Save Taiwan Jingju Education

We are writing, as scholars and artists deeply concerned about the preservation of traditional performing arts, to petition the Taiwan government to save jingju education. 

We understand that training new practitioners of traditional opera is a laborious and expensive process.  As we see it, this is a crisis we have to solve now.  Otherwise, Taiwan jingju will be gone forever. 

Taiwan has long provided a fertile ground for jingju.  Especially during China%u2019s Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, when official attacks threatened all traditional arts, Taiwan had the privilege of preserving this treasured dramatic form.  During the past twelve years, however, continuous mismanagement and underfunding of the country%u2019s only opera school, the National Taiwan Junior College of Traditional Theatre, have seriously damaged jingju education.  A proud element of Taiwan%u2019s cultural heritage has been shamefully neglected and now faces extinction.

We petition the government

1.     to restore funding for jingju education;

2.     to reevaluate and strengthen the current curriculum in jingju education;

3.     to change the leadership of National Taiwan Junior College of Traditional Theatre.

National Taiwan Junior College of Traditional Theatre is the only jingju resource we have.  We have to save it, now. 

Sincerely yours,

Daphne Lei %u96F7%u78A7%u744B (Associate professor, University of California, Irvine, USA)