Xinjiang fights an ideology war through cartoon production

Ipal Khan, a main character of the cartoon series Princess Fragrant. Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen Qianheng Cultural Communication Company

Deng Jianglei, director of Princess Fragrant, a 3D-cartoon adapted from the story of a Uyghur princess who married the Qianlong Emperor during the 18th century in a political marriage, has been searching for a musician who can compose and write the lyrics to the title song for over a year.

"The musician has to be accepted both by the communities of Han and Uyghur people, which means he or she has to be familiar with two different cultures and musical styles, which is difficult," Deng, a cartoon director with the Shenzhen Qianheng Cultural Communications Company, told the Global Times.

The production of the cartoon series is part of the Xinjiang authorities' endeavor to develop the animation industry with the aim of maintaining social stability by boosting cultural exchanges and understanding between Han and Uyghur people, especially at a time of rising tension following terrorist attacks in and outside of Xinjiang.

Last year, the company won a tender to cooperate with the government of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, to create the animated cartoon that represents a full picture of Xinjiang folk customs and cultural development. The cartoon features a group of heroes led by Ipal Khan, the young "Fragrant Concubine" who fought to protect the heirlooms of her family.

For Deng, a good choice of title song matters greatly.

Previous attempts at the number, offered by companies and musicians from inland cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, have failed to satisfy.

"Xinjiang artists who work as consultants for our cartoon vetoed them as having no Xinjiang elements," Deng said.

That was until Deng accidentally ran into Hong Qi, a half-Uyghur musician born and raised in Hotan but developed his music career inland.

As a Uyghur singer, Hong has been well received. Most of his works are inspired by traditional Xinjiang music.

"Hong met almost all of our expectations. He grew up in Xinjiang, knows Xinjiang well and is well accepted by Han people," Deng said.

Deng's is just one of a number of animation companies drawn to explore the new market in far west China in recent years. An aggressive promotion of the animation industry is part of China's endeavor to build soft power.

The global industry is valued at over $200 billion, and the output of its derivatives amounts to over $500 billion a year. China has seen a rising cartoon market valued at 200 billion yuan ($32.52 billion) each year, statistics show.

Preferential policies, including subsidies and tax-free incentives have been implemented in Xinjiang to attract such companies.

"Xinjiang's cartoon industry can use this opportunity to develop its own market," said Sheng Jun, a deputy director of cultural industry office at the Xinjiang Bureau of Culture.

The problem, Sheng said, is "culture shock."

Knowledge gap

For Deng and his team, most of whom are Han people, the difficulties in finding the right musician is simply indicative of a whole host of similar problems.

"A common difficulty for artists from outside of Xinjiang who love Xinjiang and want to promote it to the outside world is that they don't know anything about Xinjiang," 41-year-old Hong Qi told the Global Times.

"They have little understanding of Xinjiang's music. Misunderstandings might cause severe cultural conflict,"Hong told the Global Times.

For instance, it has become common practice to adopt animal characters in cartoons.

However, the use of firstly a snake, then a squirrel in Princess Fragrant, aroused objection from Uyghur artists in the team.

"Snake are regarded as evil in Islamic culture and Uyghur families seldom keep pets, unlike Han people," Hong said.

Eventually, for the sake of the market, Deng insisted on using an animal character.

"It's all about compromise. There are some conservative artists in Xinjiang who cannot accept the adoption of post-modern concepts," Deng said.

Transcending time and space with time machines is a common plot device in cartoons. But local Uyghur artists were strongly against the concept.

"The difficulty is that you have to respect history and culture while catering to the market. Both are important and you cannot neglect either side," Shenzhen Qianheng president Luo Lijian told the Global Times.

The alienation of Han people to Islamic culture, shortage of manpower and over-emphasis on the educational function of animation have thwarted the development of the animation in Xinjiang.

To solve these problems, Han artists have to do a lot of preparation before they enter into Xinjiang's cartoon market.