Ｃｈｉｎａ Ａｒｔ Ｔｒｏｕｐｅ ｉｎ Ｊａｐａｎ

At the invitation of the Japanese Min-On Concert Association， the China Art Troupe organized and sent by the CPAFFC paid a visit to Japan from March 18 to April 27， 2005， taking part in the Third Asia Peace and Art Festival and making a performance tour in Shikoku.

The small 10-member art troupe consisting of performers of folk songs， dance and music gave a variety of lively and colourful performances， vividly displaying the charm of the Chinese culture. In the 40-day performance tour， it gave 31 shows， which were well received by an audience of over 50，000 people in 23 cities including Tokyo， Osaka， Nagoya， Kyoto， Kobe， Hiroshima， Sapporo and Matsuyama.

The Art Festival

The Art Festival was held four years after the previous one with the theme of Northeast Asian music and culture. The artists from China， Japan， the Republic of Korea (ROK)， Mongolia and Russia gave a two-hour performance， through which the audience enjoyed a feast of splendid national cultures.

From a country’s music， we can often get to know the characters of the nation and the soil and the history that have given birth to its spirit. On the other hand， we can also find that these Asian countries influence and learn from one another. For instance， some Japanese and ROK folk songs are very much similar to the Mongolian Changdiao in the way of singing. The Korean xuanqin is the variant of the Chinese guqin. Shyamisen and Shyakuhachi that are very much popular in Japan originate from China. Erhu， yangqin (dulcimer) and zhongruan which are very much liked and well played by the Chinese people came to China through the long Silk Road. From these intricate exchanges and combination， we see the close links among the Asian countries.

Off stage， the artists of the five countries learned songs and musical instruments playing from one another with great interest. They compared the material and the sound of the bamboo flute and xiao with those of Shyakuhachi. They had pictures taken in one another’s national costume: Korean dress， Japanese kimono， Chinese qipao (mandarin gown)， etc.When they couldn’t find an interpreter， they communicated warmly and heartily with gestures. Music and expression of feelings with gestures are more direct and richer than languages.

Performance Tour in Shikoku

The performance tour in Shikoku was part of the art troupe’s visit in Japan. Shikoku， a small one of a chain of Japanese islands， consists of four prefectures， opposite Honshu across the Seto Sea on the left， and facing the Pacific Ocean on the right. Small as its area is， it has a stretching coastline， warm climate and a long history.

In Shikoku， we visited 10 small and quiet cities along the seashore where there were not many high buildings. Few Chinese art troupes had been there and the local people had seldom watched Chinese performances. In the two-hour programme we gave performances full of Chinese traditional features such as vocal solo The Small River， erhu solo Jasmine Flower and ensemble of traditional instruments Dance Music of the Yao Ethnic Group， and some newly created folk music pieces and dance with modern elements such as Sun Bird and The Goddess of Mercy with Six Arms. The audience was very much attracted by these colourful performances， admired the charm of the performers and showed great interest in the Chinese traditional musical instruments. In fact， there are quite a number of people keen on learning erhu， zheng and pipa in Japan.

After each performance， the sponsor Min-On Concert Association distributed questionnaires to the audience. 95 percent of the audience watched the performances given by the Chinese art troupe for the first time. They expressed their appreciation of the Chinese artists for bringing them such excellent performances， their words full of admiration of Chinese culture.