Kunqu baizhong, Dashi shuoxi (One hundred pieces of Kunqu, Master performers talk about their scenes): A Review Essay

Kim Hunter Gordon is a practitioner of classical Kunqu singing and scholar of Chinese theatre history. He is interested in how Chinese song-drama has been shaped by social networks, publishing practices, patronage, and bureaucratic funding mechanisms, and what these processes reveal about how societies structure and regulate culture. His monograph Kunqu: China’s Classical Song Drama (2026) is published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.His teaching interests at DKU include China studies, media, performance studies, and translation. 

He holds an MA (Hons) in Psychology and English Literature from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London, which he undertook alongside a China Studies Joint Research Fellowship at Nanjing University. His fieldwork included extended training under Qian Zhenrong at the Jiangsu Kunqu Theatre. Prior to joining DKU he held an AHRC-funded research fellowship at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.