Erhu has only two strings, but it can be seen deep in simplicity, sad in tension, innovation in wisdom. Putting aside worldly labels and stereotypes, Ma Xiaohui lets his erhu shed its traditional and modern barriers, bridge Chinese and Western cultures, and deliver healing power.

The Ma Xiaohui Special Fund for Culture and Art of the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation was established recently. "Life has its ups and downs. When times are tough, the erhu is the light in my life," Ma said as she played pieces like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with friends at the former Song family home at 369 Shaanxi North Road. Along the way, I chase light, feel light, and hope to be that light, bringing beauty and healing to people."

Change the erhu stereotype

Ma Xiaohui has always been brave to challenge and cross boundaries. On the road of Erhu exploration and innovation, her attempts are not limited to the stage. In recent years, she has also made many practices in music healing. In 2006, when Ma Xiaohui toured California in the United States, Kelly, an American psychology professor, was in the audience. Although it was the first time for him to touch the erhu, he was moved to tears after hearing Ma Xiaohui play, "The sound of the Erhu is so warm that it can melt the coldest heart in the world."

Since then, Ma Xiaohui and Kelly have opened a series of appreciation salon lectures, such as "Music and Psychology", to jointly explore and practice the field of "music healing". When Kelly's erhu tour passed through Nashville, the birthplace of American country music, fans described Ma's performance as like fireworks going off in their heads.

As a three-term member of the Shanghai Political Consultative Conference, Ma Xiaohui's proposals are mostly related to music healing. During the epidemic, with the increasing demand for psychological counseling, Ma Xiaohui initiated a series of public music collection activities. And every time she appears, she always carefully designs the clothing style, whether it is to set off the painting to show the Chinese style, or combine multimedia to highlight the sense of the future, her music is always colorful.

"Many people think the erhu is sad and bitter, but it is also warm, plump, three-dimensional and full of humanity." Ma Xiaohui said that the Erhu world has four distinct seasons, it has a sense of role, good at playing different musical works, not only can play traditional works, but also a lot of yuan. "The more challenges we face, the more we need to resist the cold and warm life with the beauty of art," she said.

Explore the art of healing across boundaries

Today, Ma Xiaohui and the young players impromptu rendition of the erhu and cello Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erhu, Spanish guitar, morin khuur ensemble South American work Tomorrow, tango dance "Smell a Woman". Jiang Liang, chairman of the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and Xu Jianguang, chairman of the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, also improvised and interacted with the erhu and played "Horse Racing" together.

In the future, the special fund will focus on the public welfare project of "One Erhu to the World", support young people and female artists to carry out literary and artistic creation and academic exchanges, support the inheritance and promotion of traditional Chinese culture, and support the expansion of new fields such as rural revitalization and art healing.

This year, the Ma Xiaohui Culture and Art Special Fund will hold a special concert to commemorate the March 8 International Women's Day of Ma Xiaohui and her friends, a special saloon concert to salute the angel in white "Great Love is boundless", June 1 Children's Day and "Rural Revitalization, let rural teenagers and children fall in love with the Erhu" and other activities.

"The key words of the Ma Xiaohui Special Fund for Culture and Art of the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation are love, beauty and peace." Ma Xiaohui said, "I hope to spread the beauty of Erhu art, the beauty of new Guochao and the beauty of new Shanghai school through innovative vision, public welfare mode and cross-border form, so as to experience beauty, witness beauty, create beauty and become beauty."