Chinese Valentine's offerings
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-20 09:33

Emperor Li Longji, played by Zhang Jun, in the Kunqu Opera play "Palace of Eternal Youth."

A group of young performers stage an old-fashioned Kunqu Opera in a bid to bring traditional celebrations, like the August 22 Qixi Festival, back to the hearts of young Chinese, writes Guo Feifei.

On August 22 this year (the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar), Chinese celebrate the Qixi Festival, the Chinese equivalent of Valentines' Day . A Chinese occasion deserves a Chinese celebration, and chocolates and roses are too, well, Western. It was with this in mind that a group of young people in Shanghai started working on different way to celebrate a different Valentine's Day -- with a romantic Kunqu Opera play that they plan to develop into a series, in a bid to promote traditional Chinese culture among young people.

"We should have something different to celebrate our own Chinese Valentine's Day," explains Zhang Jun, known as the "Prince of Kunqu Opera." "Something that can distinguish Qixi from February 14. And Kunqu Opera is the ideal 'something'."

The program kicks off with the classical play "Palace of Eternal Youth" this year. The soul stirring story is known by most Chinese. It features the tragic love story of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) Emperor Li Longji and his favorite concubine, Yang Yuhuan. On the Qixi Festival, Li and Yang make a solemn pledge of everlasting love in the Palace of Eternal Youth. But an unexpected rebellion forces the two run out of the capital. And en route to safety, Li's accompanying soldiers accuse Yang of being the origin of all the disasters, insisting that unless she is killed, they will not go any further with Li. With no choice left to her, Yang hangs herself on a pear tree. Years after the rebellion is quashed, on another Qixi night, Li dreams of meeting Yang again, for his love has not faded...

Unlike other modern Kunqu plays, this one will be performed without the aid of microphones and amplifiers. Zhang and his friends have been planning their Qixi offerings from early this year. With the increasing popularity of western festivals like Christmas and Valentine's Day, some traditional Chinese festivals are fading out among young Chinese.

A recent announcement by South Korea that it will proclaim the Dragon Boat Festival (a traditional Chinese festival, with a history of more than 2000 years) as a Korean Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity from UNESCO provoked countless Chinese -- and Zhang, as well. "See? While we're forgetting our own festivals, foreign countries are picking them up," Zhang says. "As an actor involved in traditional Chinese opera, I think it a crucial time for me to do something."

After numerous discussions with his partners, Zhang has focused on the Qixi Festival as it caters more to modern Chinese: Chinese Valentine's Day is actually a good selling point. And why "The Palace of Eternal Youth" then?

"Well, this is a long story," smiles Zhang. When he was 15 years old, he learned to perform the play and was particularly impressed with "secret pledge," one of its arias. Although his understanding of true love was limited at that age, he was deeply touched by the two characters' sincere love pledge on Qixi night. "And that's why I've chosen this play for this year's Qixi." Another reason: This year marks the 300th death anniversary of Hong Sheng, an eminent Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) playwright who wrote this play. He decided to stage an "unplugged" performance because of an experience he had performing Kunqu Opera a cappella at a party held in a big warehouse.

"My singing transcended that spacious warehouse, and was very unique, without no microphones nor bands," he explains. "Since then, I've had a wish to sing a capella in a play." A capella, of course, was the only way Kunqu Opera was performed originally, the days before electricity. "It also represents the pureness and elegance of Kunqu Opera," Zhang continues. "And the concert hall is an ideal venue to combine modern elements with classical Chinese culture." But the unplugged version also poses a challenge for performers. "With a microphone, I can take slack off sometimes with my singing," Zhang says. "The unplugged version is more demanding," adds Shen Yili who plays Lady Yang. "And we'll be in closer touch with the audience, which requires some readjustments for our performance, especially when it comes to facial expressions and eye contact."

The play has gathered together a group of energetic young talents whose goal is to create unique play, different from other Kunqu plays. "Since the performers are quite young, I am allowing them to let their creativity take full rein, to release their own inner emotions," explains Director Zheng Dasheng. "The play will be full of youth and vitality, not just a complete copy of traditional Kunqu plays."

The stage set will not follow the present trend of a concrete and complicated stage design adopted by many traditional opera plays, but features a simple and fresh style. There will not be too many props, returning to Kunqu Opera's old tradition that one prop should represent several different things.

"We want to deliver Kunqu's originality to the audience," continues Zheng. "Also, there'll be a breakthrough in the ways of delivering the Chinese and English subtitles." Which is...? All the three give a cunning smile. "It's a secret so far," Zhang says. "Come to the play and you'll know." These days the young team is involved in rehearsals which go into the wee hours. "It's time consuming but it's worth it," says Shen. "Because the play is our brainchild, totally done by ourselves. I'm very happy to join this team."

The play is a joint effort by the Youth Committee of the Shanghai Publicity System, the Shanghai Youth Literature and Art Federation and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera House. To promote the play, quite a few sparkling new ideas have been brought up, linking traditional Chinese culture with modern vogue. A weeklong "Charisma of Kunqu Opera" promotion was held at downtown Raffles City -- one of Shanghai's avant-garde fashion centers from August 9 to August 15.
"It's a good opportunity to combine tradition with modernity," Shen says. "We hope that more people are able to enjoy a close touch with traditional opera in a brand-new way." And the team has more in the wings. Another novel Kunqu-musical play has already been enlisted on a recent schedule. "As a young generation, we should find our own way to develop Kunqu Opera as well as Chinese culture," Zhang says. "This play is just a small step in our aim to invite people, particularly young people, to refocus on traditional Chinese culture. And I believe they will rediscover its charm."

Date: August 20-22, 7:15pm
Venue: He Luting Concert Hall, Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Tickets: 80-380 yuan (20 percent discount for couples and 40 percent discount for students)
Tel: 6431-1792, 5292-1134, 6437-7756

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