Some experts warn that this ancient art form is on the verge of extinction; they say it will die out in 20 years unless new blood is trained.

Li Yuying, director of the Jiangxi cultural department, submitted an appeal this March to the National People's Congress to put Yiyang under immediate preservation and care, drawing close attention from the Ministry of Culture.

 Yiyang tune listed for preservation

Experts and scholars have varying views about whether the dying Yiyang tune should be preserved or not. Some scholars believe that the 500-year-old art has been so long removed from real life that its preservation would no longer have any relevance to modern society. However, most experts and scholars agree that the art's long history carries many profound cultural connotations, and is the very reason why it should be protected and preserved.

In April 2004 the Ministry of Culture in China listed the Yiyang tune for preservation, together with 38 other cultural folk arts.

The preservation project, which will kick off this year and conclude in 2007, includes such major protective measures as building a museum, compiling and publishing a book and organizing 10-12 performing societies of the Yiyang tune.

The move may breathe new vigor into the ancient art, said 59-year-old Yang Dianrong, one of the few remaining Yiyang artists and an official from the Cultural Bureau of Yiyang County in East China's Jiangxi Province.

With the launch of the protection project, the Chinese government has vowed to invest in gathering materials on the Yiyang tune; within five years, a professional troupe of the tune, a museum and an opera institute are expected to emerge.

Apart from the great efforts by the central government, Yiyang County will also rebuild its Yiyang tune troupe and join hands with Ganju Opera troupes of Nanchang, Poyang and Leping cities to restore and stage 10 traditional Yiyang tune performances to revive 22 Yiyang tune sagas in five years.

In addition, three ancient stages of the Yiyang tune from the Jingtai reign of the Ming Dynasty and the Wanli and Kangxi reigns of the Qing Dynasty will be repaired and reopened for business.