Opera overview

A student is preparing for an opera performance at school in Guangzhou. Photos by Zou Zhongpin

GUANGZHOU: Ask a student in South China's Guangdong province if he or she would like to attend a Peking Opera course, the answer probably will be negative.

"How can I appreciate the opera when I know little about it?" said Huang Meiyi, a 14-year-old student at the Guangzhou No 27 Middle School.

However, Huang may have to attend such a course as Guangdong is one of the provinces to introduce Peking Opera classes in schools this year.

Last month, the Ministry of Education announced a pilot project to teach traditional Peking Opera from March to July next year in primary and secondary schools.

Widely known as one of the nation's age-old and unique cultural treasures, Peking Opera will be included in music courses in 200 schools in the seven provinces of Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong and Gansu, and three municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.

Under the project, 15 pieces of Peking Opera, both classical and modern, will be added to music courses in schools.

However, Wang Wuming, spokesman for the ministry, said that the new curriculum is not compulsory, but it will help students appreciate the traditional Chinese culture better.

The spokesman also added that pilot programs will be implemented in certain schools of the selected areas.

The course will be introduced in 20 primary and secondary schools in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, sources close to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education said.

"Details about the course, however, will be worked out in April," said He Zhiqiang, an official with the Guangdong educational authority.

The move, however, has created a controversy among students, teachers and art performers in Guangdong. Some are of the opinion that schools in the southern province should teach Cantonese Opera instead of Peking Opera in music class.

"I have once listened to my grandmother performing Cantonese Opera. For me, it would be better if I could attend a Cantonese Opera course," said Huang.

Students in Guangdong could associate themselves more easily with Cantonese Opera as it has its roots in South China, said Deng Huashan, a teacher with the Affiliated Middle School of South China Normal University.

"Peking Opera is not the only representative of the traditional Chinese culture. Different local operas should be taught in different areas since the country has lots of local art forms," Deng said.

"People's taste varies from place to place. In Guangdong, people may think Cantonese Opera is much more beautiful than Peking Opera," Deng added.

A recent online survey by the leading web portal Sina.com found that 35 percent of over 21,000 respondents suggested different local operas be taught in different areas.

Source: China Daily