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Saturday, October 12, 2024

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Schoenberg Concert Hall

445 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Join us on October 12 for a performance of Kunqu opera The Jade Hairpin at UCLA. Delight in the refined movements, stunning costumes, and mesmerizing melodies of this performing art deeply rooted in Chinese tradition. The performance will feature Qian Zhenrong 錢振榮, a renowned performer in the Xiaosheng role（young male lead）from the Jiangsu Provincial Kunju Institute 江蘇省崑劇院, and Liu Hsi-Jung 劉稀榮, an associate professor in the Department of Chinese Drama at Chinese Culture University中國文化大學 in Taiwan, and an inheritor of the Chou （clown face）role type in Taiwan Kunju Institute. This event is made possible by the strong support of Kunqu Opera Society USA 美西崑曲研習社. Actors from Kunqu Opera Society will collaborate with our guest actors by performing the dan （female lead）and other supporting roles.

The Opera: Kunqu opera is one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera. It originated in the Kunshan-Taicang area of Suzhou and boasts a history of about 600 years. It was a dominant force in Chinese theater from the 16th to the 18th centuries, captivating audiences with its refined performances and elegant musical style. Synthetizing music, dance, poetry, and acting into a comprehensive performing art form, Kunqu opera encapsulates the highest attainment of Chinese artistic excellence. In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed Kunqu as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” Read more about the history and artistic features of Kunqu opera here.

The Story: The Jade Hairpin ⽟簪記

This performance is a stage adaptation of The Jade Hairpin, a play written by the Ming dynasty literatus Gao Lian（fl. 16th century）. It tells of the romance between a scholar Pan Bizheng and an involuntary nun Chen Miaochang. During the war between the Southern Song Dynasty（1127-1279）and the Jin dynasty（1125-1234）, Chen Jiaolian was separated from her mother while fleeing from the troops. She found refuge at Jinling Nüzhen Temple. To survive she had no choice but to become a nun and adopted the religious name Miaochang. Bizheng, scion of an elite family, fails in the civil service examination and, too ashamed to return home, he stays with his aunt, head of the Nüzhen Temple. The two young adults meet in the temple by chance, and through a series of exchanges involving tea, music, a sick visit, and poetry, they fall in love and consummate their union in private. However, their secret union is discovered, and Bizheng is forced to leave the temple to retake the examination. On the day of Bizheng’s departure, Miaochang pursues him to the river to have him confirm his love and fidelity. They exchange a jade hairpin and a fan pendant as tokens of their love, parting in tears. The play ends with a grand reunion of Bizheng, Miaochang, and their families.

The Jade Hairpin has been one of the most renowned plays in the late Ming and in the contemporary era. Despite being in the convention of scholar-beauty romance, it is a play that provides rich room for new interpretation and performance innovation. The subtle dynamics between the female and male genders, the integration of religious and musical elements, and the climactic scene “Autumn River” that evokes an emotionally intense scene in a waterscape collectively contribute to the enduring appeal of this play.