Kunqu

Kunqu (; pinyin: Kūnqǔ; Wade-Giles: k'un-ch'ü), also known as Kunju, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Kunqu originated in the Wu cultural area.

History

Kunqu boasts a 600-year history and is known as the "teacher" or "mother" of a hundred operas, because of its influence on other Chinese theatre forms, including Jingju (Peking Opera). Its emergence ushered in the second Golden Era of Chinese drama, but by the early twentieth century it had nearly disappeared, which was only exacerbated by deliberate attempts to suppress it during the Cultural Revolution.

One of the major literary forms of the Ming and Qing dynasties was "chuanqi" drama, originating from the South. Plays that continue to be famous today, including "The Peony Pavilion" and "The Peach Blossom Fan", were originally written for the Kunqu stage. In addition, many classical Chinese novels and stories, such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West" were adapted very early into dramatic pieces.

Today, Kunqu is performed professionally in seven Mainland Chinese cities: Beijing (Northern Kunqu Theatre), Shanghai (Shanghai Kunqu Theatre), Suzhou (Suzhou Kunqu Theatre), Nanjing (Jiangsu Province Kunqu Theatre), Chenzhou (Hunan Kunqu Theatre), Yongjia County/Wenzhou (Yongjia Kunqu Theatre) and Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province Kunqu Theatre), as well as in Taipei. Non-professional opera societies are active in many other cities in China and abroad, and opera companies occasionally tour.

Kunqu was listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001. Its melody or tune is one of the Four Great Characteristic Melodies in Chinese opera.

Repertoire

*"The Peony Pavilion" (Tang Xianzu)
*"The Peach Blossom Fan" (Kong Shangren)
*"The Palace of Long Life" (Hong Sheng)
*"The White Snake"
*"The Western Mansion" (Southern version, adapted from Wang Shifu's zaju)
*"The Injustice done to Dou E" (adapted from Guan Hanqing's zaju)
*"The Kite" (Li Yu)

Dramatists

*Tang Xianzu
*Kong Shangren
*Li Yu
*Hong Sheng
*Feng Menglong

Performers

*Yu Zhenfei
*Mei Lanfang
*Zhang Jiqing
*Wang Shiyu
*Yue Meiti
*Liang Guyin
*Cai Zhengren
*Ji Zhenhua
*Jennifer Hua Wenyi
*Qian Yi

External links

* [http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/masterpiece.php?id=4&lg=en UNESCO the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Kunqu Opera]
* [http://www.kunqusociety.org/ The Kunqu Society, Inc]
* [http://www.kunqu.org/ The Society of Kunqu Arts, Inc.]
* [http://www.wtrgreenkunqu.org/Resources/Kunqu%20Description.htm What is Kunqu Theatre ?]