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Méi Lánfâng
(October 22, 1894 - August 8, 1961) China

Méi Lánfâng

Actor

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Lán was born into a family of Beijing Opera performers. His real name was Méi Lán. He began his career at the age of eight. His teacher said he showed little promise because of his lack-luster eyes. To remedy this, he exercised them relentlessly.

He would practice gazing at the movements of an incense flame in a dark room; fly kites and stare at them drifting in a blue sky; keep pigeons in order to look at them soaring higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds. Thanks to his efforts, he managed to transform his dull peepers into a pair of bright, keen, highly expressive eyes and win national fame before the age of 20.

He made his stage debut at the Guanghe Theatre in 1904 when he was 10 years old. 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 "Méi School."

Méi LánfângMéi Lánfâng was one of the most famous Beijing or Peking opera artists in modern history, exclusively known for his qingyi roles, a type of Dan role. Méi Lánf?ng is his stage name, and in Chinese it is generally considered a feminine name. Mei, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng were known as Four Great Dan in the golden era of Peking Opera.

Lán was the first artist to spread Beijing Opera to foreign countries, participating in cultural exchanges with Japan, the United States, and other regions. He was known to have toured the world, forming friendships with the western contemporaries of his day, including Charlie Chaplin. During his visit to Hollywood, he was also welcomed by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.

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. Age was never a barrier for Méi Lánfâng. Even in his 60s he could still summon the strength to play a female warrior. In 1959, just two years before his death from heart problems, he added one last piece to his already full repertoire, "Mu Guiying Takes Command".

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

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - et alii

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