No doubt the years of hardship and dedication necessary to earn public recognition of her achievements are clearer in mind, for today's gifted performer had years of grueling training. Kuo began studying her art at age seven by memorizing scripts and learning the basic body movements, fighting techniques, and other acrobatic skills necessary for Peking opera performances.
Despite decades of training and experience, Kuo still considers every appearance on-stage to be a fresh challenge to her idea of perfection. The result is mastery of a centuries-old craft, an achievement beautifully demonstrated, for example, when she performs as the tender Lady Chu Ying-tai, the tragic heroine of "The Romance of Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-tai," a classic story of unrequited love. She is no less adept at expressing the more forceful style required in "The Two Beauties of the Red Chamber," where she portrays a woman of strong personality and deep moral conviction.
Off-stage, Kuo has a charming gracefulness, but the so-called guardian angel of Peking opera has rarely been de scribed in opera circles as being "agreeable" or "tolerant" in the course of her career. Her inflexible professionalism and her innovations in Peking opera have often agitated "conventionalists." But the strict demands that she makes on her Ya-yin Ensemble ("Graceful Melody Ensemble") and even sterner demands on herself have given new strength and a fresh image to traditional opera.
According to Kuo's own self appraisal, she is hot-tempered, aggressive, strict, quite hostile to harsh criticism, and even a bit selfish; her co-performers regard her as an offbeat interpreter of the splendid mainstream of Peking opera; and audiences see her as brilliant and hard-working, a flashing opera star radiating a special personal magnetism. All of these views illustrate the complexities common to genuine stardom.
But Kuo Shiao-chuang is more than an adept performer, as the following recent interview with FCR indicates. She is deeply committed to her field and to the overall preservation and development of traditional Chinese arts—and she has graciously taken time from a busy schedule to give her thoughts on the status of culture in contemporary Taiwan.
FCR: Culture is always subject to the influence of changes in society. Today, alternatives such as TV, movies, and videotapes are challenging centuries-old folk arts, including Chinese opera. It seems that the very survival of folk culture is threatened. What can be done to preserve cultural heritage and halt the decline of traditional arts' in modern society?
Kuo: The continuity of our traditional culture is a serious problem. People nowadays care very little about cultural matters. Culture needs cultivation. It can't live without life. People have to live within it to keep it alive.
Every culture is unique. That is to say, some sort of unique enlightening process, either formal or informal, is required to create the aesthetic sensitivity needed to appreciate an art. In countries like the United States, Japan, and Korea, the mass media (and TV in particular) perform distinctive educative functions by helping people appreciate folk arts. But most of the media in Taiwan have virtually abdicated their role as an educator of the public.
Furthermore, the essence of folk art appreciation is not limited to aesthetics. It also contributes to the transmission of ethical values. People attribute today's deteriorating public order and booming crime rate to the confused values of modern man in urban industrial society. People who do not appreciate their cultural roots will suffer an aching void in their hearts.
When considering the problem of cultural continuity, people should not be bogged down with defining the place of tradition in modern society. The question goes deeper than that. It's really a debate about our cultural identity, which is a more serious problem than it appears to be on the surface. I think people in the mass media must be more conscientious about their responsibility as educators and move away from their all-consuming role as businessmen.
It's also necessary to look at things at the institutional level. Government officials and scholars have often complained that people generally look upon folk culture as a shoddy, inferior tradition. Although official awards and financial support to outstanding folk artists have become more common in recent years, the achievements of our younger artists have received little notice. It's obvious that if the Chinese cultural tradition is to be carried on, the views and abilities of young practitioners deserve more attention. Their influence on the arts will greatly influence what happens in the future.
Take Peking opera as an example. The proficiency and fundamental training of students in Taiwan are quite adequate. But the problem is that their approach is too stereotyped. It lacks creativity. They need to have more room to elaborate their own ideas and reinterpret what they have learned. We rely on young blood to supply our folk arts with fresh inspiration and nurture. Some independent troupes are working along these lines, and they have grown rapidly in the last few years. Their performances draw large audiences, but they lack sufficient financial support. Unfortunately, some of them have already shut down and others are on the brink of collapse.
FCR: The Ya-yin Ensemble is sup ported by the Hsu Yuan-chih Cultural Foundation and the government's Council for Cultural Planning and Development. As the founder and leading actress of a leading performance troupe, do you think that private foundations should be more active in providing support for the traditional arts?
Kuo: First of all, I'm very grateful for the financial support we have received for the Ya-yin Ensemble and its Opera Research Center. But I don't think that pooling the resources of various foundations can revitalize our folk culture. In my view, the financial support of private foundations cannot cure all problems, and such support will not always have a uniformly positive effect on the arts. A self-run troupe can more readily retain its creative' independence.
