On June 21, the international academic symposium “The Development and Dissemination of Theatre in the AI Era” was successfully held in Hangzhou. The event was hosted by Communication University of Zhejiang (CUZ) and jointly organized by the School of Television and Audio-Visual Arts (School of Documentary), CUZ Institute of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, and Zhejiang Film and Theatre Studies Center.
The opening ceremony featured welcome speeches by Prof. Yao Zheng, Vice President of CUZ, and Mr. Fu Yixuan, Deputy Party Secretary and Secretary-General of the China Theatre Association.
In his speech, Vice President Yao emphasized that the mission of broadcasting and media education has evolved from training professional talent to promoting general cultural literacy. He noted that AI literacy is becoming an essential competency in this new era and stressed the importance of “preserving integrity while fostering innovation” in the development of traditional theatre. He called on scholars and practitioners to collectively explore new pathways for modernizing traditional performing arts.
Mr. Fu Yixuan highlighted successful cases of traditional culture integrating with modern digital technology, such as the popular reception of traditional drama sparked by the video game Black Myth: Wukong and the attraction of younger audiences via livestreaming platforms. He expressed hopes that the symposium would inspire new ideas for the digital transformation of theatre and wished the event great success.
During the opening session, the symposium also marked the launch of a significant academic publication: Collected Documents of the China Theatre Society, compiled over 17 years by Dr. Wu Bin of the School of Documentary and published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press. The volume enriches theoretical and historical research and enhances educational resources, reflecting CUZ’s mission to stay closely aligned with industry development while safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
Exploring the Future of Theatre in the Digital Age: Highlights from the Main Forums
Morning Session
The morning forum was chaired by Prof. Fu Dixiu (CUZ School of Television and Audio-Visual Arts), Executive Vice Dean of CUZ Institute of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, and featured commentary by Prof. Xu Yongming (Zhejiang University) and Prof. Wang Tingxin (Communication University of China). Eleven experts presented cutting-edge research and practical reflections on how digital technologies are reshaping the landscape of traditional theatre.
Key presentations included:
Prof. Zhu Donglin (Shanghai Theatre Academy): The Anxiety of Modern Kunqu Drama
Zhu argued that the high production costs and limited returns of modern Kunqu drama threaten its sustainability. He stressed preserving Kunqu’s classical essence and warned against eroding its artistic traditions.
Prof. Yu Weimin (Wenzhou University): The Origins and Fusion of Qingyang Tune
Yu traced Qingyang tune’s evolution from Yueyao opera and advocated leveraging AI and short-video formats to promote Southern Chinese opera among mobile audiences.
Prof. Gong Baorong (Shanghai Theatre Academy): Challenges and Strategies for International Communication of Chinese Drama
Gong addressed three major obstacles: mistranslation of Chinese opera as “opera” in the West, insufficient global promotion of modern Chinese plays, and gaps in script translation. He proposed building a Chinese drama discourse system and strengthening overseas distribution via local sinologists.
Prof. Zhu Hengfu (Shanghai Normal University): Understanding the Direction of Theatre in the AI Era
Zhu outlined nine ways AI is reshaping theatre and envisioned a future of "virtual theatres" supported by full-element AI databases. He underscored the primacy of human creativity and ethical aesthetics.
Prof. Huang Shizhong (Sun Yat-sen University): Retrospect and Prospects in Theatre Literature Research
Huang emphasized rigorous textual scholarship, especially amid uneven data quality in the digital age, and called for academic integrity in the curation of historical theatre documents.
Prof. Liu Zhen (Nanchang University): Stage Innovations in Mei Lanfang’s Dream of the Red Chamber
Liu analyzed how Mei Lanfang modernized traditional stagecraft through poetic lyrics, iconic costumes, new choreographies, and realism in stage design.
