The Yiyang tune is the ancient ancestor of dozens of local opera forms. Threatened with extinction following years of dwindling interest, the Ministry of Culture stepped in and officially placed it on the preservation list this April.

This might bring vigor to the ancient art form, said 59-year-old Yang Dianrong, of the Yiyang County Bureau of Culture. The county, in east China's Jiangxi Province, is the home of the Yiyang tune and Yang is one of the few remaining performers.

The Yiyang tune originated during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). The most popular musical form of its time, it was adapted to suit local dialects and heavily influenced at least 44 different types of operas, including what is now China's national form, Peking Opera.

Yang said that the Yiyang tune is the patriarch of high-pitched operas, and it, together with the Kunshan tune that was later developed, can be considered the rulers of all Chinese opera.

However, modernization and an influx of art and entertainment from abroad have drawn interest away from the Yiyang tune.

"We graduated in the 1950s from art schools and all my schoolmates are around 60 years old," Yang said. "There are fewer than 10 of us, and we are the only Yiyang tune artists remaining in China."

He said that due to funding shortages, the collection and arrangement of related materials were laid aside for many years. Even worse, there are no troupes to perform the traditional art for the public.

"The ancient form of art is on the verge of extinction," he warned, "and it will die out in 20 years unless successors are trained."

Li Yuying, director of the Jiangxi Department of Culture, appealed this March to the National People's Congress for the Yiyang tune to be given immediate preservation and care.

The ministry responded quickly. The Chinese government plans to allocate funds to collect and collate materials as well as to form a troupe.

A museum of Yiyang tune together with a Yiyang tune opera institute are slated to be built, and this year a seminar on the ancient form of art will be held in Yiyang.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2004)