(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

Kunqu Opera is one of the representatives of traditional Chinese elegant culture. The form and style of the stage design of Kunqu are unique. Among them, the Jiangnan gardens play an essential role: to begin with, it was used as a stage space in the initial stage of Kunqu Opera; in addition, it is a scene that often appears in the plot of Kunqu; furthermore, it has become a space where Kunqu opera stage design has been tried to simulate later. In recent years, different interpretations of Kunqu have appeared, and they are all trying to recombine with the “place” of the garden. These new forms have brought Kunqu to the public’s sight again and re-examined the meaning of Jiangnan gardens space. This kind of examination focuses on people’s beginning to pursue the restoration of the sense of experience, that is, the hyperspatial meaning of the experience of the garden. The article starts with representative cases of the integration of contemporary Kunqu opera stage design and Jiangnan gardens space to study the restoration of the Kunqu opera stage space to the sense of garden space experience. At the same time, the author also tries to discuss how the fuzzy experience of gardens space will be transformed and applied in the new era or future space design. The author first explains the origin of the hyperspatial nature of Jiangnan gardens; in addition, the author further elaborates the connection between gardens and Kunqu from the perspective of Chinese aesthetic and discusses the use of garden elements in the stage space in combination with some recent cases; in conclusion, the author analyses how to recreate the audience’s experience in terms of technology without the “place” (including imitation) of Jiangnan gardens, and looks forward to the future space design.