International perspectives were offered by:
Prof. Kim Young-sook (Korea)
Professor at the School of Humanities and Arts, China University of Mining and Technology
Prof. Kim delivered a keynote speech titled “Cultural Translation and Theatre Reform: The Case of Mei Lanfang.” She argued that Mei Lanfang’s innovations in Peking Opera essentially represented a practice of cultural translation. This was reflected in three main dimensions: openness (drawing inspiration from painting and Western realism), hybridity (integrating elements such as modern costume styles), and subjectivity (upholding the principle of “relocation without distortion”). Through this practice, Mei not only preserved traditional operatic art but also provided valuable insights for East Asian cultural responses to globalization.
Prof. Ning Chunyan (France)
Director of the Performing Arts Research Centre, Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts;
Deputy Director of the Sino-Foreign Drama Translation and Exchange Centre, Shanghai Theatre Academy
In her presentation “Contemporary Sino-French Theatre Exchange and Communication,” Prof. Ning traced the history of theatrical interaction between China and France. She noted that since the 1990s, these exchanges have evolved from one-way exposure to mutual collaboration, especially after the 2005 French Culture Year in China. Landmark productions such as Rhinoceros pioneered a paradigm of “installation theatre,” while recent co-productions like Les Misérables (2023–2024) explored aesthetic dialogue through “narrative-based stage writing.” Throughout, Sino-French theatre has continuously sought resonance through two-way translation and interpretation.
Prof. Zhang Chao
President of Jiangsu Academy of Cultural and Arts Studies; Editor-in-Chief of Art Panorama
Prof. Zhang’s talk, titled “Reflections on the High-Quality Development of Small Theatre,” explored the experimental nature of small theatre, tracing its roots to the late 19th-century “Free Theatre” movement in France. He emphasized its anti-commercial and counter-mainstream spirit, noting how its localization in China has led to a diversity of forms. While innovation lies at its core—through unconventional spaces and creative experimentation—he stressed that such innovation must be grounded in cultural inheritance to achieve sustainable and high-quality development.
Prof. Xia Bo
Professor at the Central Academy of Drama; Executive Editor of Theatre Journal
Prof. Xia presented a keynote titled “What Will Life and Art Look Like in the Digital-Intelligent Age? — Reflections on the 2025 Graduation Exhibition at China Academy of Art.” Using the exhibition as a case study, he analyzed the creative traits of Generation Z. He observed that in the overwhelming wave of digital media, traditional text-based works are fading, and new creations must center on the essence of freedom and love. Through dynamic, interactive presentations, artists can resist algorithmic hegemony and challenge the symbolic reduction of life in a consumerist society.
Prof. Huang Hanbing
Director of Office of Humanities, Social Sciences and Creative Arts, Communication University of Zhejiang
In her address “Theatre Communication in the Digital-Intelligent Era,” Prof. Huang discussed how emerging technologies both challenge and empower the live nature of theatre. She proposed transforming cultural relics into interactive theatrical narratives and constructing immersive holographic spaces as a path toward creating a “theatre metaverse.” However, she also emphasized the need to maintain a delicate balance between technological advancement and the irreplaceable presence of live performance.
Afternoon Session
Chaired by Prof. Xia Bo, the afternoon forum featured distinguished scholar from China and Japan. They delivered thought-provoking presentations exploring the intersection of traditional theatre and emerging technologies.
Prof. Yumi Okazaki of Waseda University, Director of the Institute of Chinese Classical Text Culture, praised the forward-looking nature of the symposium in her video address. She expressed particular appreciation for China’s model of combining “documentary archaeology with technological regeneration” and expressed strong interest in potential China-Japan collaborations on the early visualization of traditional theatre.
Prof. Nobukazu Hirabayashi, also from Waseda University, reflected on the centennial legacy of Mei Lanfang’s cultural exchange with Japan. He emphasized the instrumental role of media technologies in driving theatrical dissemination and expressed confidence that the symposium would help shape a clearer roadmap for the development of traditional theatre in the AI era.
