"Encounter with Civilizations-Appreciation: Jiangsu Week of Chinese Kunqu Opera" Held in Paris

"Encounter with Civilizations-Appreciation: Jiangsu Week of Chinese Kunqu Opera" was held from September 12 to 16, 2023 in Paris, France. Through the classic repertoire, live display, interaction, thematic exhibition, academic research and exchange, etc., this series of events brought a feast of Chinese kunqu culture and showcased the charm of kunqu and Jiangsu culture to Chinese and foreign guests with an interest and love for the art of kunqu opera.

For the enjoyment of the kunqu collection, tea, and opera, the pilot interactive exchange of "Enjoying Tea and Opera" and "Kunqu Workshop" were held at the Centre Culturel de Chine à Paris, and "China Theater Plum Blossom Award" winners brought a wonderful lecture to the French lovers of traditional Chinese culture. Meanwhile, French people were invited to taste tea and Chinese refreshments, continuing the main theme of the "Tea and the World" cultural event.

During these events, live display and interaction, innovative cultural exchanges and appreciation were carried out. Three new costume dramas, including "The Dilemma of Liang Bolong" and "The Book of the Sword - Fleeing by Night", were performed and studied in local museums and colleges in Paris. Actors also performed flash mob performance at landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

Thematic exhibition for comprehensive presentation of the characteristic cultural identity. The "Love Out of Nowhere That Grows Deeper and Deeper: Chinese Kunqu Opera Culture Exhibition" was held at the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts to comprehensively display the history, scripts, props, costumes, musical instruments and foreign exchanges of kunqu opera, showing the inheritance and development of Chinese culture and the new prospect of Chinese modernization in Jiangsu Province.

The tour of classic repertoire truthfully showed the essence of Chinese culture. The Nankun version of "Peony Pavilion" from Jiangsu Kunqu Theater was performed to a full house at the Le Théâtre Libre in Paris. After more than two hours of superb performance, the actors received sustained applause and had to take seven curtain calls.

Academic seminars and exchanges were held to actively promote the deep communication of ideas. The Centre Culturel de Chine à Paris held an international seminar, in which experts and scholars from China and France focused on the theme of "Kunqu of our time: cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding of civilizations". Besides the performances and exhibitions, the international academic seminar broadened kunqu’s cultural influence and enhanced the depth of art exchange.