Kun Opera: Forefather of All Chinese Operas

Mo Tingting

A young woman walks gracefully in mincing steps on a stage. An elegant stroke of her hand smoothes her beautiful hair， rustling the strings of pearls and flowers adorning the hair， like the spring breezes caressing blossoming twigs. She faces the audience and softly sings her yearnings for romantic love. With the melodious flute， the watery flow of her long sleeves， and her lingering plaintive voice that expresses exquisite and touching poetry， the audience is utterly captivated. Kun Opera， a flower of Chinese culture that used to dazzle the entire country， is gaining appreciative followers again.

Sharing a national fascination with the world

As one of the oldest forms of opera originated in Kunshan， Jiangsu Province nearly 700 years ago， Kun Opera is called the “forefather of all Chinese operas”. Kun Opera， ancient Greek Drama and Indias Sanskrit Opera are considered the worlds three greatest ancient operas. Kun Opera has distinguished itself by the virtuosity of its rhythmic patterns and has exerted a dominant influence on many other regional Chinese operas， including Sichuan Opera and Peking Opera.

Although operas in different regions of China have their own distinctive melodies， they fall into two general categories： southern and northern. In the developmental process of Kun Opera， the reform of the Kunshan Tune was a key step. The Kunshan Tune was originated in Kunshan at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644）. Under the reign of Emperor Jiajing （1507-1567）， a large number of dramatists including Wei Liangfu， Teng Quanzhuo， Liang Chenyu， Zheng Sili and Zhu Nanchuan devoted themselves to the study and improvement of the Kunshan Tune. Wei Liangfu， the most influential one， wrote a book Rules for Kunshan Tune in which he summarized his experience in studying， improving and singing the Kunshan Tune， combined the melodious softness of southern opera with the lofty rigor of northern opera， and created an exquisitely elegant “water mill melody”.

The reformed Kunshan Tune captured peoples attention with its clear， soft， pleasant and harmonious effect， and soon became very popular. Thereafter， people then began to call it Kun Opera. Kun Opera troupes toured extensively at the end of the Ming Dynasty， making Kun Opera the most popular opera in the country.

The fifty years under the reign of Emperor Wanli （1570-1620） in the Ming Dynasty saw the flourishing development of Kun Opera， during which a large number of writers and excellent works came to the fore. The participation of these writers greatly enhanced the literary value of Kun Opera， and consequently， the drama scripts became more insightful and interesting. By the Qing Dynasty， such famous works as The Palace of Eternal Youth and The Peach Blossom Fan made their appearance. Its representative repertoire The Peony Pavilion， a romantic masterpiece in the history of drama， is still performed today.

Handsome scholars and beautiful ladies， sorrows and joys， and partings and reunions on the opera stage show the traditional spirit deeply rooted in the Chinese character. In 2001， Chinas Kun Opera was among the first in the world to be proclaimed by UNESCO as the “Representative of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. If you have never seen Kun Opera， you have little appreciation of it. Its only after you have seen it that you can really have a deep understanding of it. In its own unique ways， Kun Opera touches those who have the chance to experience it， no matter they are old or young， Chinese or foreigners.

As one of the oldest forms of opera originated in Kunshan， Jiangsu Province nearly 700 years ago， Kun Opera is called the “forefather of all Chinese operas”.

The glamour of Kun Opera

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties （1636-1912）， people from all walks of life were captivated by the Kun Opera. They could sing along， just as we do with a popular song today as soon as we hear someone singing it. When men of letters gathered， they would hold a folding fan and sing. Cart drivers and porters， too， would sing a few lines when they were not very busy.

Kun Opera has distinctive features in its musical performance. It is so mild， exquisite， sentimental， and melodious. Kun Opera singing emphasizes control of the voice and changes in rhythms. Singers must also use their skills to express the disposition of various characters， an aspect that adds complexity to the form. The musical ensemble is mainly composed of wind， stringed， and percussion instruments. The performance of Kun Opera combines songs， dances and spoken words into an integral whole.

Costumes of Kun Opera are particularly abundant with rich colors and styles. Apart from the costumes styled from the Yuan and Ming Dynasties， others similar to the very popular garments and dressings of people of that period can also be seen on the stage， like the martial attires， clothes of officials of different levels and positions， etc.

There is an elaborate division of roles， and each role requires its own particular stylized movements and performance skills. There are basically five characters in Kun Opera： Sheng， Dan， Jing， Mo and Chou. Each one has its only personal characteristic and is indispensable in this artistic performance.

Generally speaking， a traditional Kun Opera troupe only needs 18 actors and actresses in total. Normally， a troupe that has ten performers that contain all the main types of characters could give performances and other characters in need could be replaced by those whose roles are similar.

If a great artist has no disciple， no matter how amazing his work is， it will vanish upon his death. Maybe the most abiding contribution of the founders of Kun Opera is passing their skills on to the next generation. For the last 200 years， Kun Opera has struggled to find a direction for its future development. Today， though， it seems to have finally overcome these problems， largely thanks to its intrinsic artistic charm and peoples consciousness to value the tradition.

Five characters in Kun Opera：

“Sheng” refers to the young male character in Kun Opera.

“Dan” refers to the female characters and it includes five different types such as “Laodan”， “Zhengdan”， “Sidan”， “Wudan” and “Liudan”.

“Jing” has always been a nicknamed colorful face and it mainly contains roles of loyal government officials， kings， emperors， gods or vicious and mean people.

“Mo” refers to the middle-aged and old male characters who wear artificial whiskers.

“Chou” is also known as the small colorful face and they usually make some antics or speak some humorous words to make audiences laugh.