Preserving Erjiaxian opera in Hua county

Children learn the vocal style and postures of Erjiaxian, a national intangible cultural heritage, in the town of Wangu in Hua county, Henan province, on December 1, 2013. [Photo by Wang Zirui/Asianewsphoto]

Erjiaxian is a form of traditional opera with specific characteristics typical of the region. The instrument played during Erjiaxian is the Sihu, a four-string urheen. Thanks to its unique vocal and musical style, Erjiaxian has enjoyed a certain level of popularity for more than 100 years.

In 2007, Erjiaxian was selected as an intangible cultural heritage of Henan province. In 2008, it was inscribed on the list of the National Intangible Cultural Heritages. And this year Qiaoqiu village was listed within the first batch of traditional culture villages in Henan province.

Erjiaxian's third generation heritors in Hua county, Zu Zhentian, Zu Zhendian and Jiao Fenglan and the fourth generation Zu Yunshan have together built a base to preserve and pass on Erjiaxian. This summer they recruited more than 50 young apprentices between the ages of 7 and 12 to pass on their knowledge about music theory, brass instruments, playing strings, along with the vocal and dance styles to the children during weekends and holidays.

Zu said he will spend five years developing Erjiaxian's vocal performance, art form and scripts, and at the same time, cultivate the young children's knowledge of the opera style so as to make them qualified inheritors of Erjiaxian.