The Mother of All Xiqus: Kunqu

Kunqu: local or national?—kunqu’s close connection to the scholar-officialsEducationscholar-official—marvel talesMarvel tales ()—kunqu in private courts—the aestheticAesthetic of kunquaesthetic of—a surprising relationship between Peking Universityand Peking University and a xiqu type—kunqu and its “intellectual identityIntellectualsintellectual identity”—case study: who may speak for kunqu?—the battle between coarse and refinedas refined art—kunqu’s hard struggleStruggle for survival—case study: Fifteen Strings of Cash—six and a half kunqu troupes—case study: The Youth Edition Peony—case study: Blossoms on a Spring Moonlit Night—kunqu and the perceived role ofIntellectualsrole of today’s intellectuals.