Foreword

Summary

It seems my ties with kunqu 崑曲, a preeminent Chinese theatrical form, were fated. I was born in Taipei into a family of intense jing ju 京劇 (Peking or Beijing opera) fans [Appendix J]. My father even hired jing ju professionals to help him practice singing, and to assist my older sisters improve their singing and stage performance skills. From early childhood I saw numerous jing ju performances by both professionals and amateurs, including many famous performers from Taiwan and beyond. As long ago as I can remember, I shuttled back and forth during jing ju performances between the seats of the audience and backstage. After the show was over I would often be carried home, asleep, by my family.

My first exposure to kunqu came as a young child when I would hear the mellifluous sound of a bamboo flute as I passed by a Japanese-style house on my way to school. It made such an impression that, in high school years later, I joined the school's Chinese orchestra and bought my own flute. When my father recognized my passion for the instrument, he took me to a friend who regularly gathered kunqu afficionados at his home to practice kunqu singing, which is accompanied by the bamboo flute. These gatherings were the forerunners of Taipei's Pengying singing meetings (Pengying quji 蓬瀛曲集 [Appendix I]), which still convene to this day on a biweekly basis. At these events I also had the opportunity to study the flute with Hsia Huan-hsin 夏煥新 [Appendix H]. Eventually, Jiao Chengyun 焦承允 (another frequent member [Appendix H]) formed a little musical ensemble—one sheng, one dan [Appendix I], and a flute—made up of two other students and me. We would meet two or three times a week in Jiao Chengyun's home to practice kunqu singing with my flute accompaniment. Our small group became very close and I soon discovered that Hsia Huan-hsin was the owner of that Japanese-style house I remembered so well. I continued to participate in these gatherings during my high school and college years and played the flute for some stage performances.