Chu Shan Zhu is the founder, principal and executive director of the Washington Chu Shan Chinese Opera Institute. He has also served as Artistic Director of National Kuo-Kuang Chinese Opera Company. From 1987 - 1990, Mr. Zhu served as both instructor and performer for the Chinese Opera Society of Washington D.C., as well as the Han Shen Chinese Opera Institute. From 1978 to 1986, Mr. Zhu served as director, scripts writer, and artistic manager for the Shanghai Beijing Opera Theatre. In addition, he directed the experimental Chinese Opera Troupe of the Shanghai Traditional Opera College from 1966 to 1977.

Mr. Zhu has directed over 75 Chinese Opera performances, including "Pansi Cave", "Xie Yaohuan,. "Pass of Wild Goose Gate,. and "A Celestial Romance between the Cowherder and the Weaving Girl.. .Perpetual Love. and "Emperor Chiang Long's Visit South of the Yangtze River" earned him the Script Creation Award in 1980 and Best Modern Chinese Opera of the Forth Shanghai Arts Festival in 1992, respectively.

Mr. Zhu has created numerous Beijing opera scripts; these include "Journey to the West,. "Battle at Spider's Cave,. "Blood Shines on the Nine-Dragon Crown,. and "Thirteenth Sister, the Heroine.. His original script for "Three Charges at Niutang Valley" received an Excellent Script Award from Taiwan's Ministry of Education in 1993.

Mr. Zhu was the leading actor of the 1984 movie, "Murder in the White Foggy Street.. In 1995, he filmed and directed a 12-episode television series, "Begonia,. and in 2000, he directed the 13-episode Chinese opera television series, "Taiwan Legends" (the latter tells the stories of Zheng Cheng Gong, who, along with Dutch colonialists overtook Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty).

From September 1999 through April 2000, he served at the Artistic Director of the National Opera Troupe, where he directed nine operas, including "A Celestial Romance" (NiuLang zhi Nu), "The Story of the White Snake" (Baishe Zhuan), "Seven Weddings of Suoyang" (Suoyang yinyuan), "The Story of the Water Marshes" (Shuihu Zhuan), and a children's version of "The Red Boy" (Hong Hai'er), a story from the Monkey King series.

During his stay in Taiwan, Mr. Zhu recorded a 25-episode series of island-wide radio talks for the Central Broadcasting Station. "Peking Opera Lectures" focused on different aspects of Chinese performing folk arts as well as on Chinese operas.

In November 2003, Mr. Zhu provided artistic direction for the Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre's March 28, 2004 production of "The Story of the White Snake" in celebration of a month of cultural exchange between China and France. He relied on his experiences producing programs accessible to and enjoyed by foreign audiences in directing this opera, which was well received by its French audience.

Since founding the Washington Chu Shan Chinese Opera Institute in 1992, Chu Shan Zhu has introduced the art of Chinese opera to more than 70,000 school children in 170 area schools. Additionally, he performed in Minnesota, Missouri, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia at universities, children's museums, and Chinese community group celebrations. In addition to the extensive public school and community outreach service he has provided both as a performer and as the Institute's Executive Director, Mr. Zhu has also dedicated years to providing ongoing training to scores of students, turning young people who have no previous training in or knowledge of Chinese opera, into confident performers, assistant teachers, and Chinese opera aficionados.