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The visit to Morocco was not her first time on the continent. Yu had already performed there at the Mawazine Festival in Rabat in 2004, and previously in Tunisia and Senegal. Each time, she was impressed by the authenticity and deep-rootedness of African music.

“In Africa, musicians have perfectly preserved their musical traditions. We can immediately hear that it is their own style, their inimitable way of playing and talking to us through their music.”

Preserving the sources of traditional Chinese music is a priority for the artist, who is somewhat concerned about the present situation. “There is a tendency in China to imitate foreign practices at all costs, which makes no sense. We cannot import foreign orchestral forms that go against the nature of traditional Chinese instruments,” she explained.

Through her work in Europe and China, Yu tries to help preserve these ancient art forms. Her message is simple: People have to know where they come from, to know where they are going.

She believes people have to reach a certain level before they can claim the right to innovate and create. Above all, a performer has to understand the internal logic and the roots of traditional music otherwise they can easily go astray, she said.

Hence the artist’s insistence on learning from great music masters, especially in south China where she studied Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest and most influential forms of Chinese opera. “The traditional music of north China is powerful and masculine, while that of the south is more elegant and feminine. We must seek inspiration from these different sources.” Comments to francoisdube@chinafrica.cn