A contemporary Kunqu interpretation by a famous linguist

The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre’s latest contemporary production, “Li Pei,” about the famous applied linguist, will premiere on September 20 at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing.

According to Yang Fengyi, the theater's president, the production is a compelling tribute to Li's remarkable life and legacy, reflecting her resilience, her groundbreaking achievements as an educator and her history with her husband Guo Yonghuai (1909-68), one of the founding fathers of China's atomic and hydrogen bomb and satellite programs.

Li was born in Jiangsu Province in 1917 and was admitted to Peking University to study economics in 1936. In 1947, she continued her studies at Cornell University in the United States, where she married Guo in 1948. The couple returned to China in 1956 with their only daughter. Li died in 2017.

Li began teaching English at the University of Science and Technology of China in 1961 and joined its graduate school in 1978. The school was later renamed the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and she remained there until her retirement in 1987.

In addition to her work as an educator and linguist, Li is also considered one of the key initiators and promoters of the development of Zhongguancun, which later became a high-tech innovation center dubbed the “Silicon Valley of China.” She also founded the Zhongguancun Forum and invited eminent scholars from many fields to give lectures. Between 1998 and 2011, she organized over 600 lectures.

“In addition to Li's professional life, which made her an impressive personality, the production also shows her family life, from her romance with her husband to her life after his death,” says Yang.

Guo was the first dean of the Department of Chemical Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China. A pioneer of modern Chinese mechanics, he made great contributions to mechanics, applied mathematics, and aeronautics and died in a plane crash in 1968 at the age of 59.

“Li was not only a pioneer in education, but also a wife and mother who had to cope with the devastating loss of her husband and later her only daughter, who died in 1997,” says Gong Yingtian, director and screenwriter of the opera, which follows Li's story over a period of 80 years.

Dating back over 600 years, Kunqu opera is one of the oldest traditional opera forms still in fashion in China. Performed in the Suzhou dialect, it is known for its graceful movements and dances. It has won the hearts of fans with its seemingly endless variety of gestures used to express specific emotions, and was added to the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

“There are over 90 actors involved in the production. We also combine elements such as choral singing, storytelling and symphonic music with the Kunqu opera,” adds Gong.

One of the theater's main actors is Wei Chunrong, who will play the role of Li.

“It is my first time to play a role in a contemporary Kunqu Opera production. The play is challenging as it is based on a true story. I have done a lot of research on Li's life,” says Wei, who began studying the ancient art form at age 10 and has performed in the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater since she was 16.

A winner of the Chinese Theatre Plum Blossom Award, the nation's top performing arts honor, Wei is best known for her roles as classical Chinese beauties such as Du Liniang in The Peony Pavilion and Cui Yingying in The Romance of the West Chamber.

“Most of the roles I have played have been beautiful, gentle and emotional women. Many of them have been played by Kunqu opera actresses of different generations. For Li Pei, I had to put aside all my experience with other female roles and start from scratch,” says Wei.

Yang Jia, one of Li's students, is also portrayed in the production. She studied under Li after being accepted to the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for her master's degree at the age of 22. Two years later, she became a teacher at the university and lost her sight at the age of 29. With Li's encouragement and a lot of determination, Yang Jia became the first blind person outside the United States to earn a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.

“I still remember the first time I met Li about 30 years ago when I was invited to the interview for admission to the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her smile was so heartwarming,” says Yang. “I was lucky to have been her student. She was a great woman who inspired me.”

[email protected]