Modern Kunqu Opera Educational Research

The protection and inheritance of Kunqu art,one of the world intangible cultural heritage,depend on the emerging of outstanding professionals of Kunqu and the success of Kunqu education. In this paper, I review the developmental process of several generations of Kunqu actors and actresses since the 20th century in the way of case study using the experience of one point to lead the whole area, to give a sweeping generalization about the exploration of effective modes of Kunqu education in various areas during different periods. Through the analysis of such aspects as source of students, qualities of teachers, teaching methods, teaching content and art practice and the summarization of the experience and lessons of Kunqu education in this century, this paper tries to accomplish a systematic and theoretical research on the topic of the Education of Kunqu in Modern Times.This paper consists of five parts, which begins with stating the Kunqu education in three sections. The first section gives the definition of Kunqu education, which is the research on the cultivating process of professional Kunqu actors. The second section gives classification according to the education units, summarizes the four education modes of ancient Kunqu, analyses and generalizes the characteristics of different modes, and sums up its successful historic experience. In the third section, the content of Kunqu opera education is discussed in categories. From the second part to the fourth part, on the basis of different education units, I do systematic study on the three Kunqu opera education modes of training institute, schools and training class and professional opera troupes, and select some representative cases for further analysis.Part two is devoted to the Kunqu opera education in the Kunqu Opera School It gives an overall review of the rise and fall of Kunqu in history, the living environment and talents situation in early 20th century, summarizes the establishment background of the Kunqu Opera School, the most important Kunqu school in 20th century. It also analyzes and discusses the establishing processes, cultivating modes, practicing performances and constant education of Kunqu training institutes.Part three discusses the Kunqu education in schools and training classes. First, it shows the general picture of Kunqu class in different areas during different period. Next, taking the example of"Kunqu class one"and"Kunqu class five"in Shanghai Traditional Opera School, it analyzes the Kunqu education modes in opera school and the Kunqu education in the new century. And then, it analyzes other representative examples of schools and training classes on the cultivation of Kunqu talents.Part four focuses on the Kunqu education in professional opera troupes. First, it gives an overall statement about the Kunqu education situation in different troupes. Next, taking the Theater Sukun in Jiangsu province as an example, combining with the personal development of certain actors, it offers a deep analysis on the education mode of"leading the class with groups"in opera troupe training. Then, it takes the youth version of Peony Pavilion to demonstrate the scientific rationality of the Kunqu education mode of"educating people through performing", and summarizes the successful experiences of this new way of cultivating Kunqu talents.Part five is the review of contemplation on modern Kunqu education. First, it gives a summary on the successes and failures of varied Kunqu education modes in modern times, revealing the inherent law of how a Kunqu learner grows to be an excellent performer. Next, it states the contributions of the Kunqu experts, Kunqu fans and Kunqu societies to modern Kunqu education. Finally, it analyzes one by one the exiting problems of the current Kunqu education, and offers effective solutions, trying to provide some useful references for the future development of the Kunqu education.