Wang Peiyu in makeup to play Yang Silang in a traditional Peking Opera performance.

By Qiu Chen

It is said that a woman can never fully understand a man. However, Wang Peiyu seems to be an exception. As a Peking Opera actress, Wang, 32, is well-known for playing famous men from Chinese history.

By the time Wang was in her 20s, she was already considered the best female lao sheng in China. Lao sheng refers the role of a middle-aged or elderly man, which is Wang's specialty. In Peking Opera, men often play the cross-dressing role of dan, but what is less known is that talented actresses also play the parts of men.

Off stage, Wang defies tradition. She dresses boyishly, though fashionably. She wears her hair short and spiky, and has been known to dye it white and yellow.

Wang has spent her career trying to broaden the appeal of Peking Opera, especially among young people, because she believes that cultivating the next generation of fans is necessary to the art form's survival. "I am confident that there is a huge potential market for Peking Opera. But the reality is that young people think it is outdated or inaccessible," she said. "I am trying to expose them to it and break the stereotype by showing that traditional art can still be fashionable." 

Still, with competition from popular entertainment, her endeavor to bring Peking Opera to a broader audience has been met with limited success, and at one point derailed her career.

Shooting star

Wang did not start studying Peking Opera until she was 11, six years later than most serious students. But though she started late, success came early. At 14, she got into the Shanghai Academy of Drama, becoming the first female student who played male roles to be admitted since the 1950s. By the time she was 20, she had won every competition in her age group that she could enter. Her success was due to good luck, diligence and most importantly, talent.

At 22, right after graduation, Wang was hired by the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe, one of the premier Peking Opera groups in the city and was dubbed "Yu Laoban," with the honorific title laoban added to her given name as a sign of adoration and respect.

Wang's career peaked in 2003. At 25, she had already risen to the position of troupe vice president, becoming the group's youngest manager since it was founded. No one expected that the promotion would nearly end her career. Wang acknowledged that she did not handle the shift from performing to managing well. "I did not know where I should be, in the practice studio or at the office? I never learned management. I was at loss," she said.

As a vice president, Wang was in charge of training the actors and arranging the performances, through which, she came to realize that there were no incentives for Peking Opera to develop. "Peking Opera is not market-driven. It is fully supported by the government," Wang said. "I was eager to change the status quo. But at that time I was immature and overconfident."

Wang wanted to start her own studio within the troupe that she would be in charge of, but her proposal was rejected. Insisting on her plan, Wang resigned and established the Wang Peiyu Working Studio at the end of 2004. However, she didn't have the resources to maintain the studio, which shut down after one year. "I realized that Peking Opera theatre is the same without me, but without the theatre, I was unable to perform as freely as before," Wang said. "It taught me humility."

Wang sings Peking Opera at the Great China Theatre in Tianjin. Photos: Courtesy of Wang Chi.

In 2006, she rejoined the theatre as an ordinary performer. But her personal experiment did teach her that there was a potential market for Peking Opera and she continued to look for ways to broaden the art form's appeal. "I am not a reformer but a performer," she said. "I personally cannot change the system, but I can attract a broader audience and help them learn more about Peking Opera."

The next generation

Wang has focused her efforts on younger Chinese. She sees people in their 30s as the demographic with the most potential because they have more disposable income and leisure time. But she also thought it was important to expose younger people to Peking Opera.

 "The support of young people is the only thing that can breathe new life into the centuries-old opera," Wang said. "However, they don't know much about it because it was already losing popularity before they were born. They need to be cultivated and guided."

Taking advantage of her own popularity with younger fans, Wang hopes to build a new audience for Peking Opera.

 "A lot of young people fell in love with Peking Opera after they became Wang's fans," said Wang Chi, who manages Wang's online fan club, called Yumen, which has 380 members. Wang's youngest fans are about 16, but more are in college, he said.

"I was very impressed by the contrast between Wang and the job she's doing. In daily life, she looks fashionable and modern, just like us. But her performances are classical and traditional," a 23-year-old college student named Gui Lin said. "I was curious about her and watched her shows. Gradually, I got interested in not only Wang, but the art as well."

Building a fan base

Wang Chi said Wang always updates her latest performances for the online club. She often invites fans to see her shows, which they record and share with other fans. "Just like movies, Peking Opera needs stars to attract fans. I think Wang Peiyu is right to take advantage of her appeal to promote the traditional opera," said Wang Chi, who has been an opera lover for more than a decade.

Since February, Wang has been teaching a series of open classes about Peking Opera, sponsored by the Shanghai Peking and Kunqu Opera Center. "It is a simple and fun way for young people to get exposed to the opera," Wang said.

She has also tried crossover shows to attract a broader audience. In January, Wang worked with actors who perform pingshu and xiangsheng, traditional Chinese storytelling and comedy performances, to create a different kind of traditional show. In September, she sang a classical opera accompanied with guitar and drums.

"I know it will take long time for Peking Opera to regain popularity, and it probably will never be as popular as it used to. But I just want to do all I can for it and I am confident that its future is bright," she said.