Hu Wenge, a noted young singer and actor, was formally accepted by Peking Opera artist Mei Baojiu as his only male student. About 100 Peking Opera artists attended the ceremony, held last weekend in Beijing.
The son of the late renowned Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang, 67-year-old Mei Baojiu is a master of the "Mei School," which was founded by his father.
Mei Lanfang is known for playing the "dan," a term used in traditional Chinese opera to represent roles of women. However, in recent years, men playing the dan has become very rare.
"In the first year of the 21st century, we are very glad to witness the appearance of Mei Baojiu's first male student," said Zhou Tielin, vice-president of the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe.
As a child, Hu studied dance and Qinqiang, a traditional opera originating from Shaanxi Province. After playing the "dan" in the Shaanxi Qinqiang Troupe for several years, he became a pop singer.
But Mei Lanfang's influence was so deep that he came to Beijing in 1997 to study with Li Yufu and Wang Zhiyi, two established Peking Opera artists of the Mei school.
"Hu knows the difficulty of studying traditional Chinese opera from his experience in Qinqiang, which prepared him for studying the art of the Mei school," said Mei Baojiu. "The time of the four great "dan" of the first half of the 20th century (Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng) is gone, but I hope Hu will contribute to the development of the Mei school in the 21st century."
Becoming a student of Mei Baojiu completed Hu's return to the stage of traditional Chinese Opera. "I have realized my dream in being able to study the art of Mei Lanfang, who has always been my idol," Hu said.
(China Daily December 7, 2001)
