Kunqu Opera

Kunqu OperaThere are countless great nations which have their ownelegant and delicate performing arts in the world.And theyprofoundly represent their nations spirits and hearts.WhileItaly has opera；Russia has ballet；Britain has Shakespeares drama，all these tend to be the resource of the national prideand confidence.So whats elegance and pleasure we have inChina？There has ever been hold a special exhibition in NationalMuseum of China，instead of thousands of precious culturalrelics，the role is invisible and untouchable.Once as a part ofour ancestors life，it preserved completely having gonethrough all the vicissitudes of time and social change.It，byUNESCO（i.e.United Nations Educational Scientific and CulturalOrganization），is called Masterpieces of the Oral and IntangibleHeritage of Humanity.In May 18th，2011，when UNESCO wasselecting the first group representatives of Masterpieces of theOral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity，Kunqu，a traditionalopera comes from China，is surprisingly selected in full-vote.Kunqu，one of the most oldest opera in China，dating backto Yuan Dynasty，is regarded as the mother of all Chineseoperas.There must be a reason why Kunqu has distinguisheditself as the mother of Chinese operas，as the virtuosity of itsrhythmic patterns（i.e.chang qiang）has exerted a dominantinfluence on all the forms of opera in China，including theBeijing operas as well as Sichuan operas.As the earliest genre ofopera，this traditional performing art was named for itsbirthplace，Kunshan in Suzhou.There is a group of people who has significant influencewith their renowned masterpieces.The most important one isTang Xianzu，being famous for its masterpiece，Mu Danting，telling a moved story between Du Liniang and Niu Mengmei inan absolutely emotion.When the love reached the top，it iswholly filled with romantic images under the plots between liveand death，reality and dream.Tao Huashan is another famouswork wrote by Kong Shangren during Qing dynasty，it is in theperiod that Kunqu composition got into the climax after it waspublished together with Chang Shengdian directed by HongSheng.Not only Tang and Kong，but a great many of outstandingpeople act actively in Kunqus history.Wei Liangfu，GuanHanqing，Mei Yanfang and Mei Baojiu，making piles of classicalroles with secret agreement in the Kunqus stage.Like the beautiful firework，Kunqu has ever gained a largenotable achievement in the history of China，but the darknesscame out then.During the 80s last century，Pop music turnedup in the stage of art，and large quantities of western culturesflew into China.When people pursued them，Chinese traditionaloperas suffered a cold-shoulder treatment，with Kunquincluded.It is said by Yu Qiuyu，among our nationalculture，poetry of the Tang Dynasty，Penmanship，and Kunquare three kinds of obsessions to Chinese people.Kunqu is calledas“living fossil”for its literary value with content，artisticvalue with acting skills，historical and cultural value with peoples thoughts，memories，expressions.While these unique valuestake root deeply in our life，what should we do to make it largerand forward？Have you ever heard about Kunqu，if not，why not try it？Once you listen it，youll be shocked by this great opera formwith its strong lyricism and exquisite action，and sigh“Why wemeet this beauty till now！”The first step to recover Kunqusprosperous time，is precisely to make people watch it.BaiXianyong did a good job，he carried his Youth Mu Danting toAmerican having given twelve performances constantly.Thishuge success had audience to experience Kunqu s unbelievableelegance and fairness.We maybe not be the actor，but we canbe the audience.Kunqu is not just a show，we can explore itstruth，love，and emotion that is closely relevant to us.Kunqu is one generation s common wealth，governmentsshould take actions to protect our treasure.Opening selectivecourses in school，holding Kunqu festival，publishing morebooks about Kunqu，or directly，producing more popular playson televisions and theatres.As heart is our bodys most essential section，culture isthe nations heart，impossible to live without it.Moreover，culture is consist with something like Kunqu.The quintessencemust be preserved permanently，becoming the spiritual wealthof generations.In fact，what we should do indeed to developKunqu，nothing but pay more attention！It has never been away，it is always here.Just sometimeslively，sometimes quiet，said be Yu Qiuyu.