CPC publicity chief addresses folk arts conference

BEIJING - Publicity chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday called on the country's folk artists to craft more quality works with the general public's lives as their main content.

Liu Qibao, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committee's Publicity Department, addressed a national conference of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association on Tuesday.

"Quyi" refers to folk vocal arts such as ballad singing, story-telling, comic dialogue, clapper talk and crosstalk, which are popular among the Chinese.

Liu asked the artists to stage more shows at grass-roots levels, such as in villages, communities, companies, schools and barracks, so as to better entertain the masses.

He urged the artists to earnestly consider the social effects of their work and make efforts to create more works of good artistic taste and lofty cultural ideals.

He also encouraged innovation to add vitality to folk vocal art forms while carrying on their good traditions.