Passion for Peking Opera Runs in Family

Wang Daohan (1915-2005) and Gu Zhenfu (or Koo Chen-fu， 1917-2005) held a total of two icebreaking rounds of talks on improving relations across the Taiwan Strait in Singapore in 1993 and Shanghai in 1998. When Gu came to Shanghai for the second round of talk in 1998， the two watched a Peking Opera performance together. It was the first time that the public on the mainland became aware that Mr. Gu Zhenfu had a passion for the national opera. The other day， I interviewed Gu Huaiqun， his eldest daughter， during her stay in Hangzhou and learned that the passion has been running in the family for generations.

Ms. Gu Huaiqun is in Hangzhou to attend “Questions and Approaches: an International Symposium on Modern Theater Studies.” She arrives at the hotel near the noon due to the unexpected delay of her flight. I recognize her immediately. She is attired in an elegant simple blue cotton dress and her look hardly gives justice to her well-known reputation as the eldest daughter of the Gu family， an influential family in the island’s political and business scenes. I approach her at the front desk and introduce myself. She agrees to an interview there and then.

Her great great great grandfather Gu Lihuan was a Chinese community leader in Malacca. The family prospered there. The great great grandfather Gu Anping advised Lin Zexu， a government minister sent to Guangzhou to crack down on opium trade and fought a war with Britain. His son Gu Hongming worked under Zhang Zhidong， a powerful regional governor in the late Qing (1644-1911)， for more than 20 years. In the last years of the Qing， Gu Hongming worked as a diplomat. He spoke nine foreign languages and held 13 doctorates. He translated Chinese classics and introduced Chinese culture to the outside world. His son Gu Xianrong was a business tycoon in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation. Though many people hated him for his ties with the Japanese， he helped Peking Opera prosper in Taiwan. He loved Peking Opera. He ran a family theater and invited Peking Opera troupes from the mainland to stage shows at his family theater. In the last years of World War Two， the theater was bombed in air raids as America stepped up pressure on Japanese territory and Taiwan.

Gu Zhenfu fell in love with Peking Opera in his early childhood. He watched Peking Opera plays at the family theater. When he grew up， he learned to act. He even visited Peking Opera masters in Beijing， Tianjin and Hong Kong and studied under their tutelage. In his career as a Peking Opera enthusiast， Gu counted the period of time he spent in Beijing at the age of 20 learning Peking Opera the most memorable. Throughout his lifetime， he was widely known for his passion for and knowledge of Peking Opera. In October 1998， Gu and Wang attended a special Peking Opera show. After the performance of masters， Gu himself sang three arias.

Like father like daughter. Gu Huaiqun developed a strong passion for Peking Opera when she was a little girl. One evening she was denied entrance at the door of the theater. She cried so loud that the usher finally gave in and allowed her to get into the theater. She managed to climb upon a chair and stand there to watch. Her parents were amazed to find her the real heroine that evening. From then on， the parents always brought all the children to the theater whenever they went to see a show. The theater owner put bamboo chairs in the front so that all the kids from the family could watch from the vantage spot.

Her girlhood experience of watching Peking Opera plays has shaped her standpoint on the Peking Opera audience. She believes children should be encouraged and allowed to watch Peking Opera plays as early as possible so long as parents are able to keep them under control in the theater. The traditional Peking Opera should welcome any enthusiast. One more theatergoer may not make a difference， but one less can be sharply felt. She says she has been engaged in Peking Opera undertakings for nearly 20 years and finds young theatergoers rarely， if ever， get bored and act up while watching a performance. The best way to deal with the accidental noise is to send the young culprit out and have someone play with him or her.

I ask whether there is any difference between Peking Opera performances in Taiwan and on the mainland. She says yes， somewhat reluctantly. She has many friends in Peking Opera troupes across the mainland. From her personal view and experience， two sides show different styles. Peking Opera is a profound and widespread cultural phenomenon on the mainland. Performers have solid professional training and they work hard to score accomplishment and stay ahead of hard competition. Many parents are willing to send their children to theater schools for receiving Peking Opera training.

She remarks that Taiwan is a different story. Most parents want their children to have a normal school education. They prefer not to have their children to learn Peking Opera， for children need to spend a lot of time doing physical training in the whole morning and then attending classes for normal education in the afternoon. Youngsters often become extremely exhausted in the evening. Parents in Taiwan love their children so much that they choose not to send their children to theater schools. For this reason， the base of Peking Opera in Taiwan is steadily dwindling year in year out. She believes that is why Peking Opera artists in Taiwan are not best trained and their performing skills are increasingly not satisfactory. According to Gu， would-be actors can spend less time on trivia. Training should give priority to the essentials.

Gu Huaiqun remarks that performances in Taiwan and on the mainland have been moving in opposite directions in recent years. Performances on the mainland are becoming increasingly splendid and lavish with all the showy gadgets. A stage can stand up and rotate and settings can look very real at a great expense. Behind the spectacular splendor is a philosophy: more is beautiful. Shows in Taiwan signify the motto “less is more”. The stage arrangements are becoming increasingly simpler. The focus is on acting， for theaters in Taiwan， spending that much on settings and everything else is not realistic.

Our interview ends in about fifty minutes as she has a tight schedule to run that day. Within such a short time， I am able to peep into the fifty years of her passion for Peking Opera.