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UPDATED: September-11-2008  
How Sweet the Sound
In a mountainous village some 400 km southwest of Beijing, a group of blind musicians share their tunes
By TAN WEI

At 7 a.m., this reporter set out from Beijing to Zuoquan County, Shanxi. In a torrential downpour, the car twisted and turned down the steep road. Up ahead in the distance was a roadblock, so we had to turn around and find another route. We finally got to Zuoquan at 9 that evening.

The county, some 400 km southwest of Beijing, was host to the second annual Chinese South-North Folk Songs Open Contest. The streets were brilliantly illuminated. Locals explained that the folk contest had generated the bustle in the usually quiet place. Visitors from all over the country were drawn to the remote county to hear local music.

Folk songs are very popular in Zuoquan. For most people there, traditional songs are a part of everyday life. But a particularly motivated group of men have all overcome a physical challenge to sweeten Shanxi residents with the intangible: music. The Blind Publicity Team travels to villages all over the county performing all year around.

Like Brothers

Liu Hongquan lost his sight in his boyhood. He grew up immersed in the songs of the Blind Publicity Team.

Liu, 35, had been a masseur with a good income and a girlfriend in a city in Shanxi. However, his passion for music and the mountains compelled him to abandon his career and companion to return to his home in Zuoquan to join the Blind Publicity Team. He's now a singer in the band.

City life was rich but not as good as in the countryside, where he could sing "in coziness and freedom," he said with a contented smile on his face.

Liu has sung around the Taihangshan mountain area for nine years. He has walked around Zuoquan's 360 villages nine whole times.

A recent addition to the Blind Publicity Team, Liu Shuangming, no relation to Liu Hongquan, said he had been healthy with a good family life until he lost his sight in an accident in 2000, after which his wife left him, leaving behind their 10-year-old daughter.

Liu Shuangming had never studied music before seeking out the Blind Publicity Team. After joining the group, he had to spend a probationary period learning. He listened to tapes to learn several instruments. It was difficult at first, but he got the hang of music with the help of his bandmates.

All the members of the Blind Publicity Team are single, though they all admit to admiring Liu Shuangming's former marriage and his little girl.

"Raising sons and daughters to counter old age" is the adage. Children, after they are adults, are expected to help take care of their parents in old age. Chen Yuwen, 52, has been single for most of his life, but did not hide his admiration for Liu Shuangming. "How fortunate he is. He has a daughter. When he is old, he can get visits and help from her."

Liu Shuangming said that he never wants to leave the team. In the group, members help each other, sharing common experiences, not the least of which is a singing career. Although life can be solemn and spartan, they say they don't get lonely.

The Blind Publicity Team always sets out on a singing tour after a seasonal change. Members pack up quilts and clothes to perform in villages one by one for two or three months straight.

As Zuoquan is a mountainous area, team members often have to walk in mountains. The member with the best sight always leads the rest of the team along the trails. But having walked the routes so many times, Liu Hongquan said that anyone in the group could practically walk it alone.

Besides traditional songs, the team can do storytelling and sing ballads, too, all of which they write and script themselves. The theme of their art usually has to do with the society and change, such as government fight against corruption and the issues concerning agriculture, farmers and rural areas, which are popular among their farming audiences.

An astounding 70 percent of people in Zuoquan fall under the official poverty line. The county's landscape is partly responsible for this, which lies at an average altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level. Apart from its infertile soil, the county is quite hilly, which makes for difficult growing.

Zuoquan has a prominent place in Chinese revolutionary history. During the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45), Taihangshan in the county served as an important military stronghold for the Chinese troops against Japanese invaders. The late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, is said to have led an army in battles there.

Liu Hongquan said that villagers are kind to the band. On top of a 100-200 yuan ($12-24) performance payment, townsfolk provide a place to stay and meals to the musicians. Income is distributed according how long each member has been with the group. At the same time, they set a portion aside for a sort of collective pension fund.

On a Wider Stage

The Blind Publicity Team is not professional, but their musical ability has received some critical acclamation. Tian Qing, a respected music critic at the Academy of Arts of China, praised the traveling band, "Their singing is highly skilled and different than modern popular songs."

Liu Hongquan is confident in their musical standards. The greatest event for him was a performance in Beijing in 2003. The Blind Publicity Team held its first formal performance on a stage in Capital Normal University's music hall. They landed the gig with an energetic recommendation from Tian.

Liu Hongquan recalled, "At the beginning, it was pretty silent. Then, the applause got louder and we started singing." Their desolate and elated singing apparently resonated with their first urban audience. The blind band from rural Shanxi was met with a roaring applause at the close of the show in the capital.

After that performance, the team's dream of performing on a larger stage outside Taihangshan was kindled, but they say they are happy just to have a welcoming audience. Liu Hongquan said, "For us, singing is not only a lifestyle. We like singing folk songs and also know that people like listening."

With some financial assistance from senior musicians, they recorded an album of songs and began performing outside Taihangshan more often. Their latest plan is to perform in Taiwan next year. Liu Hongquan said, "My dream is to let the Blind Publicity Team leave Taihangshan. The day will come soon."

(No. 42, 2004)


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