Mei Lanfang (October 22, 1894 - August 8, 1961), whose given name was Lan, also known as Heming, whose nickname was Qunjie, whose courtesy name was Wanhua[1]?, and whose signature was jade. Master Xuan, whose stage name is Lan Fang, was born in Beijing in the 20th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1894), and his ancestral home is Taizhou, Jiangsu. Master of Chinese Peking Opera performing arts.

Mei Lanfang learned opera at the age of 8, became a teacher of Wu Lingxian at the age of 9 and studied Tsing Yi, and debuted on stage at the age of 10. Later, he sought advice from Qin Zhifen and Hu Ergeng to learn Hua Dan. From April 1915 to September 1916, 11 new plays including "The Tide of Officials", "Prison Ducks" and "Sifan" were rehearsed.

Before 1949, he performed in Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union, and received honorary doctorates in literature from Pomona College and the University of Southern California.

In 1950, he served as the director of the China Peking Opera Theatre. In 1951, he served as the director of the Chinese Opera Research Institute. In 1953, he served as the vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association.

In 1959, he joined the Communist Party of China. On August 8, 1961, Mei Lanfang died of illness in Beijing. He was 67 years old.

Extended information:

Mei Lanfang’s artistic characteristics:

1. Singing

Mei Lanfang’s singing is mellow, fluent and emotional. Rich and subtle. Because his voice is high, wide, clear, mellow, sweet and crisp, the tone is extremely pure and full. He never hesitates when singing, and always maintains a calm and calm demeanor. There is no hint of discouragement in his voice. His singing basically comes from the traditional singing method, but none of his singing is copied from the tradition. Instead, he uses his own way of moistening the singing and the rules of singing to transform it into a singing style with a calm and subtle Mei School charm. The melody is beautiful and smooth. fluent.

2. Performance

Mei Lanfang is good at using singing, narration, expression, body posture, dance and other skills to portray the psychological state of the characters in detail. He uses artistic means that are natural, harmonious, flexible, free and easy, trance-like, humanistic, full of rhythm and sculptural beauty. The characteristics of his performing arts are simplicity yet elegance, dignity yet beauty, tranquility yet emotion, and charm yet generosity.

3. Dance

Mei Lanfang chose to blend the old and the new in Peking Opera performances, removing the unattractiveness and vulgarity in the inheritance, leaving its essence and elegance for active learning and absorption. . The path of "Mei School" created by Mei Lanfang is the same as that of other creators of schools. He first followed the path of his master, and then followed his own innovative path based on the inheritance of his master.

4. Makeup

Mei Lanfang has innovated the makeup of Dan characters. Dan characters in the north do not pay attention to dark circles, just a few light strokes. The area where the film is applied is high and wide, which often makes the face square. If a sharp corner is attached to the temples, experts call it a "wide-open face." Add a "Ci Ru Ye" on the head, and this is the standard Tsing Yi look.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mei Lanfang