Sitting in front of his laptop, Che Yi’s eyes are fixed on the screen. A big pair of headphones cuts him off from his surroundings as his head nods in time to the music.
坐在笔记本电脑前的车毅（音译）正目不转睛地盯着屏幕。一副大大的耳机将他和周围的世界隔绝开来，他的头也随着音乐的节拍晃动着。
But it’s not pop music he’s listening to, it’s Kunqu Opera. Instead of being drawn-in by new trends, the 21-year-old student at Beijing Normal University has found a passion for this older tradition, an interest shared by more and more university students.
他听的可不是什么流行音乐，而是昆曲。这位21岁的北京师范大学学生对流行文化并不“感冒”，反而是对昆曲这门越来越受到大学生喜欢的传统艺术情有独钟。
Tradition as new trend
传统新时尚
When Li Jialian arrived at Tsinghua University’s new auditorium, hundreds of students were already there waiting for the Kunqu Opera performance to begin.That night’s show was the youth edition of Peony Pavilion. Although Li had little knowledge of Kunqu Opera or Peony Pavilion, she didn’t hesitate to watch it.
李佳莲（音译）到达新清华学堂时，门口数百名大学生昆曲爱好者正等待着演出的开始。那晚的演出曲目是青春版《牡丹亭》。尽管李佳莲对昆曲和牡丹亭知之甚少，但她还是毫不犹豫地来了。
“There is a huge group of students who love Kunqu Opera on our campus,” says the 19-year-old physics major at Tsinghua University. “The beauty of Kunqu Opera lies in its long history and artistic charm, so it’s a good way to cultivate myself.”
这位来自清华大学物理系的19岁学生说：“在我们学校有很多学生昆曲发烧友，昆曲之美在于它的悠久历史和艺术魅力，是修生养性的好方法。”
Family influence
家庭影响
Similar to Li, Chen Fangfang also loves Kunqu Opera, but in a more professional way. The 23-year-old biology major has enjoyed listening to Kunqu Opera since he was little. “Due to my family’s influence I read classic works of Kunqu Opera frequently,” he says. Although the number of students who are interested in Kunqu Opera is surging, Chen says students don’t have enough opportunities to experience this exquisite traditional art.
和李佳莲一样，陈方方（音译）也是位昆曲发烧友，但他要更专业一些。这位23岁的生物专业学生自幼便喜欢听昆曲。他说：“受家庭影响，我常会读一些昆剧经典曲目。” 陈方方说，尽管现在爱好昆曲的学生人数在不断增长，但是他们还是没有足够的机会去鉴赏这块传统艺术瑰宝。
“I remember when I bought my ticket, students started queuing long before the selling time, even though it was a cold winter night,” he says. “Traditional art forms should be given equal importance or even more importance than Western art.”
“记得我买票那晚天气非常冷，但同学们早在门票开售前便排起了长龙。”他说，“相对于西方艺术，我们应当给予传统艺术同等甚至更高的重视。”
Be an amateur performer
成为票友
There are many ways to express one’s love for something: Li and Chen listen to Kunqu Opera, while Che Yi is learning to perform it. “I learned to play the flute when I was little, so an upperclassman invited me to play in our university’s Kunqu Opera club,” he says.
表达对某种事物的喜爱之情，方式有很多：李佳莲和陈方方选择听昆曲，而车毅则选择学习昆曲表演。他说：“因为小时候学过吹长笛，所以一位学长就邀请我加入学校昆曲剧团任乐手。”
His love for Kunqu Opera grew beyond just accompaniment after the first few months of joining the club. “The rich meaning behind the elegant art attractedme so much that I started studying the scripts,” he says. “My friends and I listen to Kunqu Opera very often and study videos of performances. We watch stage performances whenever we have the opportunity.”
入团仅仅数月，车毅对于昆曲的喜爱便更上一层楼，他不再仅仅满足于伴奏。“这门博大精深的高雅艺术深深吸引着我，我开始研习剧本，”他说，“我和朋友们常去听昆曲，研究昆曲演出视频。只要一有机会，我们就会去观看现场演出。”
Kunqu Opera has replaced pop culture as an indispensable part of Che’s life. “I hope in the future more and more students will realize and experience the beauty of this traditional art form,” he says.
昆曲取代了流行音乐，成为车毅生活中不可或缺的一部分。“我希望未来越来越多的同学能够了解并体会到这门传统艺术的动人之处。”车毅说。