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<\/a><\/p>\nThree performers rehearse in the rehearsal hall of a troupe of Jingxing county, Shijiazhuang, capital of north China\u2019s Hebei province, April 1. Photo by Zhang Xiuke\/People\u2019s Daily Online<\/em><\/p>\n In the sounds of gongs, drums, and suona horns, Liu Lisha, head of a Hebei Clapper Opera troupe in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China\u2019s Hebei province, strode onto the stage with an ancient army flag, and started to perform a traditional Chinese opera Mu Guiying Gua Shuai (Mu Guiying Takes Command) for local residents in Nanlijiatuan village, Zhaoxian county, Shijiazhuang.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Liu is also a member of the National Committee of Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). During the annual session of the CPPCC last year, she submitted a proposal for promoting the integration of traditional Chinese culture and tourism, while this year, her proposal highlights protecting and tapping into traditional Chinese opera.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the central and southern areas of Hebei province where watching traditional operas is part of the everyday life of rural residents, almost every village has a stage. Every year, Liu and members of her troupe perform traditional Chinese operas in rural areas from the first month of the lunar year to the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated in the fifth month of the lunar year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In recent years, local governments of Shijiazhuang have intensified support for operas and programs featuring traditional Chinese culture through measures including paying for the shows performed for local residents. Hebei Clapper Opera troupes can get an allowance of 7,500 yuan (about $1,057) for each show they present.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOur troupe stages 200 shows in rural areas every year. We try our best to meet the needs of local people,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over the years, Liu\u2019s troupe has often performed during temple fairs in rural areas. The dazzling juggling and products sold at temple fair, such as local specialties, clothes, snacks, and toys, can usually attract a lot of people from neighboring villages and even urban areas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As she performed during such occasions, Liu found that some people were attracted by the troupe\u2019s performance of Hebei Clapper Operas while strolling around at temple fairs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some people came to temple fairs specially for the show, according to Liu, noting that these people often stroll around and shop during intervals, and came back with snacks to continue enjoying the performance after the interval.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPerformances of traditional Chinese operas and temple fairs in rural areas complement each other. The integration of them can not only meet people\u2019s cultural needs, but also boost consumption in local areas,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Liu has always been thinking about how to carry forward and further develop traditional Chinese opera.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inspired by the results of the integration of traditional Chinese opera performances and temple fairs, she submitted a proposal for promoting the integration of traditional Chinese culture and tourism to the CPPCC last year, suggesting that Hebei Clapper Opera performances should be presented near some scenic spots and historical sites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the Mid-Autumn Day last year, Hebei Clapper Opera troupe of Shijiazhuang staged a live-action performance Chang\u2019e Ben Yue (Chang\u2019e Flying to the Moon) in Zhengding old town in Shijiazhuang\u2019s Zhengding county.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMany tourists watched the performance. I walked around there and heard that a nearby shop selling Shaomai, a kind of steamed dumpling, saw its sales reach 100,000 yuan ($14,088) that day, though it doesn\u2019t have many customers normally,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSome local traditional Chinese operas suffer greater loss of scripts than Hebei Clapper Opera. Today, our entire troupe can perform over 40 plays a year, while in the past, some senior artists could perform more than 100 plays alone in a year,\u201d said Liu, who hopes that local operas can be recorded with modern technologies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe are often told by our audiences that they want to watch modern operas. And we are trying harder to write new plays,\u201d Liu disclosed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With her proposals and idea of creating original plays all being based on what she has experienced, heard, seen, and thought of over years while performing for and talking with local residents, Liu\u2019s proposals and new idea are bound to serve people\u2019s cultural needs better once they are implemented properly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPeople\u2019s satisfaction is the greatest encouragement to us,\u201d Liu said, adding that serving people\u2019s cultural needs is the greatest honor and the most important responsibility for her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Zhang Tengyang, People\u2019s Daily Three...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25079,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25077\/revisions\/25079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}