Rebirth of an ancient art

Performing an excerpt from the 1688 classic The Palace of Eternal Life, Wei played the role of Yang Yuhuan, concubine of an emperor in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The love story between Yang and the emperor is well known among Chinese people.

Through decades of honing her skills, Wei can read a lot from a gesture or a glance onstage even before she vocalizes a word.

"Beyond my own performances and techniques as a Kunqu performer, I need to think of how I can bring the opera genre to more stages through new promotional channels," Wei says. "The art can be inherited only when it's favored by the public."

But Wei knows some principles have to be adhered to no matter how much time has changed. She recalls how a student challenged her when she was delivering a lecture on Kunqu at a university.

"Kunqu is more difficult to understand than Peking Opera. Why don't you change the format?" asked the student.

The actress said no.