The Review 2007

30 Preserving the Mother of all Chinese Opera Kunqu opera is regarded as the mother of all Chinese opera and has been recognised as a masterpiece of intangible heritage by the United Nations. In May 2007 the University established the world’s first project on kunqu to archive, research and promote this traditional art form. Kunqu emerged about 500 years ago, in the early Ming dynasty, as a combination of drama, opera, ballet, poetry recital and martial arts, and became a major influence on other forms of Chinese opera. However, interest among young people has been waning. The establishment of the Research and Development Project on Kunqu will seek to preserve the art form and introduce it to younger generations in both English and Mandarin. Scripts, films and other materials collected from around China and from veteran performers will also be a resource for future research. The project has been spearheaded by Professor Pai Hsien-yung, an internationally-renowned scholar of Chinese literature based in California. Academics from Suzhou Uni- versity, Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong are also supporting the project. Hsu Pei Hung Hsu Pei Hung