Indonesian guy becomes famous after performing Sichuan opera

　　Teaching Chinese in a local elementary school, loving Chinese culture


　　Recently, in a primary school in Surabaya, Indonesia, an Indonesian teacher born in the 1990s performed face-changing Sichuan opera, which attracted a lot of praise from teachers and students, and the children shouted amazingly.

During the performance, he was dressed in traditional Chinese theater costumes, and when he turned around, his red face turned into black face.

When the children were still in surprise, he raised and lowered the folding fan in his hand, and the black face instantly turned into yellow face again.

Many students watched with wide eyes and asked curiously: "Teacher, how did you change? How did you do it so fast?" This teacher also became a celebrity in the local area because he learned how to change faces.

Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter contacted this teacher, his name is Raymond Abraham (Chinese name Zhou Ping'an), and heard him share the story of learning how to change faces, a unique Sichuan opera skill, and performing it for children.

30-year-old Zhou Pingan is from Surabaya, Indonesia, and is a Chinese teacher in a local elementary school.

In addition to teaching, he likes to teach students how to play drums and perform face-changing Sichuan opera. He dreams of opening a face-changing Sichuan opera class one day, and through his own efforts, more Indonesians can understand traditional Chinese culture.

　　Yan Chunxu, trainee reporter of Ziniu News

The Indonesian guy performed face-changing Sichuan opera and was welcomed by local students

　　"Since I choose to be a Chinese teacher, I must learn more about Chinese culture." In July this year, Zhou Pingan, a 30-year-old Indonesian boy, became a Chinese teacher at the local Surabaya Montessori School (Montessori Trilingual School in Surabaya) .

In order to better teach students Chinese, he took the initiative to learn Chinese culture after work.

　　Zhou Pingan knew a little about Peking Opera, the quintessence of China, when he was in college, but he never knew about Sichuan Opera, let alone Changing Face.

In August of this year, when he was browsing short videos, he was deeply attracted by the scenes of changing faces and beating drums, so he began to follow the videos to learn by himself.

Since it is difficult to change faces in Sichuan opera, he specially took online classes and learned from a Chinese master through video.

The Chinese master also sent him props and costumes, and he practiced tirelessly.

　　Zhou Ping'an is the head teacher of the third grade of the Surabaya Montessori Trilingual School. He not only teaches students Chinese, but also teaches civic education courses. "Although there are many courses, I will try my best to find time to learn how to change faces. I go to class every morning. I will study for half an hour before school, and after school in the afternoon, I will study for a period of time, one or two hours a day, and I will not be able to get started until I have studied for a month." In Zhou Pingan's view, although learning the process of changing faces is difficult, because it is his own Interest, so he insists on it every day.

　　The first time Zhou Pingan performed face-changing for students was during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. The school he worked at invited teachers and students from other schools to participate in the activity, with more than 200 spectators.

He performed a face-changing performance on the stage, and there were constant exclamations from the scene.

Zhou Pingan happily told the Ziniu News reporter: "It was very lively at the time, and everyone was surprised. Keep your eyes open!" Many people asked curiously, "Teacher, how did you change? So fast, it's amazing!"

　　Zhou Pingan said that there are also traditional Chinese cultural performances in the local Chinese community, but more of them are dragon and lion dances.

"My face-changing performance is a very rare thing for them." Zhou Pingan performed for six to seven minutes, changing about 10 facial makeups in total. Many people took out their mobile phones to take pictures and shared the videos with their friends.

　　After the performance, many teachers and students gathered around, and many students wanted to learn from the teacher.

Zhou Pingan bluntly said that he was very nervous before going on stage, "I didn't expect that the first time I changed my face, it would be very successful."

Self-taught Chinese to study in China as a Chinese teacher feels very happy

　　Zhou Pingan told the Ziniu News reporter that there are many Chinese in Indonesia, but some of them cannot speak Chinese. “My grandfather can speak some Chinese, but he can’t speak Mandarin. He can only speak some dialects. My parents and I No one in my generation can speak Chinese anymore.” One day in high school, Zhou Ping’an took the bus home from school and saw two aunts speaking Chinese. He was very curious and started to learn Chinese by himself.

Zhou Pingan said that although there were Chinese classes in the school before, the content of the courses was relatively simple and there were no assessment requirements, so many people didn't pay much attention to them. "But I like it very much, so I learned it by myself."

　　Zhou Pingan said that at that time, the Internet was not developed and there were no various cram schools, so he bought Chinese textbooks and Chinese dictionaries for self-study, read Chinese newspapers every day, and checked the materials carefully.

