Introduction

Abstract

Mei Lanfang (1894–1961) made his international debut in 1919 at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. With the phenomenal success of his subsequent tours of the United States in 1930 and the Soviet Union in 1935, Mei Lanfang has since been recognized internationally as China’s greatest actor of female roles and arguably as one of the world’s greatest actors who ever performed on the twentieth-century international stage. Born into a theatrical family in Beijing on October 22, 1894, Mei Lanfang began to learn his craft of performing female roles at the age of seven. His grandfather, Mei Qiaoling, was a renowned nandan (male actor of female roles) and manager of one of the four noted theatrical companies in Beijing. Mei Qiaoling was recognized as one of the thirteen great actors of the late Qing dynasty and frequently performed in the imperial palace. Mei Lanfang’s maternal grandfather, Yang Longshou, was a noted wusheng (military male role) performer. Mei’s father, Mei Zhufen, chose to become an actor of female roles but died at the age of twenty-six. Mei was raised by his uncle, Mei Yutian, an accomplished stage musician.