Mei Baojiu

Mei Baojiu was a famous actor.

He performed in special Chinese plays. He played roles of women. His father was also a star.

Mei learned to act from many teachers. He even acted with his father. They played as two snakes.

He worked hard to keep his art alive. He taught more than twenty students. He wanted kids to love these plays.

Mei Baojiu was a very important leader. He helped share his culture with the world.

Mei Baojiu was a famous Chinese actor.

He was a star in Peking Opera. This is a traditional kind of Chinese theater. He was a master of the Dan role. This means he played female characters on stage.

His father was Mei Lanfang. He was one of the most famous stars. Mei Baojiu learned from many great teachers. He even acted with his father. They once played two snakes in a story. His father helped him make his acting perfect.

Mei Baojiu worked hard to keep his art alive. He led a famous acting group. For a time, he could not perform on stage. He had to work with lights and recordings instead. He returned to the stage later in life.

He wanted young people to love this art. He taught more than twenty students. He even suggested using cartoons to teach opera. He wanted to bring opera into schools. He helped share his culture with many people. Mei Baojiu died in 2016 at age 82.

Mei Baojiu was a famous performer of Peking opera.

This is a traditional type of Chinese theater. He was a master of the Dan role. This means he played female characters on stage. He was also a skilled performer of Kunqu opera. He led the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe in Beijing. His work helped share this beautiful culture with the world. He wanted people to understand and value these old stories.

Learning this art was a very big job.

He studied with many different masters. Wang Youqing was his first teacher for the Qingyi role. Tao Yuzhi taught him martial arts. Zhu Chuanming taught him the Kunqu style. Later, Zhu Qinxin also taught him the Dan role. Even his father, Mei Lanfang, gave him directions. His father helped him make his acting perfect. He even taught him how to speak with more tension.

Mei Baojiu was born in Shanghai in the spring of 1934.

He was the ninth and youngest child of Mei Lanfang. Because he was the ninth child, people called him Baojiu. His father saw his delicate voice and handsome face. He decided to send his son to learn the opera. By age ten, Baojiu was already performing in Shanghai. At age thirteen, he performed plays for charity. At sixteen, he toured the whole country with his father's troupe.

His life as a performer had many changes.

In 1961, he became the leader of the Mei Lanfang troupe. After 1964, government rules meant he could not perform traditional plays. During this time, he worked with stage lighting and recordings. He finally returned to the stage in 1978. He rearranged many old plays like The Story of Yang Guifei. In 1993, he led his troupe on a visit to Taiwan. He lived to be 82 years old before he died in 2016.

Mei Baojiu loved to pass his skills to others.

He trained more than twenty students. One of them, Hu Wenge, was his only male student. He also wanted to help children learn about opera. In 2009, he suggested bringing opera into elementary schools. In 2012, he suggested using animation to interest teenagers. He even received a Ph.D. from a university in Japan. He worked hard to keep the Mei School alive for the future.

Mei Baojiu was a highly influential Chinese performer of Peking opera and Kunqu opera.

He specialized in the Dan role, which involves performing female characters. He also served as the leader of the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe in Beijing. As a master of the second generation of the Méi School, he carried on a specific artistic tradition. This school of performance is named after his father, the famous artist Mei Lanfang. Baojiu's life was dedicated to preserving this cultural heritage and sharing it with new audiences.

Learning the complexities of Peking opera required training from many different specialists.

His first teacher for the Qingyi role, a specific type of female character, was Wang Youqing. Wang Youqing was the nephew of Wang Yaoqing, who had previously taught Mei Lanfang. Baojiu also studied martial arts under the guidance of Tao Yuzhi. To master Kunqu opera, he studied with the prestigious performer Zhu Chuanming. Later, he received instruction in the Dan role from Zhu Qinxin. His father, Mei Lanfang, also provided direct guidance to help him perfect his craft.

Mei Baojiu's training involved learning specific techniques for voice and movement.

His father often gave him advice to improve his stage presence. For example, after watching a performance of The Story of Sue San, Mei Lanfang suggested changes to the spoken parts. He advised Baojiu to speak more infectiously and to increase his speaking speed to create tension during exciting moments. This helped the performer create a sense of drama for the audience. Such detailed coaching was essential for mastering the subtle nuances of the Méi School style.

Born in Shanghai in the spring of 1934, Baojiu was the ninth and youngest child of Mei Lanfang.

His name, Baojiu, reflects this because "jiu" means nine in Chinese. His father noticed his delicate voice and comely appearance early on. Because of these gifts, his father encouraged him to enter the world of opera. Baojiu began performing at the age of ten in Shanghai. By age thirteen, he was performing traditional plays for charity. At age sixteen, he joined the national tour of the Mei Lanfang Troupe.

His career faced significant shifts due to changing government regulations.

In 1961, following his father's death, he became the leader of the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe. However, after 1964, central government regulations forbade most traditional play performances. During this period, Baojiu shifted his focus to recording and stage lighting work. He eventually returned to the stage in 1978. He spent the following years reforming the troupe and rearranging classic plays like Yuzhoufeng the Sword and the story of Yang Guifei.

Mei Baojiu was deeply committed to the survival of his art form through teaching.

He trained more than twenty students to ensure the Méi School would continue. These students included Li Shengsu, Dong Yuanyuan, and Zhang Jing. Notably, Hu Wenge was his only male student. He also worked to bring opera to younger generations. In 2009, he proposed introducing Peking opera into elementary schools. In 2012, he suggested using animation to make the art form more interesting to teenagers.

Throughout his life, he participated in many important cultural activities.

In 1993, he led his troupe on a visit to Taiwan to perform for the public. He also participated in memorial activities to honor his father between 1981 and 1984. His academic achievements included receiving a Ph.D. from J. F. Oberlin University in Japan in 2012. Mei Baojiu passed away on April 25, 2016, at the age of 82. He left behind a massive legacy as the only heir to the Meipai Qingyi tradition.