On the road to excellence, just a hustle in the veins and a dream that won't die were not good enough. To live up to the expectations of his master, Liu always carried a pair of clappers in his pocket, practiced whenever he had time and recited the lyrics while walking down the street.

If ever the thought of giving up crept into his mind, Liu recalled the teachings of Confucius: "Words must be honest and deeds must be faithful."

Improvisation cemented the bond Wang Wenxi and Liu shared. Whenever the master gave a cue, the disciple took the hint and the two played in tacit understanding. The master tilted his head, immersed in his own performance, while Liu bowed slightly beside him, leaned forward to observe and then responded to the change in the master's movement to light up the interaction.

After graduating from university in 2010, Liu became a teacher at a primary school. He convinced the principal to launch a clapper talk group and the Hongyi Club was thus born. Liu insisted on staging a performance every week. The campus quyi club brought out the star quality in the likes of Cheng Siyuan and Wen Xiuhao who won gold at the national children's quyi competition. Five members of the club are now professional clapper talk artists, contributing to China's quintessential folk art.