Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Chinese Culture Festival (CCF) 2025, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), has invited the Shanghai Xuhui Chiangqiao Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Ensemble (the ensemble) to make its Hong Kong debut and stage two concerts in early August. As a representative inheritor organisation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shanghai Municipality, the ensemble’s three representative inheritors of Jiangnan silk and bamboo, along with young professional musicians, will perform a selection of classical pieces from the “Eight Masterpieces of Silk and Bamboo Music” (“Eight Masterpieces”) and other famous compositions. Through century-old string and wind music, they will evoke the authentic cultural essence of the Jiangnan region.
Jiangnan silk and bamboo music is a traditional form of ensemble music popular in the southern Jiangsu, western Zhejiang and Shanghai regions, featuring Chinese string (silk) and wind (bamboo) instruments, such as erhu, yangqin, pipa, sanxian, dizi and sheng. It was inscribed on the first list of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the National Level in 2006. Its artistic style is characterised by qualities including delicacy, lightness, finesse and elegance. With diverse variation techniques such as “slowing down” (expanding the original melody’s rhythm and phrasing) and “ornamentation” (inserting new ornamental notes into the melody), complemented by synergy among the musicians and improvisation, the music presents a fascinating kaleidoscope of sound. The repertoire of Jiangnan silk and bamboo music is vast, with the “Eight Masterpieces” being the most representative of the works.
Zhou Feng (dizi) and Liu Yuehua (erhu), the representative inheritors of Jiangnan silk and bamboo of Shanghai Municipality, and Mi Peirong (yangqin), representative inheritor of Jiangnan silk and bamboo of Xuhui District, together with accomplished performers of sheng, pipa and sanxian will present two concerts featuring compositions from the “Eight Masterpieces”, including “Song of Joy”, “Sanliu” and “Zhonghua Liuban” as well as famous silk and bamboo classics “Song of the Warm Southerly Breeze” and “Song of Yang Ba”. Furthermore, each concert will feature distinctive selections: the first concert will present “Man Liuban” and “Festival March” from the “Eight Masterpieces”, along with the celebrated silk and bamboo piece “Rainbow Skirt Song”. The second concert will feature “Cloud Celebration” and “Best Wishes” from the “Eight Masterpieces”, as well as the beloved “Moonlight on the Spring River”.
The Shanghai Xuhui Chiangqiao Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Ensemble is dedicated to safeguarding and passing on traditional Jiangnan silk and bamboo music in its pristine form. The ensemble’s members have inherited their musical heritage from previous generations in the family, with decades of performing experience and deep mastery of traditional playing techniques of the musical art form. In 2024, the ensemble was recognised as being among the seventh batch of representative inheritor organisations of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shanghai Municipality.
The first concert by the Shanghai Xuhui Chiangqiao Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Ensemble will be held at 8pm on August 2 (Saturday) at the Theatre of Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre. The second concert will be held at 8pm on August 3 (Sunday) at the Theatre of Sheung Wan Civic Centre. Tickets priced at $220 and $280 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). Group booking discounts and package booking discounts are available for purchasing selected CCF stage programmes, the “Chinese Opera Film Shows” of the Chinese Opera Festival (COF) 2025 and the “Legacy and Vision: Conversations with Chinese Cultural Masters” lecture. For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.ccf.gov.hk/en/programme/concert-by-shanghai-xuhui-chiangqiao-jiangnan-silk-and-bamboo-ensemble.
A pre-concert talk entitled “Pure Melodies of Silk Strings: The Elegant Sounds of Jiangnan’s Silk and Bamboo Music” (in Putonghua) will be held at 7pm on August 3 (Sunday) at the Lecture Hall of Sheung Wan Civic Centre. The speakers include Shanghai Conservatory of Music Professor Xiao Mei and Shanghai Normal University Music College Associate Professor Li Ya. They will discuss the development and inheritance of Jiangnan silk and bamboo music and explore the principles of improvisation, guiding audiences to discover its charm and cultural connotations. Admission is free. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The CCF, presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the Chinese Culture Promotion Office under the LCSD, aims to promote Chinese culture and enhance the public’s national identity and cultural confidence. It also aims to attract top-notch artists and arts groups from the Mainland and other parts of the world for exchanges in Chinese arts and culture. The CCF 2025 is held from June to September. Through different performing arts programmes in various forms and related extension activities, including selected programmes of the COF, “Tan Dun WE-Festival”, film screenings, exhibitions, as well as community and school activities and more, the festival provides members of the public and visitors with more opportunities to enjoy distinctive programmes that showcase fine traditional Chinese culture, thereby facilitating patriotic education and contributing to the inheritance, transformation and development of traditional Chinese culture in Hong Kong. For more information about programmes and activities of the CCF 2025, please visit www.ccf.gov.hk.