Pai calls for revitalization of traditional Chinese opera

Pai Hsien-yung

Writer Pai Hsien-­yung, a recent recipient of the Doctor of Letters honoris causa degree from the University of Macau (UM), delivered a lecture titled ‘My Kun Opera Journey’ this week at the UM’s new campus.
Pai Hsien-yung, son of China’s former Kuomintang (KMT) General Bai Chongxi, discussed the decade of his life that he devoted to promoting Kun opera, a traditional form of Chinese opera. “I took our artists abroad to perform in the U.S., U.K. and many other countries, it is so heartwarming looking at the people who praise Kun opera,” he said.
Pai discussed the need to revitalize Kun opera, which has declined in popularity since the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, and the challenges in accomplishing this task in an age where people crave constant change.
According to him, similarly to Beijing Opera, Kun opera has been fading away from Chinese memory. “British people see Shakespeare as the greatest man in their history. It is not the political figures that people remember over there, but the artist himself. I sincerely hope that one day, the Chinese traditional art could experience its own renaissance, like the European one,” he said.
The writer has always shown a particular enthusiasm for love stories. He recounted how he was touched when he first watched Peony Pavilion, a masterpiece of Kun opera.
The Chinese traditional performance promoter is one of the most famous literary gurus to have been granted an honorary title by UM. According to Wei Zhao, UM Rector, the school is showing a strong preference to make the Chinese language and literature key areas of study. “One of our most established, strong and academically influential disciplines is Chinese. A top university can’t go without a strong program of language and literature studied in the mother tongue of that place, and in our case, Chinese.”
Pai Hsien-yung, born in Guangxi, moved to Chongqing, to Nanjing and to Hong Kong before finally settling down in Taiwan. His novels focus on sophisticated narratives that introduce controversial and groundbreaking perspectives. They additionally portray images of the Chinese living in the U.S. His most famous fiction “Taipei People” ranks seventh in the 100 best Chinese language novels of the 20th century. Staff reporter