Peking opera, or Beijing opera, is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as Guójù. It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan.
Kunqu, also known as Kunju (崑劇), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional culture and art, especially opera art. It evolved from the local melody of Kunshan and later came to dominate Chinese theater from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area. It has been listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2001. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Wei Liang Fu has been the sole leader of Chinese opera for nearly 300 years. In 2006, it was listed on the first national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2008, it was included in the List of Representative Works of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In December 2018, the General Office of the Ministry of Education announced that Peking University is the base for inheriting excellent traditional Chinese culture in Kunqu.
Mei Lan, better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead roles (dan) and particularly his "verdant-robed girls" (qingyi), young or middle-aged women of grace and refinement. He was considered one of the "Four Great Dan", along with Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng.
Dan is the general name for female roles in Chinese opera, often referring to leading roles. They may be played by male or female actors. In the early years of Peking opera, all dan roles were played by men, but this practice is no longer common in any Chinese opera genre.
Xun Huisheng was one of Peking Opera's "Four Great Dan", along with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Shang Xiaoyun. All four were men who played the female lead roles (dan) during the generation when such roles became open to actresses again, after two centuries of exclusively male portrayal.
Hou Yaowen, or Hou Yuewen, was a Chinese xiangsheng actor. China's famous crosstalk performer. Manchu, originally from Beijing. At that time, he was a member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association, member of the Party Committee of the China Railway Art Troupe, deputy head and head of the rap troupe, and a national first-class actor.
Forever Enthralled is a Chinese biographical film directed by Chen Kaige; the film marks Chen's eleventh feature film as a director. Forever Enthralled follows the life of Mei Lanfang, one of China's premiere opera performers. It stars Leon Lai as Mei, Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei and Masanobu Andō.
The China National Peking Opera Company (CNPOC), originally named the National Peking Opera Theater of China, is one of the national ensembles of performance arts directly under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China. Situated in Beijing, it was founded in January 1955, with opera performer Mei Lanfang as the first president in its history. The current president is Song Guanlin.
Mei Lanfang Classics is a Peking opera production which is composed of six classics from Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang. The performance is held in the Zheng Yici Peking Opera Theatre, an ancient theatre in Beijing. The director is Li Liuyi, and the art director is Mei Baojiu, the son of Mei Lanfang.
Mei Baojiu was a contemporary Peking opera artist, also a performer of the Dan role type in Peking Opera and Kunqu opera, the leader of Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe in Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. Mei's father Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Peking opera performers. Mei Baojiu was the ninth and youngest child of Mei Lanfang. For this reason, he was called Baojiu, since in Chinese, jiu means nine. Mei Baojiu was the master of the second generation of Méi School descendant, he was also Mei Lanfang's only child who is now a performer of the Dan role of the Peking Opera.
Li Yugang is a Chinese singer and a performer in the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater; a member of the National Youth Federation. He specialises in "nándàn" (男旦) roles, which is male who plays female role in Peking opera. Li has released a number of CDs.
Mulan Joins the Army is a 1917 Chinese-language play, which was one of the first plays and films with this title on the Hua Mulan story. It is notable for the casting of Beijing Opera legend Mei Lanfang as the heroine.
Mei Shaowu was a Chinese translator, author and scholar who was honorary president of the Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall (梅兰芳纪念馆) and president of the Mei Lanfang Literature and Art Research Association (梅兰芳文化艺术研究会). He also was a researcher in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Yu Kuizhi is a Peking opera performer of Hui Chinese ethnicity. He plays the role of elderly men (laosheng) in Peking Opera.
Li Liuyi is a Chinese director and playwright of Beijing People's Art Theatre. His theory "Pure Drama" and his related exploration in the field are known as "Li Liuyi Methodology", which is widely acclaimed and researched. Japanese modern theater master Tadashi Suzuki calls him "The most influential stage artist of Asia in the new century".
Li Shuzhen, better known by her stage name Li Yuru and also known as Li Xueying, was a Chinese opera singer and actress. Descended from Manchu nobility, she is remembered as "one of the great Beijing Opera performers" and played an important role in the acceptance of female singers in female roles (dan). Amid the Cultural Revolution, she was imprisoned from 1966 until the early 1970s. In 1979, she married Cao Yu, one of the most important 20th-century Chinese dramatists, and, following China's opening up under Deng Xiaoping, she ended her life respected as one of the few surviving masters of the dan roles.
Shi Yihong, known as Shi Min before 2002, is a Chinese Peking opera singer-actress who plays Dan roles. A Plum Blossom Prize winner, Shi Yihong is considered a Peking opera superstar who not only excels in both vocal and acrobatic roles, but is always experimenting and expanding her repertoire despite resistance from conservative elements. Shi Yihong is a member of the Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company, but she also established her own production company in 2016.
Mei Qiaoling, born Mei Fang, courtesy name Xiaobo and art name Huixian, was a Qing dynasty Peking opera and kunqu artist based in Beijing. He specialized in playing dan roles, or women. Originally from Taizhou, Jiangsu, he was sold to a childless man in Suzhou at age 8. After that man remarried and begot a son, Mei was sold again, this time to a theatrical troupe where he had to train to become a performer. He rose to stardom despite his pudginess, which earned him the nickname "Fat Qiaoling" (胖巧玲). At age 30, he became the leader of the Four Happiness Troupe (四喜班), one of the most famous troupes in Beijing, and rarely performed after that.
Winter Begonia is a 2020 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Yin Zheng, and Charmaine Sheh, based on Shui Ru Tian Er's BL web novel of the same name. It aired exclusively on iQiyi and tells the story of the close relationship between a shrewd businessman and a Peking opera genius right before the World War II. While the original web novel depicted the relationship between the two main men as romantic, the adaptation changed this depiction into a "bromance".
Zhang Junqiu was a singer of Peking Opera. He played a female, or dan role. His hometown was Dantu, Jiangsu, and he was born in Beijing. His vocal style is called "Zhang pai." It became popular in the 1970s and it is now the most widespread genre of Peking Opera. He was once one of the "four small famous dans." He is far better remembered than the other three.
