Kun Opera was born in the 14th century and is one of the earliest developed operas in China. Many operas were conducted based on Kun Opera, so Kun Opera is also known as “the mother of Chinese opera” or “the master of all operas”. The rhythm of Kun opera is played by instruments such as the Ban and the Drum. And the melody is composed of instruments such as the Ban Di and the San Xuan.
Ban Di San Xuan Drum Ban Other instruments
Kunqu Opera is divided into two styles of performance: the martial arts style, which has gradually been lost in the tradition, and the singing style, which is common today. The second style is more restrained, and songs are more about love, such as The Peony Pavilion, which has been described as one of the most outstanding works in the history of Chinese opera. Therefore, compared with other Chinese operas, Kun Opera mainly uses elegance as its primary performance style. Kunqu Opera is also one of the most challenging forms of Chinese opera, which combines ancient Chinese dialect with local dialects. It is difficult for the audience to understand the meaning of Kunqu opera if they do not often listen to it. Of course, this is also the reason why Kunqu is highly literary.
Kun Opera flourished until the 18th century, but it began to decline in the late 1800s as local theatrical interest moved from the aristocracy to the masses. Jing Opera was raised in the mid-19th century, accelerated Kun Opera’s decline. Kun Opera added intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
Kunqu Opera has gone from prosperity to decline, and it has lost a lot of heritage in history, but fortunately, it still retains the classic drama “The Peony Pavilion”.