Prof. Cheng Huaping of East China Normal University, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Literary and Art Theory Research, delivered a presentation titled The Resurgence of Literati Zaju in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. He noted that due to legal restrictions under the Ming Code prohibiting performances portraying emperors and loyal subjects, playwrights creatively adapted their themes by using mythological or moral archetypes to circumvent censorship. Iconic plays like The Departed Soul of the Beautiful Lady and The Single Sword Meeting exemplify this resilient revival through narrative transformation and symbolic substitution.
Prof. Wang Tingxin, Dean of the School of Arts at the Communication University of China and Editor-in-Chief of Art Communication Research, presented on Constructing Art Communication Studies from the Perspective of Artistic Information. He argued that artistic information is characterized by emotional resonance, experiential memory, and cultural decoding, advocating for an interdisciplinary communication model that moves beyond the conventional paradigms of journalism studies.
Prof. Xu Yongming, Changjiang Distinguished Professor of Zhejiang University, shared his work on Digitization and AI Training of Traditional Theatre Archives. He introduced two key platforms—“Academic Mapping” and the “Smart Classics Platform”—which support the spatiotemporal visualization of theatre documents and enable the creation of AI-generated avatars like the digital figure “Guan Hanqing.” His team has built a research loop that combines digitization, AI modeling, and cultural regeneration to advance the global dissemination of Eastern aesthetics.
Prof. Zhao Jianxin, a senior researcher at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts and Director of Theatre Arts, addressed the topic Symbolic Collage and Identity Shift in the Online Dissemination of Theatre. He explored how algorithmic logic reconfigures traditional theatre into digital metadata. Through the example of Wu Jiapo 2021, he illustrated how the integration of pop music into Peking Opera sparked both a break from tradition and a resurgence of grassroots creativity. He likened this process to biological proliferation—a form of adaptive evolution under digital pressure.
Prof. Shen Yong, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Critics, discussed From “Love-Hate” to “Mutual Affection”: Aesthetic and Technological Tensions in the Age of Technological Revolutions. Using the metaphor of “chef and waiter,” he proposed that technology should support rather than dominate artistic storytelling, citing The Mandalorian’s virtual production as a positive model. He emphasized preserving the “minimalist aesthetics” of traditional theatre and recommended building a tiered evaluation system to balance technological advancement with aesthetic leadership.
Prof. Nie Fusheng of Zhejiang Gongshang University delivered a presentation titled Challenges and Strategies in Regional Theatre Studies: The Case of Wu Opera. He identified three major challenges—unclear genre definitions, fragmented historical context, and insufficient ontological research. He proposed overcoming these obstacles through fieldwork, archival reconstruction, oral history collection, and the implementation of eight key research initiatives to solidify academic foundations.
Prof. Wang Ningbang, Professor at Nanjing University’s Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage, delivered a report titled Reflections on Theatre Research in the AI Era. He cautioned that while AI enhances research efficiency, its inherent algorithmic limitations lack the depth of humanistic inquiry. Using the case study of disputed authorship in the classic Fan Zhang and the Chicken Meal, he warned against over-reliance on automation, advocating instead for preserving rigorous, question-driven scholarship as the soul of theatre historiography.
Finally, Dr. Xie Yongjun (China National Academy of Arts) and PhD candidate Zhang Yiwen (Sun Yat-sen University) presented a joint study on Historical Themes in Qin Opera. They proposed narrative models that align historical and contemporary perspectives, as seen in The Orphan of Zhao, and highlighted Qin Opera’s aesthetic identity—black, red, and white face paint mirroring the loess landscape, and its “bitter-tone” vocal system as a vessel of emotional expression. Their work revealed the unique artistic code that safeguards the spirit of northwestern Chinese theatre.
A Platform for Global Dialogue and Future Innovation
This symposium provided a vibrant platform for cross-disciplinary and international academic exchange, yielding fruitful insights into the future of traditional theatre in the digital age. As theatre and opera arts face new opportunities and challenges in the wave of digital civilization, scholars at the event collectively affirmed the importance of embracing technological innovation while preserving artistic integrity.
CUZ remains committed to fostering global scholarly dialogue, promoting innovation-driven development, and contributing to the preservation and rejuvenation of traditional Chinese performing arts on the international stage.