Instead, our greatest need today is to give folk culture a new image because the general social atmosphere is decisive in determining how well any aspect of culture will fare. First, we should invest traditional culture with new ideas and new interpretations. We must get rid of the false notion that the new and the traditional can't go together. We also need vigorous leadership to help invigorate the spirit and morale of the arts, as in any endeavor. The help of the government and the media are definitely crucial if folk culture is to be sustained.
FCR: Ever since the establishment of the Ya-yin Ensemble in 1979 and its premiere performance, your new interpretations of traditional Peking opera have been a center of controversy. But the modern interpretations have proven to be especially successful in appealing to young audiences. Why did you decide to make adaptations to the traditional form, and what is the nature of some of your adaptations?
Kuo: When I was a kid, I often heard the slogan "support our cultural heritage." Not every effort along these lines was doomed, but then again nothing much was really done either. The heart of the matter lies with rigid administration and inflexible institutions. The existing structure is really quite incompatible with our present needs.
As a result, young performing artists find it easier to start their careers in troupes that are considered to be more creative because they are given ample room to express their ideas and to reinterpret old scripts. Although some of the experiments in this area have been criticized as being raw or non-traditional, that's not such a bad thing. In our case, Ya-yin had to put on a bold face for the first couple of years and stand up to the false accusations that we were copying mainland China-style adaptations of Peking opera.
Intense perfectionist—Kuo describes herself as hot-tempered, aggressive, strict, hostile to harsh criticism, and even a bit selfish, but her audiences invariably pack the theater.
I love Chinese tradition, but I object to those who hold an obsessive "tradition-steeped" attitude. It is irrational, and it not only hampers Ya-yin, but also the people working in any other field of folk art. I have been given fresh inspiration for my approach by the flood of supportive mail and phone calls from young people. They appreciate what we have done.
In the early years, Peking operas were performed only in traditional Chinese opera houses, which had tiny stages and poor set decorations. Today, performances under such conditions would turn away young audiences—and troupes without audiences would soon wither away. So I tried to modify traditional opera to suit the setting of modern theaters. At first, young audiences had a hard time squaring the image they had of the controlled ritual of Peking opera with our performances in a modern theater, complete with its laser lighting facilities, revolving stage, and raised plat form. But in the end they changed their attitude toward Peking opera, and they began to love it.
This shows that traditional arts can regain their vitality when infused with a contemporary spirit. So-called conventionalists try to keep all the past alive, but in the process they only reduce its essence to a set of superficial gestures. To attract young audiences, the folk arts have to catch up with the tone of modern times. For example, the symbolic gestures of threshing rice or traveling in a sedan chair have lost their relevance. People nowadays don't have such experiences and can't share the feelings of the performers. Accepted philosophical wisdom and the forms of aesthetic appreciation have changed. That's why I have tried to alter Peking opera into an art form compatible with modern times and modern theaters.
I'm happy Ya-yin can stand on its own feet and that it enjoys good publicity. Our sweat and tears are being rewarded. We are now more willing to take in outside financial support than before, and I think we are worthy of it. We have the strength to be ourselves.
FCR: Chinese opera embodies traditional ethical values and concepts of morality. Do you think the social function of the traditional arts can coexist with the modern ethical standards or its focus on "art for art's sake?"
Kuo: Rapid economic growth and wide exposure to the international media in Taiwan have caused enormous changes in people's attitudes. The traditional value system is no longer the exclusive wellspring of Chinese culture. Chinese history tells us that China is a multi-ethnic stew, not the monolithic culture many people imagine. As a result, we are quite flexible and can readily cope with diversity.
In my opinion, whatever we present to our audiences should be designed to educate and not only entertain. A piece of art has to be meaningful. Meaningfulness does not necessarily have to dogmatic, but it does imply wisdom in matters of the soul or spirit. Creativeness and meaningfulness are both fundamental qualities in producing a lasting work of art. If a performer on-stage is going to convey the real life of man-a man of passion, a man of flesh and blood—then he must draw upon his inner self. This process will intensify the actor's feelings and involve the senses of the audience. A unity of heart and soul on-stage and among the audience off-stage is the key to everything. In the latest performance of the Ya-yin Ensemble, the "Ah-kai Princess," we were quite successful in getting this on-stage-off-stage unity of heart and soul. It left everyone in tears.
FCR: Do you think we need more specialized research bodies like the Ya-yin Ensemble Opera Research Center?
