On September 15, the International Symposium on “Kunqu Opera of Our Time: Intercultural Exchanges and Mutual Inspirations” was held in the Chinese Cultural Center in Paris. This symposium was co-hosted by the Information Office of the People’s Government of Jiangsu Province, the Jiangsu Association for International Cultural Exchange, and was organized by the School of Arts at Nanjing University. It was one of the recent events in Jiangsu Province’s foreign cultural exchange project “Cultural Encounter: Jiangsu Kunqu Week in France.”

Zhang Aijun, Member of the Standing Committee and Director-General of Publicity Department of CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, delivered opening remarks at the symposium.

Professor He Chengzhou, Dean of the School of Arts at Nanjing University and Foreign Member of Academia Europaea, chaired the symposium. The symposium featured the participation of approximately 20 experts and scholars from both domestic and international backgrounds. They engaged in in-depth discussions on various topics. Among the notable participants were Maria Shevtsova, Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of London and aMember of Academia Europaea; Jean-Pierre Wurtz, Consultant of the Cultural Center of China in Paris and Honorary Director of the French Ministry of Culture Theatre; Jin Siyan, Distinguished Professor of Sinology at the University of Artois in France; and Frank Kouwenhoven, Dutch music scholar and Co-founder of CHIME.

Fan Limeng, the Deputy Director of the Kunqu Research Center at the School of Arts at Nanjing University, presented calligraphy of Kunqu songs as gifts to guests.

During the Kunqu Week, various activities including classic drama performances, interactive demonstrations, special exhibitions, and academic seminars were held. 

Writer: Wan Jin

Editor: Guo Ankang