CHAOZHOU, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chaozhou music is a general term for all kinds of folk music which spreads in Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong Province in south China. With a history of over 1,000 years, the music often uses traditional instruments like suona, yehu, erxian (two-string fiddles), gongs, and drums in the performance.
Ding Zengqin, 74, is a teacher in an art school in Shantou. He has been teaching Chaozhou music since 1965 after graduation. The teacher is glad that the traditional art form has been well protected and inherited by the young generation, as more and more young people nowadays are learning the music and the traditional culture.
Folk artists play Chaozhou gongs and drums in front of the Guangji Gate Tower in Chaozhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Ding Zengqin (1st R) instructs students to play Chaozhou music at an art school in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Apart from art school, Chaozhou music has been passed on in villages. A youth music group was founded in 2010 in Huayao Village, and over 300 students have graduated from the group since its establishment. Some of the graduates have been admitted to well-known music schools for further education, and some have chosen to teach young talents in the group and pass on the torch.
Wang Haoliang, a member of a youth music group, practices Chaozhou gongs and drums at Huayao Village in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Ding Zengqin (2nd L) instructs members of the youth music group at Huayao Village in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Folk artist Fang Jinlong plays Chaozhou music by Chiba, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, in south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Folk artist Chen Songjie plays Chaozhou music by Guqin, a traditional Chinese string instrument, in south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Folk artist Zheng Bingzhao plays Chaozhou music by Yehu, a traditional Chinese string instrument, in south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Folk artist Zheng Xiangming plays Chaozhou flute, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, in south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Produced by Xinhua Global Service■