Kuo: Of course, we need specialized bodies to do research work. But I think education is more helpful. Kids are ready to absorb whatever they are taught. But as long as the pressure to pass examinations is allowed to continue as the curse of the present educational system, the officials concerned can only make a few minor changes in the school curriculum to make it a little more interesting to the students. Folk culture doesn't have to be boring for the kids. Why not let them learn Peking opera, dough sculpture, and martial arts in their music, art, and physical education classes? It's an easy way out.
FCR: A Ministry of Culture will be established in the near future. As an avant garde exponent of "modern" Chinese opera, what are your expectations?
Kuo: I ardently hope that the present administrative morass is not part of the tradition that will be passed on to the new ministry. In the past, procrastination and sinecurism have been the major features of art administration. It will make a big difference if we can fully utilize the available human and financial resources.
Troupes on Taiwan are not large enough to be able to employ managers and booking agents to handle matters such as arranging tour schedules, transportation, and hotels, and securing financial support. There are a number of well run groups in folk opera, drama, music, and other performing arts which have developed a good following and are well regarded by other troupes in the same line of work. But each of them has only a fraction of the resources they need to handle their administrative and financial affairs. They would gladly accept a helping hand from a Ministry of Culture. I advise the soon-to-be Ministry of Culture to give them the help they need in order to make more effective use of the available human resources instead of leaving them to languish in a swamp of administrative and financial details.
Furthermore, I think several pilot programs for sending outstanding local artists abroad for further study are indispensable. Understanding others is a good way to understand oneself. Even traditional things need to be enriched with new elements drawn from other traditions.
Moreover, the present chaotic personnel system re ally should be changed. We badly need a proper evaluation system to put the right people in the right jobs. In our art schools, examinations or other performance criteria should be used instead of seniority to evaluate candidates for advancement to professorial rank.
FCR: Do you think the government's more open attitude toward the mainland and more frequent communications between both sides of the Taiwan Straits would contribute to the continuity of Chinese folk culture?
Kuo: I'm betting that it will have positive effects, but it won't necessarily be beneficial to the continuity of folk culture. Plagiarizing scripts written by main land playwrights would not be helpful to us. Originality is an indispensable element of a real work of art.
The Ya-yin Ensemble has more than once been invited to perform in Hong Kong and other places where Peking opera troupes from the mainland were also performing nearby. The Ya-yin Ensemble was a hit (even standing- room-only tickets were sold out), while the mainland troupes were ignored and filled only 30 percent of their seating capacity. If the Ya-yin Ensemble just becomes a copycat, we wouldn't be able to compete with them. We have to be original to be good. To me, plagiarism is a heinous act. On-stage, no one can pass themselves off as something they're not.
Assimilating the good points of Western art forms is an urgent necessity if we are to bring international recognition to the Chinese folk arts. This is also necessary if we are going to be professional, international, and be able to per form in well-known international theaters. Besides the artistic dimensions, we need practical experience in the Western ways of running performing companies and theaters. In our performances overseas, in Europe and the United States in particular, the Ya-yin Ensemble has been better received than the mainland troupes. It may be a giant step for Ya-yin to go international.
I hope to develop Peking opera as an art, not only as an entertainment. I want it to be a profession, not an activity subsisting on patronage. But the ideal needs money to be fulfilled. Every show Ya-yin puts on absorbs a budget of over US$100,000.
Although there are more than enough accomplished artists in mainland China, their environment is not that favorable for the development of Chinese opera. Even when things are calm, economic factors and other institutional conditions block their progress in gaining an international reputation.
FCR: What will the Ya-yin Ensemble do in the future, and what are your personal plans?
Kuo: I'm going to start working more with the Ya-yin Ensemble Opera Research Center. The center will focus on editing old and new opera scripts. What I really want to do in the future is to establish a drama academy of my own—not just for training actors and actresses working on-stage, but also for developing all the specialized personnel such as stage supervisors, set designers, scene shifters, set builders, and sound effects people. In Taiwan's present situation, we still have to rely on Hong Kong costumers for our costumes. I hope that eventually we will be able to make them for ourselves.
We all know that Peking opera can't reverse the tide of social development, so Ya-yin's first job is to find a way to attract young audiences in society today and within the framework of society as it develops in the future. The second step is to make our folk arts international. We have just barely taken the first step in this direction.
Personally, I have a crush on Peking opera. I knew from the beginning that an artist can buy only a one-way ticket, and an attempt to change directions would result in nothing but wasted effort. It is not luck that brings success. I hope the Ya-yin Ensemble and its Opera Research Center are headed in this direction. But it may take 10 or 20 years to do the job.