NTNU Kunqu Club Passed Down the Tradition
NTNU Kunqu Club Passed Down the Tradition
Kunqu also known as Kunju, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Due to its influence on other Chinese theatre forms, it is known as the “teacher” or “mother” of a hundred operas, including Jingju.
Everyday 7 at night, students lighted up the classroom and started to practice. NTNU Kunqu club had developed for 55 years; it was the oldest Kunqu club in Taiwan, and the only two Kunqu club still existed, another Kunqu club was NTU Kunqu club. The seniors volunteered to teach after they graduated from NTNU. All the members still had regular meetings. The students and teachers had good relationship as a big family.
NTNU Kunqu club insisted to pass down the traditional Kunqu. One professor from Chinese department indicated that every part of Kunqu needed different teachers to teach. If a skill could be learned easily, it could only be referred as an entertainment. 40 second on the stage needed hours to practice. Another professor indicated that one day she lived, she would keep passing down this tradition Kunqu. Seeing more and more people love Kunqu was the satisfaction of working.
Kunqu was listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001. People started to advocate and spread the beauty of Kunqu recent years. The NTNU Kunqu club hoped to attract more students to participate and value this Chinese treasure.