Kunqu: A Classical Opera of Twenty-First-Century China

The first exhaustive English-language history and analysis of the Chinese opera genre, Kunqu.

In Kunqu: A Classical Opera of Twenty-First-Century China, Joseph S. C. Lam offers a holistic and interdisciplinary view of Kunqu, a 600-year-old genre of Chinese opera that has been fashionably performed inside and outside of China. The first comprehensive and scholarly book on Kunqu written in English, this book explains how and why the genre charms and signifies Chinese culture, history, and personhood. Approaching the genre from several perspectives, ranging from those of performers and producers to those of casual audiences, dedicated connoisseurs, and scholarly critics, Lam also employs a judicious blend of Chinese and international theories and methods. Herein, he establishes the significance of Kunqu not only in the sphere of Chinese music but among the cultural heritage and performing arts at a global level as well.

Joseph S. C. Lam is professor of musicology at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of Michigan. A musicologist and sinologist, Lam specializes in the music and culture of Southern Song (1127–1279), Ming (1368–1644), and modern China (1900 to present). His most recent publication is “The Southern Story of the Western Wing: Traditional Kunqu Composition, Interpretation, and Performance,” in How to Read Chinese Drama: A Guided Anthology, edited by Patricia Sieber and Regina Llamas (2022).