Succeeding A Thousand Years of An Ancient Melody
Remaking of “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition” DVD

The magnificent southern countryside flourishes with streams running through the land, and water-mills seem to irrigate the best voices. Speak softly, sing and sigh with softness too. In the Jiangsu province where Kunqu originated, the professional theatre group at the Suzhou Kunqu Theatre took upon themselves to realize the founding principles of the Theatre: “seize the opportunity; march ahead even when the burden is heavy; revolutionize, promote; put forth your people, put up your show.” We insisted on revolution and innovation. Led by Mr. Kenneth Pai (Pai Hsien-yung) , experts of cultural studies from China’s mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau collaborated to make “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition”. Since the opening in Taipei in 2004, “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition” has been in traveling performance for one hundred and nine times. The final shows were brought to different university campuses in the United States, taking about one month to finish the tour. Total attendance since the first show has reached 160,000, 75% of whom are young people. The success of “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition” is indeed a unique cultural phenomenon; it has blazed a new path for nurturing talents and protecting the heritage of Kunqu. As well, it has created a new paradigm for promoting cultural heritage and creating epitomes of the arts.

Remake of “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition” DVD started in March of 2007. It was done as a finale to the three years of continuous artistic exploration done by the producing team and a record of the performers’ experience and subsequent improvements on stage. In addition, it was done as a testimony to the spirit of continuous progress and near-perfect results. With the remake of the “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition” DVD, we hope to expand and elevate the promotion of Kunqu, to persuade the better-informed and the higher-positioned sectors of the community to participate in the effort of protecting the Kunqu heritage.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kenneth Pai for his love of the Chinese culture and his passion for Kunqu, and especially for all that he has done. I would also like to thank the Chairman of Digital Heritage Publishing Ltd. of Hong Kong, Mr. Gabriel Yu. I thank all who have contributed to the succession of the Kunqu artistry. I thank all who have given to the production of “The Peony Pavilion: Young Lovers’ Edition”.

Cai Shaohua
Director, Suzhou Kunqu Theatre of Jiangsu Province