Professor Yuen Siu-fai Chaired Third Talk of New Asia College Cultural Talks 2022/23

Speaker Professor Yuen Siu-fai (right) and Moderator Mr. Wong Ho-chiu (left)

Professor Yuen Siu-fai delivering the lecture

From left: College Head Professor Sun-On Chan, Speaker Professor Yuen Siu-fai and Moderator Mr. Wong Ho-chiu

[May 2023 issue]

Jointly organised by the College and the College Alumni Association, and co-organised by New Asia Middle School, the third talk of the “New Asia College Cultural Talks 2022/23” was held on 11 March 2023 with Professor Yuen Siu-fai, BBS, BH, Cantonese Opera Veteran and Adjunct Associate Professor, CUHK Department of Music, as the speaker.

Professor Yuen gave a lecture titled “Chinese Culture in the Cantonese Opera (Yueju)”, which was moderated by Mr. Wong Ho-chiu, College Trustee and Member of the Committee on New Asia College Cultural Talks. The lecture was well received by the public and was attended by audiences from various sectors, College alumni and students.

In the talk, Professor Yuen mentioned that Cantonese Opera embodied the morality, ethics, culture and philosophy of the Chinese. Yueju was officially inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Professor Yuen also shared that the ways of performing Yueju presented Chinese aesthetics, visual art, culture and moral values. He then introduced a number of unique terms in Yueju which played an important role in the Cantonese Opera culture. Through this talk, participants could learn more about Yueju. They also had fruitful discussions with the speaker during the Q&A session.

Lecture Review