**Preserving our culture | Eva Zhou | TEDxYouth@GrandviewHeights — Transcript & Summary | SozAI**
Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/preserving-culture-eva-zhou-tedxyouth/

Eva Zhou shares her journey preserving Shanghainese culture through Hua Opera and urges youth to keep their heritage alive.

## Key Takeaways

- Preserving local language is critical to maintaining cultural identity.
- Youth involvement is essential for the survival of traditional arts like Hua Opera.
- Cultural heritage connects past, present, and future generations.
- Sharing and practicing culture keeps it alive and relevant.
- Small grassroots efforts can have significant impact on cultural revival.

## What the video covers

- Eva Zhou introduces Hua Opera, a traditional Shanghainese opera with deep cultural roots dating back 250 years.
- She highlights the decline of Hua Opera and the Shanghainese language among young people in Shanghai.
- Eva shares her personal experience learning Hua Opera from kindergarten and her efforts to revive interest among youth.
- She describes mixing popular music with traditional opera to engage her peers and performing at school and community events.
- Eva’s performances gained wider recognition, including invitations to reality TV shows and public spaces in Shanghai.
- She emphasizes the importance of preserving language and culture as essential to identity and community.
- Eva offers three ways youth can help preserve culture: embracing their heritage, learning about traditions, and sharing with others.
- She reflects on the emotional impact of cultural preservation on different generations.
- Eva connects her cultural roots in Shanghai to her current life in Canada, underscoring the importance of cultural continuity.
- The talk ends with a call to action for all to preserve culture, language, and traditions for future generations.

## Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction and Hua Opera Song
2. 01:59 History and Significance of Hua Opera
3. 04:06 Decline of Hua Opera and Language Risk
4. 05:07 Eva’s Personal Journey and Revival Efforts
5. 07:02 Performances and Community Impact
6. 08:02 Challenges and Rewards of Cultural Preservation
7. 08:47 How Youth Can Preserve Culture
8. 09:47 Learning and Sharing Cultural Traditions
9. 10:37 Final Reflections and Call to Action
10. 11:22 Closing Opera Verse and Farewell

Answers

## Questions about this video

What is Hua Opera and why is it important?

Hua Opera is a traditional Shanghainese opera dating back around 250 years. It narrates local stories and is a vital part of Shanghainese cultural heritage, uniting the community and preserving history.

Why is the Shanghainese language at risk?

Ninety percent of local young people in Shanghai do not speak Shanghainese, putting the language and related cultural practices like Hua Opera at risk of extinction.

How can young people help preserve their culture according to Eva Zhou?

Eva suggests three ways: embrace and speak your local language, learn about your cultural traditions, and share your culture with others to keep it alive and relevant.

## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:10

Speaker A

[Music]

01:13

Speaker A

[Music]

01:35

Speaker A

The songwriter's song is a verse from Hua Opera, and it is in the Shanghainese language. It is a beautiful song, and this is what it meant: spring breathed through my face, children are happier than ever, they're wearing brand new clothes, heard in beautiful gifts and singing faster songs.

01:59

Speaker A

Come on and dance with my invitation. Come on and dance with my invitation.

02:18

Speaker A

This verse describes happy kids in the new year and is set in a scene where people are celebrating the festive season and living to the fullest.

02:35

Speaker A

Our culture is our way of life. It is the essence of our existence. Hua Opera is a part of my culture. It originated from Shanghai, and so did I. Opera is a traditional opera, which is one of the members of 350 Chinese local operas.

02:58

Speaker A

Who are for started from the reign of empire Chiang Lang around 250 years ago, then became popular during the Qing dynasty. In Hua Opera, a play is performed by several hundreds of people, and it is just like the live plays of The Lion King or The Nutcracker we see today.

03:17

Speaker A

The opera narrates local stories that happened in Shanghai. It is an integral part of Shanghainese culture. It unites us and reminds us of our culture and of our heritage. It carries a lot of meanings: the joy of sharing beautiful moments, details of our heroes, and the wisdom of the wise passed down through many generations.

03:40

Speaker A

But today, very few people know or even perform or sing the opera.

04:06

Speaker A

It is a far cry from my grandma's time when there were so many beautiful fans and so many stars of Hua Opera. And so, as a Shanghainese, my question is: what happens to our culture? Well, here's the answer.

04:28

Speaker A

An astonishing ninety percent of the local young people in Shanghai do not know how to speak Chinese. The language itself stands at risk of becoming extinct. I start to ask myself, if all young kids born in Shanghai cannot speak Shanghainese, who is speaking it?

04:50

Speaker A

If I don't do something to prevent the language from going extinct now, then when? And if the language itself is sentenced, what about the opera? Who will understand it or even perform it in the future?

05:07

Speaker A

The burden is on me, on us Shanghainese, to do something. The importance of preserving our culture cannot be overemphasized. Language is connected with the culture. A person who doesn't know their local language rarely knows their own culture. It's just like a tree without roots and a sea without origin.

