Exploration Of Hsien-yung Pai Team’s Aesthetic Conception Of Kunqu Through The Research On Adaptation Strateies And Performance Features In The New Edition Of The Story Of The Jade Hairpin

Hsien-yung Pai, who called himself a "Kunqu volunteer", aroused extensive concern by producing The Peony Pavilion which is featured by young performers. In 2008, he took the lead to produce the new edition of The Story of the Jade Hairpin and raised The New Aesthetics of Kunqu, which once became quite a cultural event in recent years. This paper centers on the adaptation strategies and performance features in the new edition of The Story of the Jade Hairpin. A detailed comparison with the traditional edition will be made to analyze characteristics of its script and stage performance, covering multiple aspects including script structure, language style, music performance, singing and dancing, stage design, etc.Based on the analysis, an interpretation of Hsien-yung Pai team’s aesthetic conception will be concluded.The New Aesthetics of Kunqu is a brand new concept in Kunqu production. It’s based on and intensified the original features o Kunqu:abstract, impressionistic, lyrical and poetic. It advocates integrated techniques in the production of Kunqu. The formation of The New Aesthetics of Kunqu went through a long period of time. Its rudiment rooted in the art conventions that are followed by the elder generation of immigrant Kunqu artists in America and Taiwan of China, and was deeply influenced by and interacted with the tradition of lyricism which was attracting wide attentions in the two places then. The core idea of the new aesthetics is to achieve modern transition of Kunqu by adoption of traditional elements. In essence, it can be concluded as an attempt of cultural reconstruction, the goal of which is to fuse Chinese traditional aesthetics with modern western stage techniques, so as to build a space for imagination that can be well recognized by the younger generation of the nation. Notable is, Hsien-yung Pai team’s kunqu creative practice is the translation of the western stage production concept, in the framework of restructuring traditional kunqu performance elements, formed on "love" and "beauty" of the overall tone, thus to some extent, has covered the some original characteristics of kunqu, compared with traditional kunqu art is a kind of integrated into the national imagination of modern construction.