Traditional music, heard around world, helps foreigners understand China

In addition to teaching, Liu Yuening, a dulcimer musician and professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, devotes much time to building knowledge of traditional Chinese music overseas.

The 51-year-old helped create China's first musical Confucius Institute in Denmark four years ago. Ever since, teachers and graduate students from the conservatory in Beijing have been visiting the European country each year to teach traditional Chinese music and proficiency on Chinese instruments.

So far, at least six traditional Chinese musical instruments have been taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where the Music Confucius Institute is located.

The instruments include the yangqin (Chinese dulcimer), erhu (two-stringed fiddle), sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), pipa (a four-stringed instrument) and others, and the classes have attracted more than 450 registered learners.

The annual Music Confucius Institute summer camp, its forums and workshops held at the conservatory from time to time are important for the students, as are international tours that allow for the sharing of traditional Chinese music in various countries.

But Liu's efforts in promoting traditional Chinese music and instruments do not end there. She has submitted five proposals since she became a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference three years ago. The proposals support traditional Chinese music on the world stage, its funding, the nourishment of talent, its management and more.

This year, Liu again stressed in her proposals the importance of teaching and sharing traditional Chinese music overseas.

"The establishment of the Music Confucius Institute has enriched Confucius Institutes all over the world. Compared with language, music is an easier way for our country to be understood," she said as she called for even more support from the government.

Another focus of her proposals is the development of teaching talent.

She suggested the establishment of a new university major or college diploma that combines the learning of music with the spread of knowledge of the culture of traditional Chinese music .

"It takes years to nurture talent, so I hope the government can take action as soon as possible," she said.

zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn