Passing Down National Culture

THE clean and tidy courtyard of Alifu is typically Uygur. Flowers blossom， trees grow， and some farming tools as well as a used motorcycle lean against the wall. What makes this house different from others is a classroom， not very large， adjacent to the master room. There is a tiny blackboard on the wall， an electronic keyboard on the desk and some pieces of Uygur calligraphy by Alifu on the wall. This is where Alifu’s “interest class” takes place.

Happy Home

School ends at 7：30 pm. Then Alifu’s courtyard is enlivened. Boys and girls from nearby schools come one after another. They feel as at ease here as in their own home. Some drop their schoolbags and say they are hungry. Nuernisa， Alifu’s wife， brings them hot milk tea and naan bread that she has prepared for them. Having enjoyed this refreshment， some children start doing their homework on the desks， while others take down the dutar （a Uygur musical instrument） from the wall. Alifu begins by tuning the instrument， before teaching them fingering and how to play. Nuernisa pours milk tea， smiling. However， when it comes to the really naughty kids， she will also put on a strict face and discipline them.

This happens every day at Alifu’s house. Alifu has a roster showing the name， age， school， home address， interests， hobbies， artistic aptitude， and disposition of each child. He also adds his comments to the list. It’s all personally recorded and contains information on every child who has been here.

Twelve-year-old Zuli Huma is a fourth-grade student. She is introverted and seldom speaks in front of strangers. Last summer， her father took her to Alifu’s class. She immediately fell in love with it and spent a whole month here， doing homework， practicing the dutar， and singing and dancing with other kids. She so became more and more outgoing. She says that she loves her honorary dad Alifu and mom Nuernisa and that it’s really fun singing and dancing with her friends here.

“They’re All My Kids”

Alifu told this reporter that he started the extracurricular class because children in the village had nothing to do after school. His first thought was to help them practice Uygur calligraphy， the dutar， singing， and dancing， and to offer them a place to play that their parents could trust. To his surprise， more and more children from his own village and nearby villages， towns， and counties came to join in. Even college students came to learn ethnic musical instruments during the holidays. Seeing so many people interested in traditional Uygur culture has inspired and encouraged him.

Over 40 kids have come to study here during the past three years. The local government has bought the class a stove， musical instruments， and loudspeakers， which have greatly improved its conditions. Alifu is proud of the long Uygur history and unique cultural and artistic traditions. Singing and dancing are synonymous with the Uygur people， but Uygur calligraphy is also fascinating. The modern Uygur language is in Arabic script. It has 32 letters and is written from right to left. Like Chinese calligraphy， Uygur calligraphy has its own characteristics and styles and is becoming more and more popular.

Ten-year-old Chai Yushuo is the only Han student in the class. He comes from a nearby county to learn the Uygur language and calligraphy every weekend and on holidays. It is a 30-minute drive from his home to the class. Alifu is very careful and patient， not only teaching Chai how to write， but also correcting his pronunciation. The boy has made rapid progress.

“My wife and I help kids learn folk culture. They have improved very quickly. It makes me happy to do something for them. What makes me even happier is their willingness to learn our traditional customs and folkways. It is my responsibility to pass down the Uygur culture and I will keep doing so，”Alifu said.