June 3, a troupe of world-renowned Kunqu artists from Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre staged a special performance at Duke Kunshan University. National top-ranked Kunqu virtuosos including Yu Jiuding, Shen Guofang and Liu Chunlin wowed a large crowd who came from home and abroad with an unforgettable show. Organized by the Language and Culture Center of Duke Kunshan University, the event aims to raise awareness and appreciation for Kunqu opera, and to promote intercultural exchange.
‘Known as the ‘teacher of various drama forms’, Kunqu is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera, and is characterized by elegance and exquisiteness. It is listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2001.’ Kunqu actor Lv Fuhai gave a brief introduction to the history of Kunqu before the performance formally began. He also entertained the audience with a series of ‘fan movement’ performances that reflect the personality and characteristics of different roles. Lv noted that young audience’s involvement is the key to safeguarding Kunqu as a cultural heritage, and promoting Kunqu in universities would help it gain popularity among young people.
Lv Fuhai’s Fan Movement Performance
As the show commenced, the Kunqu masters earned uproarious ovations from the audience with their exquisite performance of three classical Kunqu excerpts, namely ‘A Nun Meets a Monk’, ‘Taken Alive’ and ‘Rendezvous at Night’. After the performance, they also took time to interact with Duke Kunshan students and patiently answered questions. ‘It is meaningful to perform Kunqu in Kunshan ‘ the cradle of Kunqu Opera and my hometown. I’m glad to see so many young people are impressed by our performance,’ said Yu Jiulin, winner of the Plum Blossom Award, China’s highest award for stage performance.
A Nun Meets a Monk
Taken Alive
Rendezvous at Night
Joseph Lam, professor of musicology at University of Michigan and Kunqu expert, said, ‘The most basic and direct way to study Kunqu is to watch Kunqu performances. I’m glad to see that this event provided an exciting opportunity for faculty and students from different cultural backgrounds to experience and appreciate the aesthetics of traditional Chinese art at first hand.’ Currently, Professor Joseph Lam is teaching ‘Kunqu, the Classical Opera of Globalized China’ for the Spring 2016 semester at Duke Kunshan University. The course is designed to encourage students to analyze and appreciate Kunqu with current theories of selves, cultural-social pragmatics, and opera as cultural-social-political performance. Professor Lam pointed out that since the majority of students in his class are young Chinese who were not familiar with traditional Chinese art forms, ‘it is crucial to spark their interest in Kunqu and traditional Chinese culture. I’m moved to see that they are now able to capture the aesthetic characteristics of Kunqu.’
Professor Joseph Lam
Duke Kunshan faculty and students all demonstrated great interest in Kunqu Opera after watching the show. Alison Hill, assistant professor from Duke University believed that this event would instill in the audience the desire to learn about the history of Kunqu. Zhou Jiani, global learning semester student and member of Kun Opera Club at Duke Kunshan University, said that this performance provided a unique opportunity for students to watch Kunqu performance closely and interact with Kunqu artists.
Audience from Around the World
‘As a Sino-U.S. joint venture university located in Kunshan, Duke Kunshan University should assume the responsibility of promoting intercultural exchange between the two countries,’ Professor Joseph Lam commented. ‘This performance will play a role in promoting local cultural heritage of Kunshan and increasing cultural diversity on campus.’
As an internationalized university firmly rooted in the soil of China, Duke Kunshan University’s objective is to cultivate well-rounded global citizens rooted in their national culture. To leverage the advantage of being located in Kunshan, the origin of Kunqu, Duke Kunshan has integrated Kunqu into its humanities curriculum and extracurricular activities since the university’s establishment. In 2015, Duke Kunshan faculty and students established the first university-wide Kunqu club to foster interest in and appreciation for Kunqu among faculty and students from around the world. Club activities include performance watching, learning and fieldtrip to Kunqu’s birthplace. The Kun Opera club has already grown into approximately 60 members.
Students Learning “Peony Pavilion”
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Gao Haiyan and Professor Joseph Lam Visiting Yu Shan Cao Tang
In the future, Duke Kunshan University plans to invite more Kunqu researchers and artists to visit our campus, and to inspire more students to appreciate the beauty of Kunqu.
