Mei Lanfang, whose hometown is Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, was born on 22nd October, 1894 in Beijing, is a world-known master of dramatic art as well as the most outstanding exponent of Beijing Opera in China.
Mr. Mei loved his country deeply all his life as well as the people. He devoted himself to the art of Beijing Opera. During his half century of stage career, he followed the tradition and at the same time—keep innovating. He gathered the best of Chinese operas and created lots of beautiful and unforgettable images, he accumulated plenty of brilliant works and developed and improved Dan’s singing and performing art. As a result, a new style appeared—Mei Style. Mei played a very important role in Chinese contemporary dramatic art. Mei was considered as a great actor and a beauty both in and out of the country.
Mr. Mei made great contributions to accelerating the communication between China and other countries. He is among the first to spread Beijing Opera to oversea countries. He used to visit Japan, America and the Soviet Union and built sincere friendship with their artists. His activities not only strengthened the foreign people’s understanding of Chinese culture, but also pushed Beijing Opera into the world’s dramatic art.
After the People’s Republic of China was founded, Mr. Mei was elected a deputy to the National People's Congress and a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference. He was also elected a vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and of the Dramatists' Union. He became president of the Institute of Chinese Opera Research and of the College of Chinese Opera, as well as Director of the National Beijing Opera Theatre. Mei was accepted into the party in July, 1959 and made significant contributions to the socialist construction of his motherland in his late years.
In a word, Mr. Mei is the symbol of China’s performing art. What is more, he is the pride of all the Chinese people. [1]