Yi · Qu · Shen · Se — The Codes of Performance and Transmission in Kunqu Opera

Yi · Qu · Shen · Se — The Codes of Performance and Transmission in Kunqu Opera

Exhibition Period: April 24, 2026 – November 13, 2026

Yi, Qu, Shen, Se

These terms originally appeared in Tang Xianzu’s Reply to Lü Jiangshan, where he expressed his views on lyric composition and musical prosody. In our understanding, Kunqu performance embodies these very ideas: through voice, movement, expression, and inner spirit, performers interpret works and characters in ways that captivate audiences and resonate emotionally. Such artistic creation aligns naturally with the notions of yi (intent), qu (interest), shen (spirit), and se (expression).

Throughout the long history of Kunqu Opera, oral transmission—“teaching by word of mouth and from heart to heart”—has been central to its preservation. Since the Qing dynasty, however, playwrights and performers gradually began to document performance practices in written form, in order to pass on their insights and experience. These records, which include vocal styles, gestures, and stage movements, take the form of musical scores, choreography notations, and various performers’ manuscripts of differing levels of detail.

To this day, the most frequently asked questions from visitors to the Kunqu Museum are about these very “scores”! For example:

• Why do Kunqu scores look like they’re written in “Japanese”?
  (That’s because the Gongche notation character “四” resembles the Japanese “の”.)
• Why are they written diagonally?
  (Gongche notation appears in different formats—diagonal writing is just one of them.)
• Why are there “punctuation marks” next to the “Japanese”?
  (Those are rhythmic markers, known as dianban.)
• Why are so many characters circled?
  (They may indicate tune titles, tonal modes, or stage movement cues.)
• Why do some characters look familiar, but make no sense when read together—like “藏札”?
  (We like to think a percussion master would “hear” the sound immediately upon seeing them.)

In short… all these delightful questions conceal the hidden codes of Kunqu performance and transmission. By comparing different versions of scripts and scores, we also discover that each copyist reflects a distinct understanding of performance.

This special exhibition focuses on the “documentation” of Kunqu performance art—revealing how performers recorded their craft, and guiding visitors to unlock the codes for reading Kunqu musical and movement notations.