Conductor's mission inspires scholar's career

When Italian Sinologist Sabrina Ardizzoni first met Chinese conductor Zheng Xiaoying, she never imagined the encounter would reshape her academic trajectory — nor that it would become the emotional and conceptual foundation of her understanding of cross-cultural exchange.

Born in 1929, Zheng is China's first female conductor of opera and symphonic works. Ardizzoni describes her as "a woman of extraordinary vitality", someone who bears the weight of decades of history with effortless grace, yet retains the boundless curiosity of a lifelong learner. What struck Ardizzoni most, however, extended far beyond Zheng's commanding stage presence at the podium — her artistic mission rippled outward into wider society.

Zheng's distinguished decadeslong artistic career has recently been featured in Enciclopedia delle Donne (Encyclopedia of Women), an online biographical archive documenting trailblazing women from all eras and disciplines worldwide. Ardizzoni authored the official entry dedicated to Zheng, marking another landmark recognition for Chinese female artists on the global stage.

"For her, music was never merely a vehicle for personal achievement," Ardizzoni says. "It represented a cultural and social calling."

This mission shines through Zheng's pioneering efforts to introduce Western opera to Chinese audiences. Rather than treating opera as a foreign import, she reinterprets the art form for local communities, framing it as a universal artistic language capable of evolving across cultural borders.

Raised in Verona, a city steeped in operatic heritage, Ardizzoni says meeting Zheng proved transformative.

"She opened my eyes to the fact that boundaries we perceive as permanent can always be crossed — boundaries between cultures, between traditions, between audiences."

Ardizzoni's fascination with Chinese civilization began long before her meeting with Zheng, back in her hometown of Verona. She first spotted striking parallels between European and Chinese classical storytelling; for example, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet evoked strong echoes of the timeless Chinese tragic romance Butterfly Lovers, featuring the characters Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

This spark of curiosity led her to Laozi's Tao Te Ching, and eventually to formal academic training in Chinese language, philosophy and culture.

"Curiosity turned into rigorous study," she recounts. "Study grew into profound affection, and that affection became my life's work."

In 2017, Ardizzoni joined Xiamen University to launch a new research focus on Hakka culture. She traveled extensively across Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, visiting dozens of remote Hakka villages. She describes this research chapter as equally academic and deeply personal. "I set out to conduct research, yet wound up discovering an entire way of life," she says.

It was during this fieldwork that she crossed paths with Zheng — a meeting she calls utterly unforgettable. "I felt immense honor to meet her, and I was instantly captivated by her spirit."

While traveling the southern Chinese highlands, Ardizzoni encountered tulou — vast circular rammed-earth compounds built for communal Hakka living.

"Tulou buildings are far more than mere architecture," she explains. "They serve as sanctuaries that embody core life values: coexistence, collaboration and mutual support."

These immersive cultural experiences gave birth to one of Ardizzoni's most creative cross-cultural projects, Pimpa Flies to China.

For more than 40 years, Pimpa has ranked among Italy's most iconic children's characters, comparable to Mickey Mouse in national cultural recognition. The spotted white dog lives alongside Armando, a gentle elderly man who balances daily work with the simple joys of cooking, resting, and caring for Pimpa. Pimpa holds a magical gift: she can converse with every animal, tree, flower and butterfly — an innate wonder Ardizzoni believes all children share.

Created by celebrated Italian illustrator Francesco Tullio Altan, Pimpa has journeyed across Italy's major cities — Venice, Rome, Naples, Florence — and traveled internationally to London, Paris, Barcelona, New York and Cairo. Yet the beloved character had never set foot in China.

Upon returning from her Hakka research trips, Ardizzoni pitched an original concept: send Pimpa on an adventure to the East. She shared Zheng's story with Altan — a globe-trotting conductor who connects seamlessly with children and adults alike, embodying the openhearted spirit Pimpa represents.

Together they crafted Pimpa's Chinese voyage, imagined aboard a magical flying ship rather than a commercial airplane.

Throughout the whimsical journey, Pimpa encounters Chinese dragons, lion dance figures and giant pandas. She wanders the Great Wall, gazes upon the Yellow River, explores ancient Jiangnan stone bridges and steps inside traditional Hakka Tulou. She also learns all 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Inside one tulou, Pimpa attends a special concert conducted by Zheng, featuring a choral performance themed around the 12 zodiac signs. In another warm, playful scene, she shares steamed buns prepared personally by Zheng.

Within this tender illustrated universe, Pimpa and Zheng forge a close friendship, building a symbolic artistic bridge between Italian and Chinese children's imaginations.

"Through Pimpa, we aimed to build a solid cultural bridge linking young readers in China and Italy," Ardizzoni says.

"World-famous children's illustrator Francesco Tullio Altan depicts China through a playful, childlike lens — a whimsical expedition across an ancient Eastern landscape of rolling mountains and winding rivers," Zheng remarks. "The Great Wall and Hakka Tulou stand as living emblems of cultural heritage and collective memory within his artwork. Altan's illustrations bring China's landscapes and traditions vividly to life. Every zodiac animal takes on a distinct personality, from a mild-mannered dragon and kind buffalo to a hardworking horse and mischievous stone lion, all rendered with gentle warmth and light humor tailored for young audiences.

"This book transcends the typical picture book format. It is a rare creation designed to bridge geographic distance through mutual understanding, helping children separated by vast stretches of land build cross-cultural friendship, curiosity and goodwill," she adds. A Chinese-language edition of the book is also in the pipeline for future publication.

For Ardizzoni, every chapter of her journey — from Verona to Xiamen, from operatic scholarship to children's literature — forms one unbroken narrative thread.

She observes that China and Italy, two ancient civilizations, connect not only through shared history, but through overlapping core values centered on art, education and human empathy. Each culture offers unique gifts. One prioritizes quiet slowness, intimacy and emotional depth; the other balances age-old tradition with constant creative reinvention. Both view culture not as static relics frozen in time, but as living, evolving creations.

Zheng stands at the heart of this ongoing cultural dialogue.

For Ardizzoni, her encounter with the conductor is no longer a single cherished memory — it has become a lens through which she redefines meaningful cross-cultural exchange, one rooted in boldness and creative vision.

"Knowing her taught me that life should never be restrained by hesitation," Ardizzoni says. "We ought to live fully, with vitality, courage and an open heart."