Prof. Zuo is the Director of the Lingnan Culture Research Centre at South China Normal University. He also serves as the Vice President of the Research Center for Chinese Ancient Literature at Fudan University. His research interests include modern Chinese literature, xiqu literature and history, and Lingnan literature and culture.

During the Luncheon, Prof. Zuo introduced the discovery, publication, and research of modern xiqu literature. He noted that limited research on modern xiqu and even less available information on the chuanqi genre have led to an underestimation of the research value of xiqu. According to him, the study of modern xiqu can facilitate academic development in various aspects. For instance, the long history of xiqu and its literature can provide valuable information for historians, and the artistic elements and thoughts embodied in the texts of xiqu provide new perspectives for literary studies. In addition, xiqu preserves extensive linguistic information, including changes in written language, expressions of dialects, and the borrowing of foreign languages.

Prof. Zuo pointed out that the significance of Modern xiqu and chuanqi is not limited to the above examples, only the relevant materials are extremely rare and difficult to collect. He then proposed a re-evaluation of the academic value of xiqu, a task worthy of extensive and meticulous effort.