On our reporting trip to Xinjiang, we were lucky enough to attend a traditional Muqam performance and see the work being done to ensure the younger generations take up the unique performance art.

The Muqam Inheritance Center in Hami, East Xinjiang, is a shining example of China’s efforts to keep its traditional culture alive. Opened in 2009, the center itself was built in line with local Uygur architectural traditions – round, with a wide stairway set at the center of a large, open reception hall. The first floor is a museum-cumshop, while the second floor features a Muqam theater.

After enjoying a particularly entertaining fragment of the Hami Muqam – which locals assure us is one of Xinjiang’s most authentic – we chatted with some of the center’s regular performers.

Alif, as he introduces himself, started coming here soon after retiring from a teaching post at the Hami Prefecture Normal University. He began learning the local Muqam at a young age, and while he continues to perform on occasion, these days he’s more concerned with ensuring his cultural knowledge is passed on.

“I’ve been coming here to perform and instruct for four years,” he says. “My two sons – 19 and 23 – have been learning our Muqam traditions, and I’d say they’re pretty competent performers these days.”

One young Uygur performer, Nursunay, has more pragmatic view of his participation in the center. “Of course I get great pleasure from performing the Muqam. It’s our heritage. But it’s also quite good money – about RMB 2000 a month – just for doing what I love,” Nursunay says, referring to the government subsided wage for performers at the center.

As They Say...

The Chinese have a saying: “If you haven’t been to Xinjiang, you don’t know how big China really is.” Certainly, after making a round trip of 2,000 kilometers through the autonomous region by minibus and only covering a smidgen of distance on a Xinjiang map, anecdotally I can attest to the verity of the expression.

But personally, I would add another saying to the lexicon: “If you haven’t been to Xinjiang, you don’t know the depth of China’s culture.”

The country’s cultural legacy is broad and heterogeneous, and the contributions of its ethic minorities like the Uygur are invaluable. Having conversed with locals, gazed at 4,000-year-old mummies, gorged on the region’s sumptuous delicacies (a topic I haven’t even had room to write about here) and marveled at the grand Muqam musical tradition, I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of this beautiful, historical – and yes, exotic – place.

By VAUGHAN WINTERBOTTOM

Source:ChinaToday

Editor:JinXin