What are the Four Famous Dancers of Peking Opera?

The four famous dan of Peking Opera are Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng.

1, Mei Lanfang

Mei Lanfang (1894~1961), originally from Jiangsu Province, Taizhou, Minglan, also known as Heming, the word Wanhua, Runhua, alias the master of Duiyu Xuan, the stage name Lanfang. Beijing, born in Beijing in 1894, he was born in Beijing opera family, 10 years old on stage in Beijing Guanghe Lou performance of the "Tianxian match", attack flower Dan, in 1908 by Xi Liancheng class, in 1911 Beijing from all walks of life held a selection of Peking Opera performers, posted the chrysanthemum list, Mei Lanfang was ranked the third flower scouting.

2, Cheng Yanqiu

Cheng Yanqiu (1904~1958), Manchu, Beijing. Since childhood, he studied opera and played the role of Qingyi, under the tutelage of Mei Lanfang. He was brave to innovate and create in his art, paying attention to rhyme, focusing on the four voices, and pursuing a high degree of combination of sound, emotion, beauty, and eternity. According to the characteristics of his own voice, he created a kind of singing voice that was elegant, undulating, staggering, and with changing rhythms, thus forming a unique artistic style, which is known as the Cheng School in the world.

3. Shang Xiaoyun

Shang Xiaoyun (1900~1976) was a young boy who entered the school to learn the art of singing, and at the age of 14, he was honored as the first child actor. At the age of 14, he was honored as the first child actor. He was known for his strong and powerful singing voice, and was also known as the Shang School. His masterpieces include "The Second Palace", "Sacrifice to the Pagoda", "Zhaojun's Exodus from the Frontiers", "Liang Hongyu", etc., in which he portrayed a number of women heroes and chivalrous heroines.

4. Xun Huisheng

Xun Huisheng (1900~1968) studied in the Hebei Opera Class at an early age, and switched to Peking Opera at the age of 19, where he played the roles of Huadan (flower girl) and Kaimadan (sword girl). He was able to draw on the strengths of the Dan role of the Bang Bang Opera and melted the Peking Opera's Hua Dan's performance into one, forming a unique artistic style, which is known as Xun's school.

Characteristics of Peking Opera

Peking Opera's performances are programmed, and the fixed process and form of performances constitute a certain norm. Secondly, the costumes of Peking Opera are strictly regulated, with specific costumes and patterns for different characters. In addition, the stage of Peking Opera is simply arranged, usually with only a table and two chairs, without a big curtain, so that the audience can see the stage clearly.

The most important feature of Peking Opera is singing, reciting, acting and martial arts. Singing, reciting, acting and fighting are the most distinctive features of Chinese opera that distinguish it from the world's theater types. Traditional Peking Opera also has a virtual beauty, the stage is basically fake except for the people, a table, two chairs plus people constitute the whole Peking Opera performance. Peking Opera has a unique singing style, including Xipi, Erhuang and other cadences, which are characterized by high spirits and delicate lyricism.

Refer to Baidu Encyclopedia - The Four Famous Dancers for the above content