Sitting in front of his laptop, Che Yi’s eyes are fixed on the screen. A big pair of headphones cuts him off from his surroundings as his head nods in time to the music.

But it’s not pop music he’s listening to, it’s Kunqu Opera. Instead of being drawn-in by new trends, the 21-year-old student at Beijing Normal University has found a passion for this older tradition, an interest shared by more and more university students.

Tradition as new trend

When Li Jialian arrived at Tsinghua University’s new auditorium, hundreds of students were already there waiting for the Kunqu Opera performance to begin. That night’s show was the youth edition of Peony Pavilion. Although Li had little knowledge of Kunqu Opera or Peony Pavilion, she didn’t hesitate to watch it.

“There is a huge group of students who love Kunqu Opera on our campus,” says the 19-year-old physics major at Tsinghua University. “The beauty of Kunqu Opera lies in its long history and artistic charm, so it’s a good way to cultivate myself.”

Family influence

Similar to Li, Chen Fangfang also loves Kunqu Opera, but in a more professional way. The 23-year-old biology major has enjoyed listening to Kunqu Opera since he was little. “Due to my family’s influence I read classic works of Kunqu Opera frequently,” he says. Although the number of students who are interested in Kunqu Opera is surging, Chen says students don’t have enough opportunities to experience this exquisite traditional art.

“I remember when I bought my ticket, students started queuing long before the selling time, even though it was a cold winter night,” he says. “Traditional art forms should be given equal importance or even more importance than Western art.”

Be an amateur performer

There are many ways to express one’s love for something: Li and Chen listen to Kunqu Opera, while Che Yi is learning to perform it. “I learned to play the flute when I was little, so an upperclassman invited me to play in our university’s Kunqu Opera club,” he says.

His love for Kunqu Opera grew beyond just accompaniment after the first few months of joining the club. “The rich meaning behind the elegant art attracted me so much that I started studying the scripts,” he says. “My friends and I listen to Kunqu Opera very often and study videos of performances. We watch stage performances whenever we have the opportunity.”

Kunqu Opera has replaced pop culture as an indispensable part of Che’s life. “I hope in the future more and more students will realize and experience the beauty of this traditional art form,” he says.