Expert Interview from the Tang Xianzu Academic Symposium (II) | Zhou Yude: Let Tang Xianzu’s Culture Shine Even More Brilliantly

On the morning of November 11, following his keynote address at the Tang Xianzu Academic Symposium, Zhou Yude, the 85-year-old president of the Tang Xianzu Research Branch of the Chinese Opera Society and former president of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera, shared his views on the organization of this academic conference in our city. He noted that Fuzhou has consistently demonstrated great care and meticulous preparation in hosting each Tang Xianzu symposium.

“The three themes of this symposium are excellent: first, Tang Xianzu and China’s cultural confidence; second, the contemporary dissemination of the ‘Four Dreams of Linchuan’; and third, Tang Xianzu and regional cultures. Scholarly research on Tang Xianzu can help bolster cultural confidence. For Chinese scholars, comparative studies between Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare offer richer content and a more robust academic foundation, and such comparative inquiry further underscores the self-assuredness of Chinese national culture,” Zhou Yude explained.

Zhou Yude stated that Fuzhou is a city blessed with outstanding people and a rich cultural heritage, renowned for its many historical and cultural luminaries. In recent years, Fuzhou has taken Tang Xianzu as a cornerstone of its cultural development, leveraging initiatives such as the Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month to bring his “Four Dreams of Linchuan” into schools, thereby ensuring their wider dissemination. He believes that Fuzhou should further intensify its promotional efforts, continuously enhance the Tang Xianzu brand, foster mutual learning and exchange between Chinese and foreign cultures, and work to make Tang Xianzu’s theatrical legacy accessible to the public, nationwide, and global, allowing Tang Xianzu’s culture to shine ever more brightly.

(Reporter Li Jiang)