It is argued in this article that the dialogue between science and humanities is not just an option, but rather a necessary act. In China, New Confucianism has accomplished its creative transformation through its dialogue with science, and the development of science and technology has also benefited from humanities – New Confucianism included. In the global confrontation of growing environmental crisis, science alone cannot solve all the problems. What kind of role can New Confucianism play along with science in addressing the environmental issues? How will a re-interpretation of tianrenheyi (unity of man and nature), which is a core Confucian concept, contribute to the critique of anthropocentrism and the cross-cultural reformation of ecological thought? Bearing in mind both the cosmopolitan consciousness and the eco-environmental sensibility, a New Confucian ecological humanism is proposed and analysed in response to the global environmental problem.

Featuring hybridity, transgression, and improvisation, New Concept Kun Opera refers to experimental performances by Ke Jun and other Kun Opera performers since the beginning of the twenty-first century. From telling the ancient stories to expressing the modern self, this new form marks the awakening of the performer’s subjectivity and develops a contemporary outlook by rebuilding close connections between Kun Opera and modern life. A synthetic use of intermedial resources contributes to its appeal to today’s audiences. Its experimentation succeeds in maintaining the most traditional while exploring the most pioneering, thus providing Kun Opera with the potential for renewal, as well as an alternative future for Chinese opera in general. Chengzhou He is a Yangtze River Distinguished Professor of English and Drama at the School of Foreign Studies and the School of Arts at Nanjing University. He has published widely on Western drama, intercultural theatre, and critical theory in both Chinese and English. Currently, he is the principal investigator for a national key-research project, ‘Theories in European and American Theatre and Performance Studies’.

No abstract