Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

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 Shang Xiaoyun () (1900 – April 19, 1976) was one of the four great twentieth century performers of the Dan role type in Peking opera with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng __NOTOC__ Xun Huisheng (5 January 1900 - 26 Decem ...

Cheng Yanqiu Cheng Yanqiu (1 January 1904 – 9 March 1958) was a Chinese Peking opera singer. He is remembered as one of the 20th-century's great female impersonators, having specialized in Peking opera's female roles (''dan''). Life Cheng was born in Be ...

, and Xun Huisheng.

Early life

Mei Lanfang was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

in 1894 into a family of Peking opera and Kunqu performers (performers of a traditional Chinese theatre composed of drama, ballet, opera, poetry, and music) of

Taizhou, Jiangsu Tàizhōu is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province in eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west. The 2020 Chinese census counted ...

ancestry.

Career

At age 8, Mei Lanfang started training in Chinese opera skills such as acting, singing and acrobatics. Mei Lanfang made his stage debut at the

Guanghe Theatre The Guanghe Theatre () is a theatre located in the Qianmen district of Beijing that was a long-time host to Beijing opera performances and the site of the beginning of Mei Lanfang's career when he was ten years old. It is the oldest theatre in t ...

in 1904 when he was 11 years old playing a weaving girl. In his 50-year stage career, he maintained strong continuity while always working on new techniques. His most famous roles were those of female characters; skillful portrayal of women won him international acclaim, and his smooth, perfectly timed, poised style has come to be known in opera circles as the "Mei School." He also played an important part in continuing the performance tradition of Kunqu, noted particularly for his interpretations of

Du Liniang Du Liniang () is a fictional character from Tang Xianzu's play ''The Peony Pavilion''. "Du" () is her surname; "Li" () means "beautiful", and "Niang" (), "young lady". Only sixteen years old, she encounters a dream lover Liu Mengmei when she fall ...

(杜丽娘; in '' The Peony Pavilion'') and Bái Sùzhēn (白素贞; in ''

Legend of the White Snake The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend. It has since been presented in a number of major Chinese operas, films, and television series. The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story in printed form appears to be ''The White Maiden ...

''). Mei's famous portrayal of Beauty Yu was so historically moving that Wenting Song said he was one of the greatest vocal artists in modern China. Mei was the first artist to spread Beijing Opera to foreign countries, participating in cultural exchanges with Japan, the United States, and other regions. He toured the world, forming friendships with the western contemporaries of his day, including

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

. In 1930 he toured North America, visiting Hollywood, where he was welcomed by Douglas Fairbanks and

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

. In 1935, Mei toured Europe, playing to appreciative audiences in Berlin and Moscow. Seeing Mei perform especially impressed the German playwright

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and influenced his concept of the alienation effect. He served as one of the mentors and guardians of the actress Li Yuru as she began her career. In July 1937, the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuri ...

occurred, and the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

soon occupied

. The commander of the Japanese Army ordered Mei to perform for them and appointed Mei to a high rank official position. But Mei refused to sing throughout the duration of the war and endured an impoverished lifestyle until the war ended in 1945. Meilanfang banshenxiang

After 1949 he served as director of China Beijing Opera Theater, director of the Chinese Opera Research Institute, and vice-chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Mei joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

in 1959. Besides his autobiography, ''Forty Years of Life on the Stage'', several of his articles and essays have been published in ''The Collected Works of Mei Lanfang''. Recordings of his best-known performances have been published in ''A Selection of Beijing Operas Performed by Mei Lanfang''. In 2000, the story of his life was filmed in a documentary entitled ''The Worlds of Mei Lanfang''. Acclaimed director

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wi ...

directed ''

Forever Enthralled ''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 L ...

'', a film biography of Mei's life, released in December 2008.

Philanthropy

In 1924, Mei went to Japan after learning about the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

that had caused destruction. During his stay, he not only performed, but he also donated to help the cause.

Personal life

In the year 1910, Mei married Wang Minghua, and they eventually had one son and one daughter together. While still married to Wang, he married his second wife in 1921, who was also an opera actress. Her name was Fu Zhifang and together, they had nine children. In 1925, he began seeing a third woman, who was also an actress. They lived together unmarried for five years before they broke up. Mei's daughter Mei Baoyue was a Chinese opera performer. Mei's son

Mei Baojiu Mei Baojiu () (29 March 1934 – 25 April 2016) 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 ...

(1934-2016) was a Chinese opera dan performer.

In popular culture

Chen Kaige's 2008 film ''

'' is a biographical account of Mei Lanfang. In 2009 the Chinese Google homepage displayed a logo commemorating his 115th birthday on October 22.Google Mei Lanfang logo
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References

Bibliography

* The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Mei Lanfang." ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. Encyclopædia Britannica, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. * Wilson, Charles. "What Is Kunqu Theatre." ''What Is Kunqu Theatre''. Wintergreen Kunqu Society, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. * "Traditions - Folk Art." ''Roles in Peking Opera''. Cultural China, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016. * "梅兰芳." ''（中国京剧表演艺术家）_百度百科''. Baidu, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. * . * Min Tian, ''Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-Century International Stage: Chinese Theatre Placed and Displaced'' (New York: Palgrave, 2012).

External links

Chen Kaige Plans to Shoot Mei Lanfang Biography

Forever Enthralled (2008) film on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mei, Lanfang 1894 births 1961 deaths Chinese male Peking opera actors Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Singers from Beijing Male actors from Beijing Burials in Beijing Chinese male silent film actors Chinese silent film directors 20th-century Chinese male singers 20th-century Chinese male actors Chinese male film actors Male Kunqu actors Female impersonators in Peking opera