CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Monday, May 31, 2021 | 17 LIFE Rebirth of an ancient art Kunqu Opera was saved from the brink of being buried in history through elegant performances, Wang Kaihao reports.

hen Kunqu Opera was stand than Peking Opera. Why don’t “At that time, many young peo- listed as one of the you change the format?” asked the ple began to realize how brilliant Masterpieces of Oral student. our ancient arts were,” Tian says. and Intangible Heri- The actress said no. “It is thus crucial to strengthen tageW of Humanity by UNESCO in “If we make big changes to tradi- our cultural confidence and May 2001 — the first entry from tions, will that still be Kunqu?” Wei encourage protection of tradition- China on that list, many Chinese says. “Our duty is to fully display al culture.” people probably wondered why it the beauty of the opera to the audi- Cao Ying, deputy director of the had such a privilege. ence.” Northern Kunqu Opera Theater, is Though the stage art is generally Tian says there are more than 10 another witness of the rise and fall considered one of the oldest Chi- professional Kunqu troupes in of Kunqu in the past decades. There nese opera genres dating back to China, and over 100 Kunqu Opera were only about 120 people in the the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it societies have been organized by troupe in 2001, but it has now greatly contributed to the forma- its fans nationwide. grown to more than 250 people. tion of the much better-known Following a boom of many local “One priority is to have perform- Peking Opera. opera genres in the late Qing Dynas- ers of the next generation inherit the Originating from Suzhou in ty, Tian says the exquisite but rela- classics,” he says. “That needs con- Jiangsu province, Kunqu Opera is tively slow Kunqu performance tinuous nurturing of young talent.” famed for its elegance in perform- gradually lost its luster on the stage Over the past three years, the the- ance style, lyrics and costumes. of Changyinge in the competition of ater has systematically organized a Tian Qing, a veteran musicology royal concerts. training program on the perform- researcher at the Chinese National In 1921, a group of artists estab- ance of 120 key excerpts from classi- Academy of Arts, says Kunqu Opera lished a Kunqu society in Suzhou and cal scripts, and they plan to cover only became gradually popular with greatly contributed to its rescue by 200 of these excerpts in the ongoing the public after being listed as an categorizing many classical scripts. project. Young performers will intangible heritage of humanity, which “However, with the lack of sus- receive around 15 days of training greatly promoted its cultural values. Performers present a well-known Kunqu Opera, Zhong Kui Marries off His Sister, at Changyinge in Bei- tainable development, Kunqu was for each excerpt. “More than 20 years ago, it was jing’s Palace Museum. jiang dong / china daily still on the edge of being buried in The troupe is also focused on cre- mainly the government and the cul- history when New China was found- ating new works based on recent tural circle’s interest and duty to pro- ed,” Tian says. “But a performance history so as to remain relevant with tect it and prolong its life,” Tian says. renovations. Still, the stage was only 20 years,” says Wei, who first began emperor is well known among Chi- saved it in time.” the times. “Fortunately, it was reborn in reserved for a handful of perform- performing the opera when she was nese people. In 1956, a Kunqu troupe from “We also need to nurture the audi- 2001.” ances on the most important occa- 10. “Seeing its good days now, I cher- Through decades of honing her Zhejiang province performed a ence of the next generation,” Cao To celebrate the 20th anniversary sions. This also marks the first time ish this stage. It is also a stage that skills, Wei can read a lot from a ges- show in Beijing and received an says. “For many urbanites, enjoying of its rebirth, a special Kunqu concert a full Kunqu performance was once witnessed many of my prede- ture or a glance onstage even before overwhelming welcome. Premier Kunqu can be a trend.” was recently held at Chang-yinge, or staged there since the pavilion’s cessors’ excellent performances in she vocalizes a word. Zhou Enlai hailed it as “an orchid The troupe has regularly orga- the Pavilion of Cheerful Melodies, in reopening. the old days.” “Beyond my own performances in the garden of Chinese fine arts”. nized Kunqu shows in Peking Uni- the Forbidden City in Beijing. “Changyinge had witnessed Kun- But unlike her predecessors who and techniques as a Kunqu per- In traditional Chinese culture, the versity since 2002, and thus built up Now known as the Palace Muse- qu fading away after its peak in the gave exclusive performances to the former, I need to think of how I can orchid is used to symbolize the ele- a solid fan base at the university. The um, the Forbidden City was China’s imperial years,” Tian says. “It’s thus royal family, the troupe performed bring the opera genre to more stages gance and taste of the literati. troupe also introduced Kunqu into imperial palace from 1420 to 1911. remarkable to present a show here in front of many lenses in the audi- through new promotional chan- It was commonly reported in the the general education of five ele- Built in 1772 during the reign of for the anniversary.” torium. Their performance was nels,” Wei says. “The art can be media at that time that “a show mentary schools in Beijing in 2016. Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Wei Chunrong is from the North- broadcast via the China Central Tel- inherited only when it’s favored by makes an opera genre survive”. “About 5,000 children have joined Dynasty (1644-1911), the three-story ern Kunqu Opera Theater in Bei- evision network to a much wider the public.” Recalling Kunqu’s other monu- this program,” says Cao excitedly. pavilion used to be a venue where the jing, the troupe that organized this audience. But Wei knows some principles mental moment 20 years ago, Tian “And behind these 5,000 children, ruler and his successors enjoyed the performance. Before stepping onto Performing an excerpt from the have to be adhered to no matter how considers it not only marks the start there are 5,000 families. I believe finest operas from across the nation. the pavilion, the 49-year-old actress 1688 classic The Palace of Eternal much time has changed. She recalls of people recognizing the value of they will become our loyal fans in After a century of silence follow- became emotional. Life, Wei played the role of Yang how a student challenged her when Kunqu, but also the earliest days of the future.” ing the end of the monarchy, per- “I once experienced tough times Yuhuan, concubine of an emperor in she was delivering a lecture on Kun- the Chinese society widely accepting formances finally resumed on when performing Kunqu, but exten- the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The qu at a university. the concept of the protection of Contact the writer at Changyinge in 2017 after extensive sive change has happened in the last love story between Yang and the “Kunqu is more difficult to under- intangible cultural heritage. [email protected]