The 2018 Chinese Classics Gala was held on Dec. 10 in Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ), Southeast China’s Fujian Province.

The Ballad of Mulan recited by pupils from Chengbei Elementary School [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Despite their tender age, the junior performers still won the hearts of the audiences with their charismatic performances, while bringing the Chinese classics to life.

The show: Gu Wenchang: Man of the people [Photo/ptnet.cn]

The program Gu Wenchang: Man of the people created by Lin Ailin, a music teacher from the No.2 Experimental Elementary School in Pingtan, involves numerous lines from the Chinese play that puts the young performers’ memory to the test.

“Opera and recitation clubs have been set up in our school with trained teachers as well as engaged professionals from outside. Therefore, we have a pool of talents for performance. Memorizing a few lines is a piece of cake for them,” Lin Ailin beamed proudly.

Talking about “performing while reciting”, Lin expressed that the performance was specially tailored for young students. It turns out that No.2 Experimental Elementary School has a very special circumstance, with only young children from Grade One to Four, its students stand no chance against those in higher grades in recitation. Thus, the creative teachers turned to a different tactic, “performing while reciting” and indeed this brought them an extraordinary result - winning the first prize in the competition.

“Each of the program is so wonderful that I am immersed in the scenes. What I am witnessing is a group of passionate young children doing their best to bring on the Chinese cultures and its legacy, ” said Lin Zixiang in the audience.

The activity was jointly hosted by the Civilization Office of the Provincial Party Committee in Fujian, the Publicity Department of the Party Working Committee and the Education Bureau of PCPZ, and organized by the Cross-Straits Guoxue Center of Pingtan.

Some other stunning shows as follows：

Recite the Poetry of the Tang Dynasty [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Ode to the Lotus Flower adapted from a piece of essay created by Zhou Dunyi, a mandarin scholar in Song Dynasty [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Advice to My Son, adapted from a classic on child education [Photo/ptnet.cn]

River of Red adapted from a poem created by Yue Fei, a Han Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty [Photo/ptnet.cn]