zhuqiao Silk and Bamboo Band from
Shanghai's Nanhui District.??
Expo visitors were greeted by the sounds of Jiangnan Sizhu, or
the silk and bamboo music, which was voted as one of China's
intangible cultural heritage items. Jiangnan refers to the south
bank of the lower Yangtze River basin near Shanghai where this
style of ensemble music is popular. "Silk" relates to string
instruments and "bamboo" to woodwind.
The Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation Center
invited different silk and bamboo bands to perform at the expo to
the delight of visitors. "The silk and bamboo music of Jiangnan is
like a name card of Shanghai," says Zhou Feng, a musician from the
Gucheng Silk and Bamboo Band. "Wherever in the world you hear it,
you know it is music from Shanghai. It tells much about the life of
Shanghai's people."
The members of Gucheng band all have other jobs, but gather
every Tuesday afternoon to rehearse. "In the silk and bamboo music
of Jiangnan, professional musicians are amateurs, while amateur
musicians are professionals," says Zhou.
Professional musicians trained at conservatories do not always
master the spirit of silk and bamboo music and often the best
musicians are local people without formal training.
"It's a very exquisite music style that demands high personal
accomplishment, but when you get into it, you will become
addicted," says Zhou.
Despite the large numbers of silk and bamboo bands in Shanghai,
Zhou is very worried about the future.
"Most players of the silk and bamboo music of Jiangnan are quite
elderly," says 57-year-old Zhou, who is one of the youngest in his
group. "Not many people realize this precious music is being
lost."
Gong Jinguo, a musician of the Zhuqiao Silk and Bamboo Band from
the Nanhui District of Shanghai, says the silk and bamboo music of
Jiangnan's listing on the national intangible cultural heritage
register will help promote and preserve the music.
He says his band is active in the city's outskirts performing at
weddings, temple fairs, and folk festivals. "At the folk culture
exposition we learned much about other folk arts, at the same time
we have a very good opportunity to promote the silk and bamboo
music of Jiangnan," says Gong.
Another of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage treasures at
the expo were paintings from Jinshan farmers.
Jinshan District is located southwest of Shanghai, and since the
1970s, local farmers developed a kind of art form, which combines
elements from traditional arts, such as paper-cuts, embroidery and
knitting.
Drawing from their life experiences and romantic imaginations,
the people of the land have created many paintings full of
freshness and images of the Shanghai countryside.
The works of Jinshan farmers have been exhibited around the
world in more than 20 countries, and more than 200 pieces have been
collected by the National Art Museum of China, the Research
Institute of Chinese Paintings and the China Folk Arts Museum.
"All my paintings come from my own head," says 77-year-old Xu
Guibao, who was drawing a picture of the folk lion dance at the
expo. "I paint every day, and I have been doing it for 30
years."
According to Zhu Xi, deputy director of the Jinshan Farmers'
Painting Academy, farmers' works are sold mainly through art
galleries and snapped up by tourist groups visiting Jinshan. The
prices of the works range from 40 yuan ($5.7) to 500 yuan
($65).
The academy has also developed other forms of merchandise, based
on the farmers' paintings, such as cups, drink coasters, greeting
cards, stamps, and T-shirts. All sold well at the exposition.
"This exhibition reminded me of my childhood in Jinshan. All the
subjects in the paintings are so familiar to me," says 63-year-old
Lin Hongqing, a visitor to the show.
However he says the times have changed. When Lin was a boy, a
boat trip from Shanghai to Jinshan took five hours. Today, the
journey is only a 30-minute drive down the highway.
"Life in Jinshan is almost as modern as it is in Shanghai now,
and much of the folk culture is disappearing," he says.
"At the Shanghai Folk Culture Exposition we can see the variety
of folk culture that needs our care."
The expo not only showed off Shanghai folk culture, it also
introduced arts and crafts from other areas, including Taiwan.
Taiwan's craftswoman Chen Li Yu Mei showed off her traditional
embroidery and jewelry making, while paper artist Hung Hsin-Fu
demonstrated how to create works using ordinary paper.
Under Hung's direction, many visitors created simple yet
beautiful paper faces with only two cuts from a pair of
scissors.
Left: Seventy-five-year-old Kang Xinqin
demonstrates traditional spinning skills.
Right: Xu Guibao, a 77-year-old farmer painter from Shanghai's
Jinshan District.
"Paper art is a kind of educational medium, which enables people
to develop their thinking and imagination," says Hung, who has
published 14 books on the subject. "Paper is something cheap and
easy to get, but one can develop endless possibilities from
it."
Hung was only 4 years old when he first encountered paper
crafts. At age 11 the hobby became a passion and by 17 he decided
to make it his life-long profession.
Hung says he used to be very careless when he was a child, but
after practicing paper art he became more patient and logical. He
says his beloved paper art also helped improve his mathematical
powers.
Hung's works include realistic images, such as animals and
sports and also abstract titles such as Dream, Buddha and
Proliferation.
"I develop my paper art works from the traditional Chinese
crafts, but with my own original ideas," he says.
"As the time changes, mass products have largely replaced
handicrafts, but handicrafts will always have their
uniqueness."
In his works, Hung seldom uses glue, but borrows the idea of
tenon from Chinese carpentry. However, he also tries to make use of
modern techniques, such as lasers.
This year was the first time Hung had participated in the
Shanghai Folk Culture Exposition, and he found it very rewarding.
"I exchanged ideas and experiences with many colleagues from the
mainland," he says. "Wherever there is mutual understanding, there
is no conflict."
Hung also found a new business partner. He has signed a contract
with Shanghai Jiansheng Culture and Education Development Company,
who is presenter of the exposition, to promote his paper art works
on the Chinese mainland.
(China Daily June 20, 2007)
