Renewing the past

Performer Zhang Jun will stage Kunqu Opera in Beijing to revive the ancient art form. Chen Nan reports

It was perhaps a twist of fate. In 1986, when representatives of the Shanghai Drama School came to the metropolis' Qingpu district to recruit new students, Zhang Jun, then age 12, took the exam. His mother had him learn the accordion and the erhu (two-stringed fiddle), so Zhang signed up as an instrument major.

But to his surprise, after several rounds of interviews, Zhang found himself on the long list of candidates vying to study Kunqu Opera, an ancient Chinese theatrical art form.