Zhang Jun

A National First-Class performer, Zhang Jun is the Principal of the Shanghai Traditional Opera School Affiliated to Shanghai Theatre Academy and a UNESCO Artist for Peace, earning a reputation as the “prince of kun opera”.

Specialising in xiaosheng (young male) roles, Zhang studied under renowned kun artists Cai Zhengren, Yue Meiti and Zhou Zhigang, and is a second-generation protégé of the legendary kun maestro Yu Zhenfei. His numerous acting awards include the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award and the Shanghai Magnolia Award for Lead Actor, while he has also been named among the Top Ten Outstanding Young People in Shanghai. During the past 30 years, Zhang has starred in various productions including The Peony Pavilion, Palace of Eternal Youth, Blossoms on a Spring Moonlit Night and I, Hamlet, bringing to the stage some of the best- loved characters in kun opera. In addition, Tan Dun’s opera Marco Polo, in which Zhang played the lead role, was nominated for the Grawemeyer Award in 2010.

Apart from his achievements as a performing artist, Zhang has devoted himself to introducing kun opera traditions to audiences. Since 1998, he has organised more than 400 interactive performances of Kun Opera Approaching Young People and the interactive lectures “I Am a Xiaosheng” and “Give the Past a Future” held in high schools and universities in both China and the West, including Harvard University in the USA.

Zhang was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace in honour of his long-term dedication to promoting the intangible cultural heritage of kun opera, making him the third Chinese recipient of the title following film actress Gong Li and the China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe.