Chen Yuanyuan

According to a survey of audiences at the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Company in Jiangsu Province, eighty percent of Kunqu opera audiences first learned about Kunqu Opera through the youth version of The Peony Pavilion, and the average age of Kunqu Opera audiences has dropped by 30 years over the past few decades. The enlightenment this brings us lies not only in the exploration of a new path for the inheritance and renewal of the drama genre, but also in the two-way decoding of the excellent traditional Chinese culture and the spiritual and cultural life of contemporary youth.

Finding "youth coordinates" has always been the proposition of the times in traditional opera. The encounter between the age of 90 and Generation Z begins with the deep resonance of cultural roots. On the one hand, the art of opera uses innovative grammar to write footnotes to the times and attract fans out of the circle. The Zhengyi Ancestral Hall has attracted many visits from post-0 audiences, and behind it is a new cultural consumption experience of young people "going to the theater for a weekend"; The Chinese costume accessories and opera handbooks in the consumption of opera derivatives attract more audiences, forming a virtuous circle, and traditional culture is integrated into the lives of young people in a "wearable" and "experiential" way.

On the other hand, young audiences embraced traditional opera with youthful vigour, which promoted the overall attractiveness of the xiqu industry. The youth version of "The Peony Pavilion" has been performed for a long time, and behind it is the young audience group that has been cultivated by relying on Kunqu Opera to enter colleges and universities for more than 20 years. When "Blooming Everywhere" entered the short video platform from Tang Xianzu's pen, and when "Beautiful Flowers" crossed from the ancient opera building to the current life scene, the rejuvenation of Kunqu Opera has already become a cultural consciousness.

The vitality spanning 600 years proves that tradition has never been far from youth, it is just waiting to be re-accepted and interpreted, and has always maintained the courage and wisdom to dialogue with each generation of young people. In the depths of a hundred flowers, new branches are sprouting, and the story of 0 years of water mill cavity has just written a new chapter for Generation Z.

People's Daily (14/0/0 0 Edition)