Practice makes perfect for Taoist master musician

1. Shi Jitong copies Taoist scripts at his home in Waigang Town, Jiading. The 91-year-old started learning Taoist music at the age of 8.

2.3, The Taoist scripts that Shi copies. — Photos by Ran Tao

Ran Tao and Shen Li

No account of Shanghai’s Taoist music would be complete without a mention of 91-year-old Taoist music master Shi Jitong, who lives in Waigang Town in Jiading.

Taoist music is an ancient Han Chinese religious music usually used at religious rituals such as celebrating gods’ birthdays, praying for blessings from heavenly beings, removing evil spirits and saying prayers for the dead.

Shi began learning Taoist music from his father in 1931 when he was just 8 years old.

He had to learn to play wind instruments and percussion, and write out Taoist scripts and read them aloud.

Taoist scripts have many difficult Chinese characters and Shi’s father taught Shi to learn them one by one.

Shi found learning the play wind instruments the hardest, having to practice at least two hours a day.

After dozens of years’ practice, Shi finally became a master in Jiading and Shanghai’s Taoist circle.

Shi is now worried about whether or not the Taoist music can be passed down to the next generation.

Shi hopes his efforts to promote Taoist music will encourage young people to learn more about it.