05:27

Speaker A

Our culture shapes who we are. It keeps us together as a community, as a society. It gives the shade, values, and explains the many traditions that we have. I was lucky. I started learning Hua Opera from kindergarten. Thinking back, I am really thankful that my parents could send me to learn this beautiful art. Initially, they just wanted to provide me with a Shanghai language environment, which I didn't have at school. But as I grew older, I noticed that the main audience for Hua Opera are all seniors. There are no youth or middle-aged people to be seen. Why? Because they barely understand.

05:43

Speaker A

When I talk about my hobby of Shanghai opera, my friends who only watch YouTube and are K-pop fans, they come and ask me, "Oh, come on, Iva, what year is it now? How could you still possibly sing this old stuff?" But I didn't care about what they thought since I loved it so much.

06:04

Speaker A

Well, then I started to take action. I started performing at school where I mixed popular music with the traditional language of the opera. As a result, it turned the table. My friends now, they become interested in these songs. Together, we perform for larger assemblies in school. More and more people became familiar with Hua Opera, from our friends to our school, and soon in our community, everyone loved it. Some of my friends even performed with me on stage. Now here comes the best part, which is that we got invited to perform on reality TV shows.

06:23

Speaker A

I didn't realize that it made me somewhat famous. People recognized me from the street, and strangers even said, "Oh, I saw you on TV. I love that performance." Now, all of that positive feedback encouraged me and urged me to do something more and let more people know about this art.

06:43

Speaker A

Soon after, my corporate teacher and I performed in community centers and other public spaces. Once, we performed Hua Opera in a metro station downtown, which is like the most crowded place of Shanghai.

07:02

Speaker A

We only had to rent a stage and audio system. We didn't have a large budget, so the changing room, or I wouldn't even call it a changing room since it is just a wooden frame covered with a piece of fabric, it was all done in a very frugal manner. But since we're just kids, it's a great start and not an easy job for us. But we knew all of these hardships were worth it.

07:17

Speaker A

We knew when I saw little kids dancing and singing with us downstage. We knew when I saw two people coming very far just for the show. And we knew it when I saw tears of joy running down seniors' faces because they finally heard the familiar tune once again from a young generation after 30 years or so. We knew we did it. Our culture is in which we express our unique identity as a society. This may be through the way we dress, the language we speak, and other forms of expression, for example, dancing or singing like opera.

07:35

Speaker A

Now I'm in Canada, where we mostly speak English. My language becomes a vital connection between my past and my present, my hometown and my new home. It serves as a reminder of where I came from. Preserving our culture is not just a necessity; it is critical. Culture needs to be kept alive and relevant. It must be learned and regularly practiced, and it must be communicated through generations. Thus, that is why involving us young people is essential to its survival.

07:47

Speaker A

You may then ask, how can you as a youth help to preserve your whole language and your whole culture? Now, allow me to share with you three simple ways.

08:06

Speaker A

First and foremost, the most important thing is to embrace where you came from. Be proud and keep your language alive. Speak it with those who understand it: your parents, your grandparents, or your friends if they are able.

08:27

Speaker A

Being able to speak Shanghainese from such a young age is truly a blessing for me. I am fortunate that my parents enrolled me in a language class when I was in kindergarten, and because of that, I am able to speak it fluently now.

08:47

Speaker A

Secondly, it is important to open your mind and learn about your culture: the traditions, the ceremonies, the different forms of art. And if you're lucky, there could be events that you can attend to learn from.

09:06

Speaker A

If not, ask your elders or read about it. Learning about your culture is a rewarding way to get in touch with your ancestral roots. For me, that would mean to keep practicing my traditions and taking part in cultural festivities.

09:23

Speaker A

At the same time, I'm constantly asking my parents or researching the things that I don't understand or am not familiar with.

09:37

Speaker A

Finally, last but not least, share with others. Tell your friends about the stories about your culture. Show them the traditional clothing you wear, like the ones I'm wearing right now.

09:54

Speaker A

Sure, do you think the food you make at home? These are bound to spark that interest and that conversation. By repeating it, we ingrained it into our minds forever.

10:12

Speaker A

Honestly, I felt so much joy in sharing my knowledge by performing Hua Opera for others and with others. It has truly been rewarding each time I sing.

10:28

Speaker A

This is my story about my culture. I'm sure you have yours too. Our culture is our identity. It helps us to feel safe, feel proud, and to belong. So let us preserve our culture, embrace our traditions, and keep our language alive.

10:41

Speaker A

I would like to sing one more verse from opera before I end.

11:04

Speaker A

It describes the scene where guests are welcomed and the host is happy to help everyone who needs it. In English, the meaning is as follows: set a feast to welcome everyone from everywhere, start a fire in my fairy place to welcome my guests. Anyone who comes in is my guest, and I am happy to help.

11:22

Speaker A

Because just like in the verse, we should open our arms and our hearts to help everyone in need in every tradition that is indentured.

11:39

Speaker A

[Music]

12:14

Speaker A

M

Topics: Hua Opera Shanghainese culture cultural preservation traditional opera language preservation youth engagement Chinese opera cultural identity TEDxYouth Eva Zhou

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