Cantonese Opera in music lesson

Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my opinions about the suggestion of incorporating the traditional art form into music lessons. The colorful and intricate art form rooted in southern China has been declared part of the Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity by the United Culture. Now that the art of Cantonese opera is recognized globally, I hope we Hongkongers can make use of the status and develop it, and let it become a fossil. Fortunately, Cantonese opera has been advised to incorporate into our music lessons recently, so I would like to discuss the advantages and disadvantages about the program here.

The proposal to incorporate Cantonese opera into our music lessons is an essential part of our cultural heritage. Cantonese opera is the most indigenous and traditional performing art in Hong Kong, but locals don’t know how to treasure it. Cantonese opera is under threat actually. If we do not get our next generation involved in trying to preserve Cantonese opera, it is a precious part of our cultural heritage that will be lost. Instead of intending the scheme to boost the audience of Cantonese opera, we hope that it can continue the legacy left by our ancestors. And now, it is a good time and reason for the historical art form to reach out to a wider audience. Therefore, in order to keep and transmit this valuable art form to our next generation, more efforts should be made to preserve it.

Moreover, through this plan, the students will benefit from on-the-spot demonstrations by opera maestros. Nowadays, many young people do not try to appreciate the art and often blindly follow Western arts that limit their development of all sides. In fact, the education process at school should enable students to learn more about themselves as they develop. And now, there is a golden opportunity for pupils to gain knowledge about something they would not normally come across. For instance, the younger an artist could receive training, the higher the chances of them becoming a great performer. Also, they can learn how to appreciate Cantonese opera. Hence, this is an opportunity for students to broaden their horizons and to experience a more traditional art form.

In addition, studying Cantonese opera will give Hong Kong students a greater sense of belongings to the nation. Chinese culture means very little to some youngsters in Hong Kong. However, by this proposal, it can offer students professional Cantonese opera training in their teens is a good idea. This will help them more about the unique culture of China. What is more, learning more about our country’s culture, it is easier for us to see ourselves as being genuinely Chinese. Being a Chinese also has our responsibility to conserve our tradition.

Of course, this proposal has disadvantages for different related people. And the greatest one is the students. The Western art form is very popular among most of the new generation who think that the art form like Chinese opera is not interesting at all. Although some of them are interested in it, they are worried about the cost of further study which is not cheap for the low-income family.

Furthermore, in Hong Kong, it is lack of chances of performance for students to show their training results that the students may be lack of sense of satisfaction about scant opportunity. Even though the situation may be improved after the new plan implementing, the deep rooted thought is not easy to change. These are the difficulties among the Hong Kong students.

All in all, although incorporating Cantonese opera has a lot of disadvantages for the students, such as the chances of performance and the rooted mind, the importance of cherishing the traditional Chinese culture, students’ development and sense of belongings are vital. Thus, I hope that all classes of people can support and give a hand to this proposal that maintain our valuable culture from generation to generation.

Yours sincerely,
Chris Wong