Fujian Opera wins national funding
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2017-02-24
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Not to rest on his laurels, Chen began work on his next opus. After three years hard toil and 15 separate rewrites, Chen's 50,000-word difficult second album was finally finished, Swan Feast (Tian'eyan). It is hard for any artist to follow-up any success with another as the pressure from the fans and critics is often too high, but Swan Feast hit the ground running. In 1987, it swept the board winning critical acclaim and many domestic and international awards, including The National Excellent Play Award (now known as the Cao Yu Theater Award).
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Critically acclaimed Fujian Opera, Swan Feast (Tian'eyan), written by Chen Daogui. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
At 70, Chen is still going strong with his latest work Liberty which stood out against 14,000 entries to the CNAF this year. With his nearly 2.5 million yuan grant, Chen hopes that he will have another success on his hands.
The modest playwright says that the awards and fame have not changed him and that he still approaches his art in the same way he did back when he was teaching children in rural areas.
"I am just an unknown playwright from a small troupe on a small island," says Chen, tongue-in-cheek.
A worker is only as good as what he is currently doing, says Chen, and that though awards and recognition are nice accolades to have, they are not as important as what is going on here and now.
"I don't regard the honors as being that important, how the troupe is preparing right now for the next performance is what I'm most worried about."
Looking to the future, Chen has become more concerned about the legacy of theater and opera that he will leave behind him, expressing his hopes that more and more young people will become inspired in the way that he was so many years ago.
Chen says that more must be done by the government and people within the industry at a grassroots level to entice young people back into the theater, not just to watch but to get involved as well.
"A city's taste is embodied by its culture," says Chen. "Fujian Opera is listed a national intangible cultural heritage and has long been fond of by Pingtan people. I hope local government can take some steps to improve the troupes' conditions and raise more awareness for the industry."
Established in 2013, the China National Arts Fund is a charity setup to promote art work and cultivate more artistic talents.
Artistic projects currently under consideration for the CNAF grants include plays, paintings, calligraphy, photography, as well as communications and talent cultivation programs. The CNAF provides a whopping 230 million yuan ($33.43 million) in grants for dramatic theater, musicals, traditional operas, and children’s plays each year.
