In Muqam Village, Lukqun Town, Shanshan County, Xinjiang, an 80-year-old elder and a teenager over ten years old hum a selection from the Muqam with their eyes closed; the melody from plucked string instruments is melodious, and the singing voice is at times powerful and at times deeply emotional. "There are more inheritors now, and more performance opportunities too; this is a very happy thing for us," said Eli·Muhamaiti, who has been performing Muqam for nearly 40 years, in an interview on the 26th.
Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art is a large-scale comprehensive art form integrating song, dance, and music. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of "The Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam" in UNESCO's "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity." This cultural treasure, historically reliant on oral transmission, is now showing vigorous vitality through upholding tradition while making innovations.
"Looking back over the past 20 years, Muqam has progressed from 'salvage protection' to 'systematic inheritance,'" said Li Jilian, former Director of the Xinjiang Art Research Institute and a participant in promoting its UNESCO nomination. What impressed her most was that governments at all levels in China have provided guarantees for the inheritance, protection, and development of Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art through measures such as promulgating regulations and formulating plans.
"For example, the 'Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Regulations on the Protection of Uyghur Muqam Art' legally define the rights and safeguards for intangible cultural heritage inheritors, while also clarifying the responsibilities of governments at all levels and society, ensuring the implementation of protection resources like funding and venues," Li Jilian said. She added that Xinjiang has systematically addressed practical issues in intangible cultural heritage inheritance, strengthening protection efforts and standardizing development pathways.
The training of professional talent has injected "new vitality" into the inheritance of Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art. "The college started the Muqam major in 1996 and has cumulatively trained over 250 professionals to date," said Abudusaimi·Abudureheman, Director of the Art Practice Center at Xinjiang Arts University. He noted that these graduates either join art troupes or engage in documentary research, forming the backbone of Muqam inheritance.
The Wantongshu Muqam Archives at Xinjiang Arts University, covering about 800 square meters, neatly displays 311 items including notated manuscripts and steel wire recordings in its exhibition hall. According to Abudusaimi, in the 1950s, musicologist Wan Tongshu was assigned to Xinjiang for salvage protection work; using methods like notated manuscripts and steel wire recordings, he preserved this art form that was on the verge of disappearance.
"Culture cannot become a relic; Muqam is a flowing cultural lifeblood. It must keep pace with the times to be passed on far and wide," said Wang Chenjun, Secretary-General of the Chinese Uyghur Classical Literature and Muqam Society, who has been exploring innovative paths for Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art. The opera "Muqam Love Song – Wan Tongshu" is one successful attempt.
"We combined traditional rhythms with multimedia visual effects and even incorporated AI character roles, telling the story of inheritance from a youth perspective, aiming to make it 'comprehensible, understandable, and enjoyable' for young people," Wang Chenjun said. He mentioned that the aforementioned production recently completed an 18-city national tour, attracting nearly ten thousand spectators.
It is reported that the Chinese Uyghur Classical Literature and Muqam Society is advancing a digital protection project for Muqam, establishing the "China Xinjiang Muqam Digital Resource Repository." This repository will include literature, audio-visual materials, inheritor information, and utilize AI technology to optimize data preservation, aiming to achieve online resource retrieval and open sharing.
From intergenerational performances under grapevines in Lukqun Town to technology-enhanced stages on national tours, Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art has not only succeeded in preserving its cultural authenticity but has also embraced contemporary trends. As Eli said, "Muqam used to be the 'favorite' of the older generation; now it is gradually becoming the 'new passion' for the young people."
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