Peking opera new york series#

The list of all eligible plays has been completed, and the first book, containing about 10 carefully selected masterpieces, will be published in a year’s time in both English and Chinese, according to Sun.

Peking opera new york series#

The endeavor is not limited to just 100 plays, and the series of translated books is expected to be acquired by libraries and become textbooks for art students in Chinese and foreign universities, Sun said. Viewers can learn from these plays a great deal about Chinese traditions and core values, such as being filial to parents, loyalty, benevolence and uprightness, she said. “Many foreigners are fascinated by its exotic style that bears little resemblance to the art forms familiar to them in their home countries,” Sun said. Looking to remedy this, Sun is currently leading an ambitious effort to translate 100 classical Peking Opera plays into several languages.īased on her extensive experience of teaching at various foreign universities such as Yale, Sun said Peking Opera has what it takes to extend the global influence of Chinese culture. As China Daily writes today, Sun Ping, dean of the Institute of Arts at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), is convinced that Peking Opera isn’t more popular internationally not because of its esoteric themes and storylines, but because its meaning gets lost in translation. While most of these academics have focused their efforts primarily on increasing domestic interest in Chinese performing arts, another group is taking a very different approach to keeping traditional opera alive: taking it globally. In recent years, there have been attempts in China to revive traditional opera styles such as Kunqu and Nan Dan, as academics in particular have become concerned about the popularity of Hollywood, Korean pop music, and European classical music and the waning interest in national performing arts. Is Peking Opera’s muted reception abroad simply a case of being lost in translation?