Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe

Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe (Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe), commonly known as “Zhe Kun,” is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is a national-level institution dedicated to the preservation and transmission of Kunqu opera, a national intangible cultural heritage with profound historical significance. Its origins can be traced back to the “Guofeng Su-Kun Opera Troupe,” which was composed of folk Kunqu performers; in 1955, it was officially reorganized into the state-run Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe.

In the history of China’s 20th-century theater and broader musical culture, Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe played an absolutely central role in “turning the tide.” As the progenitor of all Chinese theater forms, Kunqu Opera was once on the verge of being lost and dying out in modern times. In 1956, Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe undertook a historic rescue, adaptation, and staging of the traditional classic play *The Fifteen Strings of Cash*, and traveled to Beijing to perform it. Thanks to its exceptionally masterful performances and musical arrangements and choreography that had been adapted to better suit modern aesthetics, the production caused a sensation in the Chinese arts scene at the time, sparked a massive social response, and received the highest praise from officials, creating a cultural legend in the history of Chinese opera: “One play saved an entire opera genre.”

In the industrial realm of sound recording and audiovisual publishing, Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe’s collection of famous excerpts by generations of masters—such as classic one-act plays performed by artists of the “Chuan” and “Shi” generations—constitutes an invaluable audio archive of early traditional Chinese opera. From early 78-rpm grooved records and large-diameter vinyl records to modern high-fidelity CDs and 4K Blu-ray video, numerous high-end audio-visual publishers both domestically and internationally—including specialized opera research institutions and audiophile recording labels record label—have invested substantial resources in conducting the highest-standard physical preservation and digital restoration and digitization of its historical master tapes and modern live performances.

Scholars in the field of contemporary music and theatrical heritage studies believe that the legacy of Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe and the vast body of opera audio-visual publications derived from it have long transcended the scope of discussion regarding commercial physical recordings. It serves as a living physical acoustics museum for traditional Eastern musical arts, which place great emphasis on diction and pronunciation (Shuimoguang) and instrumental orchestration (di, xiao, sheng, bangu), and holds supreme documentary value for researching how traditional Chinese acoustics can be permanently archived through the intervention of the modern recording industry.