Pingtan Opera Artist, Gao, The Last Troubadour In Shanghai
Gao Bowen believes Pingtan is an elegant legacy of the old Chinese civilization. However, it is out of date and will disappear gradually but he still loves it a lot.
The Pingtan Opera area in Shanghai was called “the hussar of art area” from the 1950s onward when the government was pushing the Chinese traditional opera innovation movement.
Normally, two Pingtan artists can easily do performances as one artist plays the stringed instrument and the other the lute. An exquisite play book can be performed for as long as one month. There were over 1,500 Pingtan artists around Shanghai in the 1960s when Pingtan was popular.
Nowadays, there are only about 60 Pingtan artists among which Gao Bowen is of the very few younger ones. He thinks Pingtan is elegant but fragile and maybe at some point in the future it will disappear.
There are all together 40 old small theatres and no more than 10 salons for Pingtan in Shanghai where only elder audiences can understand the real meaning of this outdated art.
Gao and his partner have to finish 150 performances per year to earn enough money of which 10% will be given to their company to cover operating costs.
As there are not enough places for Pingtan performance they have to travel around Shanghai to finish their annual task.
Gao sometimes teaches in schools where he has some young worshipers who can get more school credits by studying Pingtan.
Gao said that one day he will resign when Pingtan can only be performed in the subway and few audiences listen to him. He refuses to perform in bars and restaurants where Pingtan is just treated as a kind of entertainment.
© liushujinphotography.com