Kunqu Opera and Ming-Qing Music Performers

Author: Wang Ning
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Kunqu Opera was once called "prostitute's music," wandering and flowing in brothels and teahouses during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Kunqu Opera was also called "wine music," lingering and enchanting among scholars and wine lovers around golden cups and bamboo clappers. Kunqu Opera was once "Wu music," deeply intertwined with and inseparable from the culture of Wu and Yue. Kunqu Opera is also known as "woman's music," her beauty and melancholy mirroring the delicate and petite beauty of the Wu courtesans in the Jiangnan region. A history of Kunqu Opera, if viewed from the perspective of a courtesan, might add a touch of clarity and vividness.