He also applied for a QQ account, added many friends, and chatted with these netizens in Chinese, "At first, I couldn't understand the messages sent by the other party, and I didn't know what it was, so I copied the chat records to the translation software. I started to translate and learned Chinese slowly.” When he was in college, he no longer needed translation software, and his Chinese scores passed HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) Level 5.

　　In 2013, Zhou Pingan, who was an undergraduate student, came to China to study as an exchange student. During this semester, he fell in love with China deeply and decided to come to China again in the future.

In September 2014, Zhou Pingan officially went to Zhengzhou University to study as a graduate student, majoring in international trade.

He is very happy to be able to study in China, "I have studied in China through my own efforts, and I must seize the opportunity to study hard."

　　During his study abroad, Zhou Ping’an felt the friendliness of his Chinese classmates, “They were very enthusiastic and helped me find materials and revise my thesis.” In his spare time, he also served as a temporary translator for manufacturers that have cooperation with Indonesia. He has been to Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao and many other places, "In China, there are so many opportunities for development, which allow me to use what I have learned."

　　During his graduation trip in 2017, Zhou Ping'an and his parents came to Nanjing. They visited many places and museums in Nanjing. Nanjing's long history and culture are still fresh in his memory.

Zhou Ping'an said he was impressed by China's Internet economy, "Especially online shopping, which greatly facilitates my daily life."

　　After graduating from Zhengzhou University, Zhou Pingan returned to Indonesia to develop and worked in a local trading company.

After working for four years, Zhou Ping'an became the manager of a trading company, but he quit his job due to the high pressure of work, and successfully applied to the Surabaya Montessori Trilingual School and became a Chinese teacher.

In Zhou Ping'an's view, although working in a trading company is better, the pressure is too great. "I found that happiness is not because of how much money I earn. My current income is much less than before, but I feel very happy. I am being myself. What I like.” At present, Zhou Ping’an mainly teaches students in the third and fourth grades.

In his opinion, although some students are very naughty, it is still very happy to be able to teach children.

　　"Children have to learn Chinese well. As a teacher, I have to teach Chinese well so that children can understand the charm of Chinese language." Zhou Pingan told Ziniu News reporter that now Chinese lessons have become a compulsory course in most local schools, " Our school has Chinese classes every day, more than English classes. I hope that the children will be able to communicate in Chinese in the future, and I also hope that they will be able to work in Chinese companies in the future.” Zhou Pingan said that in recent years, he has seen Chinese and Indonesian The cooperation is getting closer and closer. "When I was studying in China, I often took the high-speed rail and subway. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail jointly built by China and Indonesia has been successfully tested recently. There is a high-speed rail from Jakarta to Bandung, and it may be extended to my home in the future. My hometown, Surabaya, has much more convenient transportation!"

I want more Indonesian people to understand Chinese culture

　　Because of a face-changing performance, Zhou Pingan became a well-known figure in the local Chinese circle. Many people knew that he would change his face, and if there was an event, he would be invited to perform.

The second time Zhou Ping'an performed face-changing Sichuan Opera was in a local shopping mall. The school's teachers and students performed together.

"The programs performed by teachers and students in other schools are common singing and so on. Only our school's program has face-changing and drumming. Everyone is surprised. The whole building came to see our performance."

　　Zhou Pingan said proudly that he has performed nearly 10 face-changing performances in the local area so far, and each performance has about 100 spectators. "Because I have a lot of courses, if everyone needs it, I will perform for everyone." As Zhou Ping'an became popular in the local Chinese circle, more and more people invited him to participate in the event.

He said with a smile that he is very busy now, and the "schedule" of the face-changing show has been booked until February next year.

A local Chinese association will hold an event with about 1,000 people in February next year, and Zhou Ping'an has been invited to attend.

　　Zhou Pingan told reporters: "Next month, an association for the elderly will invite me to participate in an event with about 100 people. The Spring Festival is coming soon, and many companies will have celebrations. I also cooperate with local dragon dance companies. There will be more performances coming down."

　　Zhou Ping'an also filmed the story of his face-changing performance into a short video "Mr. Zhou who can "change face"", and participated in the third "You Good, China!" The short video contest won the third prize, and was also recommended by the WeChat official account of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia "Ping An Indonesia Trip".

　　Zhou Ping’an has been communicating and learning with Chinese teachers in face-changing performances of Sichuan opera. He also has a new plan, preparing to increase face-changing props and costumes, so as to make his face-changing skills more exquisite. My face-changing Sichuan opera class, "I want more people to know about face-changing Sichuan opera, so that more Indonesian people can understand Chinese culture."