Pingju originated in Tangshan, Hebei, near the city of Tianjin.[1] Among all China's regional operas, it was the most famous in the Republican period for its passionate performances and romantic plots.[2]
Movies based upon and incorporating Pingju include Zhang Shichuan's 1936 Red Begonia(t 海棠紅,s 海棠红,Hǎitáng Hóng), starring Bai Yushuang.[3]
Bai Yushuang was known as the "Queen of Pingju". Other famed performers include Xin Fengxia[4] and her mentor Hua Furong.[5]
References
^"China Pingju Festival", China Culture.
^Cheng (2002), p. 8.
^Cheng (2002), p. 11.
^Davis, Edward L. (January 2009). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 649. ISBN 978-0-415-77716-2.
^Cheng (2002), p. 7.
Bibliography
Cheng, Weikun (June 2002). "The Use of "Public" Women: Commercialized Performance, Nation-Building, and Actresses' Strategies in Early Twentieth-Century Beijing" (PDF). WID Working Papers. Ann Arbor: Office of Women in International Development, Michigan State University.
Further reading
Chinnery, John (2007). Pingju: Real Life Opera of Northern China. New World Press.