Source: CCTV.com

08-02-2006 16:20

One of the more unique features of modern China's music scene is a jazz renaissance. Chief among the champions of this movement are a band of 8 seniors who call themselves 'The Old Bark.' They have fans of all ages, and in countries around the world. The group's leader, Fan Shengqi is known as 'King of the Saxophone,' and at age 72, he continues to win over the ladies with his looks and his charm.

Fan Shengqi started playing the saxophone when he was just 9 years old. By age 18, he had become the chief saxophone player of the Chinese Railroad Art Troupe. And from that time on, he and his beloved saxophone were practically inseparable.

After the reform and opening up, saxophonist Fan Shengqi took on the role of conductor of a band. During this period, he encountered various types of foreign music. This exposure helped to further shape his own taste and performance style. He gradually began incorporating elements of Western pop music into some of his own works. He now delights audiences as he seamlessly shifts from the jazz characteristic of the 30s and 40s to more modern pieces, and back again.

On the heels of their memorable performance in the movie 'The Temptress Moon,' The Old Bark achieved sudden and widespread fame. With his braided hair, striking outfits, and characteristic beret, Fan Shengqi quickly became the icon of the group. Now in his seventies and officially retired, he is actually busier than many people half his age. Between playing tightly-scheduled world tours and recording his own CDs, Mr. Fan somehow finds time to edit some Chinese classics, such as 'Sea Love, Little River Flows,' and 'Two Springs Reflect the Moon,' into his own jazz-saxophone style. Some Western media have classified his works as 'Eastern Jazz.'

Mr. Fan likes to say, 'Don't be fooled by my 72-year-old bark: in my heart, I'm actually still 20.' And if his music, his moves, and his sense of humor are any indication, he'll probably go on feeling that young for a very long time. Having weathered many ups and downs in his life, it is his optimism and his thirst for life that keep his days full of meaning.

The concept of 'working out' is far from the providence of the youth in China. And while the average health club certainly isn't a popular hang-out for older adults, neither do they limit themselves to morning tai-chi.

In today's China, an active lifestyle is seen as an essential approach to preventing some of the ailments aging can bring. And at certain hours of the day, in places like the Jingchang Bowling Alley in Beijing, there isn't a soul under 55 in the house.

Back in 2001, on a whim, Mrs. Zhai's son invited her to go bowling with him. In accepting his invitation, little did she realize she was embarking on a hobby that would shape her for years to come.

In her 4 years on the lanes, she has won over 40 championships, both at home and abroad.

Dough modeling is one of China's most popularly-loved folk arts. Lang Zhili, as daughter and apprentice of the famous Lang Shaoan, is eldest living member of a dough modeling dynasty that has wowed the public for nearly a century. She began doing business with her father on the streets of Beijing when she was just 6 years old. Now age 69, she continues to produce masterpieces that astound and delight.

Known for their lifelike delicacy, many of Lang Zhili's earlier creations have been collected as part of national folk art collections. Even as she creates now, she is known to become immersed in projects for hours on end, sometimes skipping meals just to finish a piece in one sitting. She has also gained a reputation abroad, having served as a folk art representative at Chinese cultural functions in the US, Europe, and Japan, among other places.

Since her retirement, Lang Zhili has spent much of her time travelling to international cultural exchanges, showcasing her works as a part of China's folk art tradition. All over the world, little pieces of flour have been molded by Ms. Lang's hands to become tiny cultural ambassadors for China.

Outside of her travels, Ms. Lang has taken on several apprentices, two of whom are especially loyal: her own daughter and granddaughter. On holidays, the three of them often get together to trade techniques and create together. For Ms. Yang's granddaughter, it is a hobby that sets her apart from her peers and allows her to feel closer to her family's roots.

The structure of the Chinese family has experienced great change in recent years, as extended families move apart and nuclear families become the norm. Chinese seniors have found their own ways of flourishing with this new trend.

Starting one's own business is a huge step at any age. But of all the challenged of doing so in one's sixties, lack of experience certainly is not one.

At different points in his career, Mr. Xu has served as China's ambassador to Cuba, Argentina, and Chile. Upon his retirement, he sought new challenges that would enable him to make use of his wealth of knowledge.

Since founding his consulting company several years ago, Mr. Xu never has a dull moment. As a platform for other former ambassadors like him to further use their experience in Latin America, the company serves to provide a range of services for enterprises looking to do business abroad.

Beijing Haidian Senior Citizens' University, the first university for senior citizens in Beijing, was founded in 1984. Both the students and teachers here are senior citizens themselves. And in just two decades' time, the university has developed from 300 students at its founding to now more than 1800 students taking some 70 different classes. Sometimes mistaken as a mere gathering place for senior citizens, the center's students are actually engaged in courses of graduated difficulty in subjects like calligraphy, painting and drawing. Although many of the students start from 'zero,' the pieces they are able to create after just a short time are nothing short of amazing. In addition to the cultivation of tangible new talents, participants are also plugged into a new social network of peers with common backgrounds and common interests – an invaluable resource for anyone! Most students who enroll at the school continue to take classes for anywhere from three to five years, with some students having been enrolled for over a decade. Aged 55 and up, there is even a solid contingency of octogenarians!

This teacher has been teaching in this senior citizens' university for over 20 years. He's now 84 and still going strong.

With his rich experience gained in the senior citizens university, he published many teaching materials on calligraphy. Living a rich and colorful life, he is very happy in his late years.

Although not a university in the classical sense, this school nonetheless enables its students to pursue a range of topics,and its students are all senior citizens, they have gained outstanding achievement. The university holds calligraphy and drawing exhibitions periodically for all the students to study from each other, in order to make progress.

As with much of the academic world, students at this school were eager for the chance to publish the fruits of their dedicated study. With the publication of senior students' calligraphy and painting, another notable achievement was added to the already-successful lives of these motivated people. One among them, a retired Peking University professor, published his own supplement of his drawings of his former campus. The senior citizens' university has become a new community for these seniors, adding new shine to their golden years.

 

Editor:Wang Ping