Expert Interview from the Tang Xianzu Academic Symposium (X): Gu Xiangqiang — Continuing the Cultural Heritage and Extracting the Essence of Thought

On November 12, the experts and scholars invited to attend the 2022 China (Fuzhou) Tang Xianzu Academic Symposium continued to focus on “Tang Studies,” engaging in in-depth exchanges and discussions. During a break in the proceedings, Gu Xiangqiang, executive editor-in-chief of “Chinese Opera Critique” and “Kunqu Opera Critique” and an adjunct associate professor at the Shanghai Academy of Drama, granted an exclusive interview to a reporter.

Influenced by his family, Gu Xiangqiang developed a keen interest in Kunqu opera from an early age. And when it comes to Kunqu, one cannot bypass Tang Xianzu. Gu Xiangqiang believes that the core principle of “Tang Studies” should be the “unification of the Three Teachings,” and that the folk culture reflected in Tang Xianzu’s works has long been woven into the daily lives of various ethnic groups. The field of “Tang Studies” has now accumulated and matured to a certain point; it is time to shift from quantitative change to qualitative transformation.

“Tang Studies” should shift toward systematization and disciplinary consolidation, moving from its previous state of “disorder” to one of “order,” while staying focused on the central thread: Tang Xianzu as a figure, the Four Dreams of Linchuan as literary works, and Kunqu opera as a performing art—balancing all these dimensions in a coordinated manner. “Since ‘Redology’ has been able to grow to such a scale, I hope that ‘Tang Studies’ can one day stand shoulder to shoulder with it,” said Gu Xiangqiang. When discussing how Fuzhou might better tap into its operatic cultural heritage, he proposed, “Fuzhou boasts a profound cultural foundation; it could prioritize the development of Tang Xianzu’s legacy, with tea‑picking opera and other local traditions serving as complementary elements, thereby preserving and passing on Fuzhou’s distinctive folk culture.”

(Intern Reporter Liu Yixin)