Photos

Saving stage beauty

By Han Bingbin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-30 17:28

Kunqu Opera appreciation, an optional class, attracts more than 300 students at the college. Photos provided to China Daily

Passing on tradition

In 2001, when the United Nations produced its first list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Kunqu Opera led the list of 19 cultural heritages.

For Xiao Huaide at the university's institute for cultural industries, who produced the on-campus version of Peony Pavilion, the need to pass on the tradition of Kunqu Opera is based on its artistic value. As well as the refined literary nature of the scripts, the operas contain many art forms, including music, acting and dance, performed at the highest artistic levels.

With a responsibility to pass on such a profound art form, Ye Lang sees the promotion of Kunqu Opera at universities as a long-term project, particularly as a good education helps people to understand the finer points of the opera.

"It is an undeniable responsibility of universities to pass on the traditional culture of a country, and this is widely accepted overseas," Ye said in a previous speech. "Kunqu Opera will try to attract more audiences outside campus, but college students will remain its core audience. We are fostering a new generation of audiences."

In addition to the regular course and occasional performances, the university plans to create comprehensive digital archives of Kunqu Opera history by working with universities on the Chinese mainland, and in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, to push for wider acceptance of Kunqu among the general public, especially younger people, Xiao said they have been working on how to combine the art form with fashion to create products such as porcelain, colored glaze and silk scarves.

"The inheritance project will go through three steps," Xiao said. "The first is to display the art form to let students learn about it. Then we need to pass on the form by encouraging more students to practice it. Finally, we will develop new products by combining the traditional culture with modern elements so we can reach a wider audience," Xiao said.

Ye Lang recalled that writer Qian Zhongshu once noted that art and science were equally important subjects at colleges. "Beautiful things make people feel their lives are beautiful and cultivate in them gratitude that will inspire them to do something meaningful in return," Ye said. "So beautiful things cultivate a sense of responsibility."