{"id":12,"date":"2020-07-14T10:26:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T14:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2020-09-29T20:24:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T00:24:32","slug":"cantonese-opera","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/home\/cantonese-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"Cantonese Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HK360: Cantonese Opera&#039;s Resurgence\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JCXzAXSf8K8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal > .kt-inside-inner-col > #kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{max-width:unset;}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kadence-info-box-icon-container .kt-info-svg-icon, #kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-info-svg-icon-flip, #kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-number{font-size:50px;}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:10px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:10px;}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-media-container{margin-top:0px;margin-right:15px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:15px;}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;}#kt-info-box_af8c24-20 .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore{background:transparent;border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;padding-top:4px;padding-right:8px;padding-bottom:4px;padding-left:8px;margin-top:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0px;}<\/style>\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_af8c24-20\" class=\"wp-block-kadence-infobox\"><a class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap info-box-link kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-top kt-info-halign-center\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media-container\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container\"><span style=\"display:block;justify-content:center;align-items:center\" class=\"kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-fas_street-view\"><svg style=\"display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle\" viewbox=\"0 0 512 512\" height=\"50\" width=\"50\" fill=\"currentColor\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M367.9 329.76c-4.62 5.3-9.78 10.1-15.9 13.65v22.94c66.52 9.34 112 28.05 112 49.65 0 30.93-93.12 56-208 56S48 446.93 48 416c0-21.6 45.48-40.3 112-49.65v-22.94c-6.12-3.55-11.28-8.35-15.9-13.65C58.87 345.34 0 378.05 0 416c0 53.02 114.62 96 256 96s256-42.98 256-96c0-37.95-58.87-70.66-144.1-86.24zM256 128c35.35 0 64-28.65 64-64S291.35 0 256 0s-64 28.65-64 64 28.65 64 64 64zm-64 192v96c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h64c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-96c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-96c0-26.51-21.49-48-48-48h-11.8c-11.07 5.03-23.26 8-36.2 8s-25.13-2.97-36.2-8H208c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48v96c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><h2 class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-title\">360\/VR Immersive Video<\/h2><p class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-text\">You can watch the video above in a VR headset or as a 360 video on your smartphone or desktop computer. We recommend wearing headphones for a more immersive experience.<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Story and multimedia by Benjamin Cohen, Clare Feng, Alya Stationwala and Minh Truong <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Cantonese opera is in peril. Despite reigning as South China\u2019s most popular form of entertainment for hundreds of years, it\u2019s struggling to find its footing in the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As global opera audiences age and experts fear the death of the Cantonese language, Cantonese opera, listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009, runs the risk of disappearing altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Hong Kong opera performers, scholars and government officials aren\u2019t ready to let Cantonese opera fossilize. They&#8217;re fighting to evolve the artform and reinstate its ubiquity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martin Lau, dean of Chinese opera at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, says the future of Cantonese opera hinges on its proliferation outside China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cWe want to export Cantonese opera as an artform so that people can understand who we are,\u201d he said.\u201cWe\u2019re trying to allow Cantonese opera to be something that\u2019s for our emigrated friends in the diaspora, something for them to connect with. If you look at the future of Cantonese opera, that\u2019s where it needs to be.\u201d<\/p><cite>&#8211; Martin Lau, dean of Chinese opera at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cantonese diaspora is comprised of nearly 70 million native Cantonese speakers rooted all over Asia and the western world, not including generations of children who learned the language from their families. Canada alone is home to 565,275 residents whose first language is Cantonese, according to the latest census data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up in Seattle, Lau says his father taught him to perform Cantonese opera as a way of connecting him with his roots and ensuring he learned Cantonese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the dangers of emigrating to another country is that you end up assimilating into that culture so much, you lose who you are,\u201d Lau said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Lau crafts Cantonese opera into a cultural anchor for expats, another Hong Kong opera devotee works to pass it down to the next generation at home.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-gallery-id-_42e513-23.kb-gallery-ul.kb-gallery-type-fluidcarousel .kt-blocks-carousel figure .