CHINA:CHINA'S SCHOOLS could soon resonate to high-pitched arias, the crash of cymbals and strains of the traditional erhu two-stringed violin after the education ministry launched a pilot programme to make Peking Opera a compulsory part of music teaching in schools around the country.
Traditional Peking Opera will become part of music courses for 200 schools in 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout China as part of an effort to encourage more traditional forms of culture.
Leading Peking Opera star Zhu Shihui told the Xinhua news agency: "I support this project wholeheartedly. Interest should be fostered since childhood. I myself began to get fascinated with Peking Opera whilst in primary school. It eventually became my lifetime career."
While the highly stylised opera form, which dramatises ancient tales and involves high-pitched, mannered singing and gymnastics, is popular with the older generation, it is not a big hit with a younger generation reared on Taiwanese pop stars like Jay Chou and Cantonese hip-hop.
A survey by the news portal Netease showed that 70 per cent of voters opposed the project, while a separate survey by the sina.com website showed that only 27 per cent believed setting up the course would help promote traditional culture.
"Such courses should be optional, if the students are forced to learn, it might backfire and make them totally lose interest," said one posting.
The project will be tested in Beijing, where officials have chosen 15 pieces of opera, including both classical and modern, for the project. Students will learn how to sing and perform but will also be taught the storylines and background to the tales to help them develop an understanding for the art form.