Qianjiang Evening News Hourly News Reporter Chen Suping Correspondent Zhao Lei Lu Luqi
"It's hard for my friends to imagine that I could sing Chinese opera even when I didn't even say Chinese."
At Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hibiscus, an international student from Zambia, not only continued his musical dream, but also learned Yue opera, one of the five major opera genres in China. She attributed this to her Yue opera teacher, Wu Dan, the "immortal sister" of the School of Humanities and Communication of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics.
As a famous teacher of intangible cultural heritage at Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Mr. Wu Dan has been teaching international students for more than ten years.
During her time in college, she spread Chinese opera culture among international students as a student sister. After coming to Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics to teach guzheng performance, Kunqu opera, Yue opera and so on at the International College.
Recently, the work "I Met TA in China - My Chinese "Immortal Sister"" about the Yue opera journey of Teacher Wu Dan and Hibiscus won the International Cooperation Award in the Second "Beautiful Zhejiang" International Short Video Competition.
In the face of international students with zero foundation, the "language barrier" is a major problem that Wu Dan teachers need to overcome.
In her Guzheng class, she adapts the classic Guzheng repertoire into simple fingerings and transforms complex technical terms into easy-to-understand body language. Replace the theory with practice, from pressing the strings to playing a piece, teaching by hand. It not only solves the problem of language barrier, but also accelerates the understanding of international students. Before each lesson, Mr. WuDan spends more than half a day preparing.
Teacher Wu Dan spares no effort to teach his knowledge of opera to international students, and the international students also feel the true charm of Chinese opera in the process of learning tone, walking on stage and performing opera. When international students mention Teacher Wudan, they always express their deep gratitude and affectionately call her "Fairy Sister".
"Whether it is a charming opera or a warm Teacher Wudan, I feel extremely lucky. As a foreigner, I came to China to feel the cultural atmosphere here and contact Chinese characteristics; it is in this way that Teacher Wu has narrowed the cultural barrier. Such a cultural spirit is a soft but endless force, and it is also different from the charm of traditional Chinese culture in the West. Hibiscus said.
In addition to teaching international students, Mr. Wudan carries out courses such as "Appreciation of Ancient Opera", "Communication and Writing", "Study of Chinese and Foreign Literature Classics", and "Special Topics in Ancient Opera" for domestic students.
"The traditional learning of opera culture is either based on book knowledge or performance. I hope to combine the two and bring it to the college classroom. Teacher WuDan adopts the method of "combining teaching and research" to introduce the current academic hotspots related to opera into the classroom, and mobilizes the enthusiasm of students with the four-in-one classroom mode of "teaching + appreciation + discussion + imitation experience".
In Mr. Wudan's class, the students of Zhejiang University of Finance not only absorbed the knowledge of opera in the collision of ideas, but also painted stage makeup, put on water sleeves, experienced the charm of traditional Chinese culture at zero distance, and added youth vitality to opera.
Teacher Wu Dan's love and inheritance of Chinese opera is inseparable from his grandfather's words and deeds.
Mr. Wu Dan's grandfather was one of China's first fighter pilots and an obsessive fan of classical Chinese literature. When she first became literate, she followed her grandfather to read the Analects and watch Peking Opera.
"Grandpa also often told me stories about the Pingjin Campaign, the founding ceremony, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and sowed the seeds of patriotism and love for the party in my heart." From a young age, I did not hesitate to join the Communist Party of China, and I wanted to make some contributions to the cultural inheritance of our country in the way I was good at. Teacher Wu Dan recalled.
"Over the past decade, I've met many students who love opera as much as I do. Because of the two-way love, but also because of the responsibility and responsibility of the Communist Party members, I have a sense of mission to inherit. In the future, I will continue to move forward, so that the sound of Chinese opera will move to a broader international stage and show its timeless artistic charm. Teacher Wu Dan said that shouldering the dual responsibilities of party members and intangible cultural heritage communication teachers, Teacher Wu spared no effort to teach his opera knowledge to students at home and abroad.
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