The Kun Opera in China
2 min readThe Kun Opera with Extreme Elegance
The Kun Opera is an ancient drama form and was formerly known as Kunshan singing style. It was born in Kunshan of Jiangsu Province between the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. The Kunshan singing style, the Haiyan singing style and the Yuyao singing style of the Zhejiang Province as well as the Yiyang singing style of the Jiangxi Province, were known as the “four singing style of the Ming Dynasty”. The Kunshan singing style was only folk songs mostly in Suzhou. Later during the Reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty(1573-1620), the Kunshan singing style spread from Suzhou to the areas south of the Yangtze river and the area north of the Qiantang River, and then to Beijing, turning into the most influential drama singing style between the middle Ming Dynasty and the middle Qing Dynasty.
The music of the Kun Opera, known as “water mill music”was elegant, delicate and gentle. The scripts of the Kun Opera was carefully organized and beautifully written. The perfect combination of the music and the scripts promote the standardization of the drama. What’s more，the low status of drama was changed by the Kun Opera. Many professional Kun Opera troupe emerged as the drama became more market oriented.Moreover，some scholars and officials set up home troupe and trainedperformer，sometimes even in person，which made the Kun Opera more refined.Due to these facts，the stage performances on the stage were integrated with the lines and the music.In its history of only a few hundred years，the Kun Opera combined traditional music，dancing and literature and became an excellent example of the Chinese elegant culture. Though actors in the performing art industry were still looked down upon，the drama，thanks to the development of the Kun Opera，rose to the status of elegant culture from the bottom of the society.
The Kun Opera is a drama form with the most completed performing system in the Chinese drama history. Its performance also has a unique system and style and its most prominent features are its readiness to express emotions and its gentle, exquisite movements. The singing goes in harmony with its dancing movements. The beautiful, tender singing style, the graceful monologues and dialogues, delicate performances, gentle dancing, fine costumes and stage background of the Kun Opera all reached the highest level of the Chinese opera. Therefore, many other local drama forms, such as the Jin Opera, the Chuan Opera, the Yue Opera and the Min Opera, have been influenced by the Kun Opera.
In May of 2001, UNESCO declared a list of the first”Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”and the Kun Opera was included in the list, making China one of the first batch of 19 countries to obtain this honor.
