Using the present to preserve the past

Realizing a dream

Ku said Li, who once China's best-known Si Zhou Xi practitioner and sang for Chairman Mao Zedong and other State leaders in Beijing in the 1950s, had always dreamed of performing in the capital again.

Although Si Zhou Xi was once hugely popular in central and northern China, including parts of the provinces of Anhui and Shandong, it has slipped from public view in recent decades, so persuading people to donate to an unpopular, minority art form required a special technique. "People don't have the patience to read long stories online, so we devised some key words for this case, such as '81-years-old', 'legendary performer', 'dream-fulfilling'," Ku said. "We didn't directly ask people to support a dying art form, instead we advocated helping to fulfill the dream of a great artist, who is also an 81-year-old grandmother."

The response was remarkable. Just four days after Ku's group posted the request on a large number of social networks, including Weibo, WeChat and QQ, the 30,000 yuan target was achieved. The money raised was more than enough to fund Li's show.

"The money came from about 1,000 people. They helped Li Baofeng and, more importantly, they learned about Si Zhou Xi. Their awareness of the art form will help to protect it, and prevent it from disappearing," Ku said.