The rhythms of the erhu fiddle, a traditional Chinese two-stringed musical instrument, can be heard from an activity room in Zhonglou community, Suzhou, every Wednesday afternoon. Young foreigners try out the Erhu fiddle for themselves.
Wang Jihua, who lives in the community, teaches Chinese folk music lessons to the foreigners. Wang began to voluntarily teach foreigners Chinese folk music and the Suzhou dialect when he found that many foreign students had an interest in these things.
“A Japanese student learned to play erhu fiddle from me, and recently, her husband, who works in Suzhou, also attended my class to play the pipa, a four-stringed plucked Chinese musical instrument,” Wang said. “Now, my students include a French girl and a South Korean girl. A young Spanish man also learned the zhongruan, a four-stringed plucked Chinese musical instrument, from me,” Wang boasted.
In addition to these classes, Wang also gives classes to foreigners on Shaoxing Opera, Peking Opera, Kunqu opera and even Chinese history.
