Aesthetic Breakthrough and Cultural Intervention in the Productions of Two Modern Kunqu Plays

Abstract

This article investigates two recent modern kunqu productions, Dang Nian Mei Lang [The Young Mei Lanfang] and Qu Qiubai (its title is the name of its protagonist), both produced by Jiangsu Kunqu Theatre House. Despite the obstacles faced by kunqu during its process of modernization, these two productions have accomplished a number of aesthetic breakthroughs: a unique form of fictional realism on the stage; its implicit use of conventionalization (that is, conventional, classical kunqu modes and their attendant aesthetic outlook); and the incorporation of recognizably up-to-date modern elements (‘fashion’) in the stage work. Meanwhile, these impressive aesthetic innovations signal, as well as facilitate, kunqu’s re-entry into the landscape of contemporary Chinese theatre as a forceful agent of cultural intervention.