A happy Monday opens ‘Bilingual Week’ as magic comes to campus
On the afternoon of December 10, 2018, during the seventh-period class meeting, on the opening day of the annual "Bilingual Week," Shenzhen met its first sharp drop in temperature: the cold came suddenly and the wind bit. Yet the tiered lecture hall of the secondary section on the Caitian campus was packed and full of warmth. The magic lecture by Master Ruxianguli, which the students had long awaited, was about to begin!
This magic lecture was both one of the school's "Masters on Campus" series of activities and a distinctive feast within the "Bilingual Week" programme. The school invited the master magician Ruxianguli, a beauty from Xinjiang, to give seventh-grade students a special talk and demonstration of magic.
Eager to see the performance as soon as possible, the students had been looking forward to it for a long time; as soon as the sixth period ended they came quickly and in good order to the lecture hall and took the places assigned to their classes, full of anticipation. The whole hall was packed; extra seats were even added in the aisles on both sides, and the back row was crowded with teachers and students who had heard the news and come to watch.
The event began with the head of the Chinese language department briefly introducing the magician Ruxianguli. Then Ruxianguli, wearing a Uyghur cap and Xinjiang braids, made a radiant entrance like a fairy, and the students welcomed her with thunderous applause. The captivating talk and brilliant performance of the beautiful magician held the teachers and students of the whole hall spellbound: at times they listened raptly, nodding and smiling; at times their eyes widened and they stared at the performance without blinking; and again and again they could not help applauding a fine effect. In a little over an hour the magician both taught the students the basics of magic, lifting its veil of mystery, and demonstrated tricks for them: a cup turned upside down on a board without falling, a coin vanishing from the hand, a knot in a silk untying itself, a cut rope restored, the Chinese linking rings coming apart, and more. Watching her produce all kinds of ribbons and garlands from her props, the students were thrilled and eager to try; Ruxianguli even invited them to be little magicians themselves. With teachers and students interacting on stage and everyone learning the tricks below, it was truly an unforgettable experience.
Ruxianguli is a beautiful magician from the frontier. At the age of 8 she was chosen by the Urumqi Acrobatic Troupe, and from then on she set out on the path of art. Over the years she has won the "Golden Lion Award" at the national acrobatics and magic competition and has been a regular prizewinner at international magic competitions. She is now chief magician of Happy Valley Shenzhen and a National Class-A Performer, and at the same time she serves as Vice-President of the Shenzhen Acrobats Association, a member of the International Association of Magic Artists and a standing member of the China Magic Committee. In the world of magic men usually dominate, and because of their own physical limits (small hands, for instance, which make the most difficult techniques impossible) the road to success is harder for women magicians. Yet with her consummate skill Ruxianguli has won a high reputation in Chinese magic and even in world magic. "Magic can turn what you imagine into reality; the fear is not that you cannot perform it, but that you cannot imagine it." When she talks about magic Ruxianguli's eyes light up. An hour of fine lecture and performance left the students entranced, and it passed before they knew it. The "Masters on Campus" event came to a perfect close amid the students' laughter. The students were thrilled and eager to try. Perhaps tonight they will go home and show their parents the magic they have just learned; perhaps tomorrow at break everyone will compete at magic tricks. The rich and wonderful activities on campus go on!