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-_42e513-23.kb-gallery-ul.kb-gallery-type-fluidcarousel .kt-blocks-carousel figure .kb-gal-image-radius img{height:300px;}.kb-gallery-id-_42e513-23 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-_42e513-23 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data-slider-type=\"fluidcarousel\" data-slider-center-mode=\"true\" data-slider-gap=\"10px\" data-slider-gap-tablet=\"10px\" data-slider-gap-mobile=\"10px\" data-show-pause-button=\"false\"><div class=\"splide__track\"><ul class=\"kt-blocks-carousel-init kb-blocks-fluid-carousel splide__list\"><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"165\" class=\"wp-image-165 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3456-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3401-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3401-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3401-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"162\" class=\"wp-image-162 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3416-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3416-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3416-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"163\" class=\"wp-image-163 skip-lazy\"\/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"164\" class=\"wp-image-164 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3453-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"160\" class=\"wp-image-160 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3368-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"166\" class=\"wp-image-166 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3477-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"167\" class=\"wp-image-167 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3500-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-scaled.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-scaled.jpg\" data-id=\"168\" class=\"wp-image-168 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2020\/08\/IMG_3522-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Stella Ma, director and founder of Cha Duk Chang Children&#8217;s Cantonese Opera Association, admits she didn&#8217;t like Cantonese opera when she was young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI thought it was boring,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was something for my grannies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, Ma calls the artform \u201ca treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I looked deeper into it, I found there was a lot more to it than I thought,\u201d she said. \u201cIt includes so many Chinese cultural elements, like drama, dance, literature and acrobatics. That\u2019s when I thought, \u2018maybe I can do something to convince young people to love our artform?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ma realized it was the traditional Cantonese opera storylines that initially turned her away from the art. She said they didn\u2019t interest her at the time, and believes the same is true for the youth of today<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started writing new scripts for the children,\u201d Ma said. \u201c(They\u2019re) not love stories, stories about revenge, stories about kings, generals, fights or battles. I started writing stories about children\u2019s daily lives. Children can be naughty, they love to play, they love to be themselves, so these are the characters I develop in my stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ma was the first to tailor Cantonese opera to children, an idea which has materialized into a distinct brand. Since founding Cha Duk Chang in 2002, Ma has expanded it with its own line of opera-themed merchandise and a restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A decade into running her own school, she was finally acknowledged by Hong Kong\u2019s opera cognoscenti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was invited to a seminar on the future of Cantonese opera by an expert on traditional Chinese opera,\u201d Ma said. \u201cHe knew me when I founded Cha Duk Chang, but it was only in our tenth year that he decided to invite me. I asked him, \u2018Why did it take so long?\u2019 and he said, \u2018I had to make sure you could still continue with your interesting idea. I just wanted to check whether you could survive.\u2019 It took 10 years to prove I could survive!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ma&#8217;s firm belief that the key to preserving Cantonese opera is to teach it to children, once a hard sell to traditionalists, was recently adopted by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong. Its latest Music Curriculum Guide encourages the teaching of Cantonese opera in primary and secondary schools. This is one of many efforts by the Government of Hong Kong to promote the artform, including providing grants to opera think tanks and facilitating the development and expansion of opera houses around the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lau agrees that education is the best means of addressing the danger of Cantonese opera disappearing. \u201cWhy do you know Beethoven and Mozart? One of the biggest reasons is because hundreds of years ago, music school decided to teach their pieces,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many older Cantonese opera practitioners, including Lau\u2019s father, learned the art through oral tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen they pass on, their knowledge goes with them,\u201d he says. \u201cOur job is to extract all that information that might pass away and house it somewhere sustainable. But unless it\u2019s funded properly, unless there\u2019s government backing behind it, unless there\u2019s infrastructure around it, it\u2019s still going to get lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Story and multimedia by Benjamin Cohen, Clare Feng, Alya Stationwala and Minh Truong Cantonese opera is in peril. Despite reigning as South China\u2019s most popular form of entertainment for hundreds of years, it\u2019s struggling to find its footing in the 21st century. As global opera audiences age and experts fear the death of the Cantonese&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":202,"parent":34,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions\/206"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/hongkong360-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}