New initiatives to help Chinese opera survive

Cao Jia, 27, does administrative work at a travel agency by day. But at night, he dons heavy makeup and extravagant costumes to act out the life stories of females with diverse ages, family backgrounds, personalities and professions.

He lives this double life as a well-known "Qian Dan," the role that sees male performers taking female parts within traditional Chinese opera.

In old times, the constant traveling and mixed-gender living arrangements of Chinese "Qinqiang" opera (or Shaanxi opera) troupes made it a tough proposition for female performers. So Qian Dan came into being.

It may be historic, but Qian Dan and other elements of the Chinese opera art form are in danger of dying out if authorities can not find more youngsters like Cao to pass the traditions down through the generations.

That's the reason behind a number of new initiatives to pump fresh blood into the veins of Qinqiang. The first Huangmei Opera Competition for college students concluded recently, attracting hundreds of young fans from Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu Province to compete to be recognized as the best performers.

And this month, the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts plans to enroll students majoring in Chinese opera and exempt their tuition fees.

If successful, such schemes will ensure the survival of an art form originating long ago. Qinqiang is also known as the "first emperor's opera." The alternative moniker indicates its popularity during the reign of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of a united China in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207BC).

It thrives especially in the northwest Chinese provinces and regions of Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang, and was entered onto the country's intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

Cao Jia is one of the few young people who appreciate Chinese opera and are determined to pass on the ancient art form.

Having sung Qinqiang for 11 years, Cao is a "master" among amateur performers. Over the years, he dedicated most of his spare time and money to learning the skills and buying costumes, which cost tens of thousands of yuan.

He says he doesn't regret it, but he worries that the art may disappear in years to come, because few young people seem to be interested. It faces problems in how it is perceived in modern China.

"To be a Qian Dan requires time, patience, money, but more importantly, it needs others' understanding," he explains.

Many of his fellow performers dare not let their families know they are learning to be Qian Dan.

"My family think Qian Dan performers are sissy and opera singers are of low social status," says Chang Lei, who has been rehearsing a new play with Cao Jia at Northwest University.

A total of 198 Qinqiang Opera houses, including more than 120 private ones, can be found in Shaanxi Province.

"But we worry there will be no inheritors in the next few decades," notes Tang Yunjun, a provincial cultural official.

Many Chinese local operas have been facing great difficulties, such as poor management, a brain drain, insufficient funding and a short of new talent.

The government provide a subsidy of 5,000 yuan (815 U.S. dollars) to state-level Qinqiang artists, 2,000 to 3,000 yuan to provincial-level performers, and 1,000 yuan to county-level ones on a yearly basis.

"But this is far from enough," complains Tang.

Today, the popularity of Chinese opera is dwarfed by pop music and Western cultures.

"It has a slow tempo and is old-fashioned and hard to appreciate," says 26-year-old Wu Qiong, an employee of a state-owned company.

Ma Youxian, a celebrated professional Qinqiang opera singer in China, sees local opera's development as relying too heavily on city dwellers although it originated from the countryside.

"It is inevitable in the country's rapid urbanization process," says Ma.

She adds that to attract young people's attention, Chinese opera should add more modern elements in costumes, stage design and plots while maintaining the way of singing.

Local operas have been changing in recent years thanks to efforts from people like Ma and initiatives like those outlined at the start of this article. Their venues are seeing bigger audiences.

"These measures help absorb new blood to protect the traditional culture and keep it dynamic," says Ma.