‘Setting Sail Together, Building the Future’: the Happy Valley chapter of the Guangdong–Hong Kong magic exchange marking 20 years since Hong Kong’s return concludes

The magicians performed a great many inventive acts

The series of events for the "2017 Guangdong–Hong Kong Magic Exchange Conference Marking the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Return," supported as a Guangdong mass cultural activity project and hosted by the Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Guangdong Acrobats Association, recently brought more than 30 magicians from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan together at Happy Valley Shenzhen, where 15 activities — magic performances, symposiums, lectures and salons — were staged one after another.

Next, the organizers will continue to build a high-level platform for magic exchange and present outstanding performances by Chinese magicians: in late June they will carry out visits and research among the acrobatics communities of Guangdong and Hong Kong; in July, drawing on the activities of the Guangdong University Magic Alliance, they will hold a series of lectures and demonstration classes for young magic enthusiasts.

A. Guangdong: an exceptionally favourable location

"The magic communities of Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing each have their own strengths; Guangdong can make full use of its geographical advantage and learn from the experience, techniques and thinking of the magic communities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan," said Sun Qiufeng, member of the Party Leadership Group and secretary-general of the Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

The magician Ruxianguli feels this regional character keenly. She is a National Class-A Performer (the highest professional rank for performers in China), Vice-Director of the Magic Committee of the China Acrobats Association, Vice-President of the Guangdong Acrobats Association, Vice-President of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Executive President of the Shenzhen Acrobats Association and assistant art director of Happy Valley Shenzhen, and she has been spreading the culture of magic in Shenzhen for 20 years.

Before coming to Shenzhen she had already carved out a place for herself in Xinjiang — a National Class-A Performer with the Xinjiang Acrobatic Troupe, named one of Xinjiang's first "Ten Outstanding Young People," elected a deputy to the National People's Congress, and highly successful in international magic competitions. "Why did I come to Guangdong? Because Guangdong is at the forefront of reform and opening up, where you can reach the latest cultural information," Ruxianguli told the reporter. Over 20 years she has put down roots in Shenzhen and exchanged ideas with magicians from everywhere: "I am grateful that magic brings us together like family. Many people say that people in the same trade are enemies, but in our magic world we are as close as one family!"

Sun Qiufeng said that a number of magic exchange activities have been held in Guangdong in recent years: "For example the biennial Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao–Taiwan magic exchange showcase, and this conference. They provide a platform for artists in the magic world to exchange, and along the way they also uncover new talent and new works."

B. Talent: an unending driving force for innovation

During this three-day exchange series the magicians brought many fine performances, such as the magic play The Secret of 279 and a close-up magic showcase. Many of the innovative acts had a cross-disciplinary flavour: some were combined with musical theatre, some used traditional elements of the Lingnan school of painting, some "brought in" an aeroplane, and some were performed in a ballet tutu with nowhere to hide the props.

"Magic in Guangdong has a strong popular base and is very widely practised," Ruxianguli said with evident pride. "Today 57 universities in Guangdong have magic clubs, the Guangdong University Magic Alliance is highly active, and all kinds of magic bars and magic websites are thriving." In her view, the young people coming from the universities are the hope of the profession: "In our day it was masters teaching disciples, without much book learning. These young people today not only have knowledge but also tremendous imagination — they are the hope of this profession!"

Ruxianguli, who has worked at Happy Valley for 20 years, has witnessed the growth of magic in Shenzhen. "Back then Happy Valley was the only place in Shenzhen doing magic shows; now 11 theme parks are holding magic festivals, and world-class magicians are much in demand, because every theme park competes to book them." She firmly believes that in this world "there are only outdated artists, never outdated audiences." In those years she created and performed her own work; now she has turned to training students, who have repeatedly won awards at major magic competitions at home and abroad.

Ruxianguli: no shortage of technique, but a shortage of feeling

Advice for the new generation

Ruxianguli encourages young people: "Imitate first, then create; create within imitation. Learn the way, not the look. Keep pace with the times, and stand on your own." What she regrets a little is that young magicians' acts still lack originality: "In a magic act, technique is the foundation, but content is the core. With many young magicians you cannot tell what they are trying to express. When some foreign magicians finish performing, the audience is moved and applauds. Is our technique worse than theirs? No — what is missing is that little bit of feeling, that little bit of depth."

In Ruxianguli's view, magic is not merely making an object appear out of nothing or vanish into nothing; it must "tell a story" and leave people something to savour. She sighed: "Many young people know a little magic and call themselves a 'master of magic.' That is not right — they are only performers, not yet 'masters.'"

Sun Qiufeng: with a real skill in hand, you need not fear the secrets being exposed

"Magic abroad goes for grand spectacle and high technology, making a train or an aeroplane vanish in the blink of an eye, which has to do with financial strength and creativity; Chinese magic still emphasizes the sleights handed down from our forebears," said Sun Qiufeng, who holds that what makes the magic profession distinctive is irreplaceable skill of the hands.

In the internet age, everyone "revealing the secrets" has robbed magic of its mystery and done some harm to those in the profession; but Sun Qiufeng believes a magician with real mastery remains irreplaceable: "It still comes down to diligent study and hard practice. With some magic techniques, you may know how it is done, but without practice you simply cannot do it."