Much like the violin's role in a western symphony orchestra, the jinghu, a two-stringed bowed instrument with a very high pitch, is fundamental to a Peking Opera orchestra. And the Peking Opera equivalent of the world's most difficult instrument is not a halfpenny easier to command than the violin. But 63-year-old Yan Shouping, who's spent five decades pulling the bow, is one man who can truly call himself a master of the Peking Opera fiddle.

Any superstar would have swooned at the attention. But the night definitely belonged to Yan Shouping, whose half-century musical career was recently celebrated with all the trappings.

Playing to a packed house of 800 seats, Yan Shouping bathed in the spotlight against a stella cast of Peking Opera stars. Emerging from his usual hiding place backstage to play under the lights, the musician worked his way through the long list of his masterpieces, displaying his excellent mastery of the jinghu.

Jinghu musician, Yan Shouping said, "Nearly twenty years have passed since I first held my solo jinghu concert. It was quite an interesting experience. My generation had the task of carrying on the heritage of Peking Opera from the past while also opening up the future. All of my teachers taught me with great patience, and I got a lot from them. But I wasn't as diligent as I should have been, so I didn't inherit their entire legacies. I feel regretful now, but the only thing I can do is pass down what I've learnt to my own students."

Backstage, established Peking Opera stars, all of whom have sung to the accompaniment of Yan Shouping, lauded him both as a musician and a person.

Peking opera star, Yu Kuizhi said, "What is immediately impressive about Yan is that he is not only a great musician but also a great person. He's very concerned about us young Peking Opera performers. Every time he hears a mistake in our singing, he'll point it out. He keeps a close eye on our artistic development. I feel very honored to have such a good teacher and everyone in the Peking Opera circle is proud that we have such a wonderful accompanist."

Peking opera star, Zhao Baoxiu said, "When I entered the Peking Opera school, Teacher Yan had just graduated. Due to his outstanding academic record, he stayed on to be a teacher. I was only 11 years old at that time, so I have always called him teacher. But actually, he was only 19, and I remember he was very naughty -- smart kids are often naughty. Everybody wondered how he managed to be so good while spending so much time having fun. But he worked very hard without anyone noticing. I remember when we performed in Taiwan in the late 1990s. Teacher Yan was the accompanist and I was playing Li Kui's blind mother in the story "Li Kui meets his mother". The melody is very moving. Teacher Yan couldn't play it at first. When he got the assignment, he ran to me immediately to discuss the score. His eyesight is bad, so he had to wear powerful glasses to practice. But it only took him a day before he could throw the score away and render the piece perfectly. When we rehearsed together, I saw him get really involved in the music. During the real performance, everyone in the audience saw tears roll down his cheeks. He injects a lot of his passion into his playing. His thorough understanding and strong feelings make his interpretation of every piece unique."

Peking opera star, Geng Qichang said, "The music of the various Peking Opera styles differs greatly. But he can handle all of them. At a Peking Opera show, he can be the only accompanist. Whoever sings, he can play the accompaniment. He's a very able all-round musician."

After retirement, Yan Shouping has still kept to his daily practice routine. He says he has always been driven by a passion to bring his beloved art into the limelight. As the first jinghu player ever to hold solo concerts and the man who brought the jinghu from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, Yan Shouping is widely acknowledged as the number one jinghu musician in China. But despite all these grand achievements, he is still as fresh as a child having fun with a new toy.

In order to pass down his art, Yan Shouping has recently been devoting all his energy to finding suitable successors. He warns his students it is never easy to be the best.

Yan Shouping said, "It's very easy to take up the jinghu. I remember how easy it was to learn to play the jinghu. But to master it is no easy job."

Despite seeing the curtain fall on thousands of successful shows, Yan's passion never seems to fade.