Modern take on an ancient art

When it comes to promoting the ancient performance art of Peking Opera to the masses, there are few practitioners out there that can compete with Wang Peiyu, who has been nicknamed Yu Laoban, or "Boss Yu", by her fans.

The term laoban in Peking Opera refers to a highly popular star who is usually the leader or central figure in a performing troupe.

But what is most impressive about the 41-year-old is her ability to connect with the younger generation and share with them the beauty of Peking Opera. To do so, she leverages the power of Chinese short video app Tik Tok to share stories about the performance techniques of Peking Opera troupes, how heroes typically laugh and how singers create their hairstyles. She has more than 760,000 followers on Tik Tok, and nearly 1.5 million on Sina Weibo. Each of her posts are liked and shared by thousands of users.

"There are two types of people in the world," says Wang.

"There are those who love Peking Opera, and those who still have no idea that they like it."

On Dec 16, a legion of young fans turned up at the Shanghai Grand Theater and sang along as she belted out the famous song from an extract from the Three Kingdoms during the final leg of her 2019 national tour concert.

"It is hard to imagine that this is a Peking Opera show," said one review by the Shanghai-based news portal, The Paper. "All the seats in the stalls, balcony and third floor were filled, with many young faces shining with excitement."

Wang also released a new pop single Shao Nian Xing (Ode to Youth) that has lyrics reminiscent of ancient Chinese poetry, and a music style also featuring a touch of Peking Opera. On the first day of its release, the song was played 140,000 times on the CloudMusic platform.

In the past few years, she has frequently appeared on talk shows, reality television programs and livestreaming platforms, and has even launched her own ranges of merchandise.

Bridge to youth

For many young Chinese fans, their first exposure to Peking Opera came from seeing Wang. Her talk shows, public appearances and social media activities are all tailored to young audiences.

In 2010, Wang pioneered a new way of performing Peking Opera by founding an innovative recital under the name of Qing Yin Hui (Concert of Pure Sound). During these concerts, she and other artists would appear onstage without the heavy makeup or costumes typically seen in Peking Opera productions.

She would then sing a piece before analyzing the characters and explaining its historical background, and the nature of the performance and singing styles to the audience. These livestreamed concerts turned out to be very popular－Wang staged nine performances in eight cities in 2019 alone.

Wang Xiaolei, a fan of Wang Peiyu's who works in the finance department of an international company, attended four of these recitals in 2019.

"I am from Shanghai and nobody in my family used to enjoy Peking Opera," she told China Daily after the launch of Wang Peiyu's new book, Tai Shang Jian (See You on the Stage), in October.

She says she first saw Wang in Roast, a talk show streamed live, which attracted her to Peking Opera.

"I've seen many traditional plays, and I was moved to tears seeing a couple of new plays about the Chinese revolution," she says.

"I'm very familiar with Peking Opera stars in Shanghai such as Shi Yihong and Fu Xiru, but Boss Yu remains my all-time true love."

In September, the authorities of Shanghai's Baoshan district decided to help Wang Peiyu in her efforts to promote Peking Opera by letting her manage Yu Yin Ge, a cozy 200-seat theater venue located within the Dragon Museum of Modern Art in the district. The 300-year-old theater was originally located in Anhui province before it was moved to Shanghai.

"This will be my headquarters for the performance of traditional Peking Opera works. I could not help but marvel at its beauty. I've seen some antique theaters as I've traveled around the country, but this was the only one that inspired me to sing," says Wang Peiyu.

"I hope Yu Yin Ge will not only be a performance venue for established artists and stars, but also a place where young people can come and try their hand. This theater has an intimate ambience that cannot be found in modern venues."

The theater features traditional Chinese stage design and has elaborate eaves, columns, handrails and windows. Its roof is structured like a pyramid to optimize the acoustics.

Apart from putting on performances of Peking Opera, the theater regularly holds public concerts. Wang and her colleagues have designed a series of interactive experiences catered to younger visitors, where they can put on Peking Opera costumes and makeup, and enjoy a short ride in a vintage rickshaw.

According to the authorities in Baoshan, the decision to let Wang Peiyu and her team manage the theater was based on the fact that she had set up her studio in the district a year before. During this time, she hosted workshops, a Peking Opera culture week and a series of mini-festivals to promote the art form and other aspects of traditional Chinese culture. Wang and her team also compiled a textbook describing the basic principles of Peking Opera－one of the first of its kind in China－which is currently being used by several schools in the district on a trial basis.

Dedicated life

The recipient of many honors, including the Meihua Award, the national award for folk operas, Wang Peiyu only began her training in Peking Opera when she was a middle school student in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

"As a young fan of Peking Opera, I used to play laodan (mature female roles), and then laosheng (mature male roles), and I was lucky to be introduced to the Yu Shuyan school of laosheng performance," she recalls in her new book Tai Shang Jian, which was published by the CITIC Publishing Group.

However, after she had passed all the tests required for entry into the Shanghai Theater School, Wang was left with a sense of disappointment since they would not allow a girl to become a laosheng performer.

The most influential folk opera in China, Peking Opera began to win national recognition in the late 1700s. At first, the performances featured an all-male cast, and it was only until the early 20th century that female artists playing laosheng became commonplace.

Among the most famous laosheng performers is the late Meng Xiaodong (1907-1977), who was renowned for her clear voice and mastery in portraying masculinity on the stage. Meng was one of the few disciples of Peking Opera master Yu Shuyan (1890-1943), who placed a great deal of emphasis on emotional expressions with his distinctive scholarly grace.

Meng also played an important role in introducing Yu and his achievements to the public, notes Wang, who used to train with a disciple of Meng's, and identifies herself as a fourth-generation inheritor of the Yu Shuyan school of Peking Opera.

As a child, Wang Peiyu used to sing at Sunday afternoon open-mic Peking Opera sessions at Shanghai Culture Square, and this was where Wang Siji, a teacher with the Shanghai Theater School, spotted her talents.

"Mr Wang made a promise to the school to tutor me personally and ensure there would be no gaps in my professional training," she recalls. "Eventually, I became the last person on the list of 54 students who enrolled in the Peking Opera class at the Shanghai Theater School in 1992."

Decades of training and performances as elderly men, usually dignified officials or legendary heroes, has given Wang Peiyu a unique masculine flair in her personal style. She wears her hair extremely short and her manner of dress can best be described as "androgynous".

"She is incredibly charming with or without Peking Opera makeup," said Shanghai-based music critic Tian Yimiao at the launch of Wang Peiyu's new book.

"Wang Peiyu is one of the first popular idols among the Peking Opera artists in contemporary China, and her influence goes far beyond the theater circles. Opera stars today can make an unimaginable impact compared to previous eras, and she has inspired a large number of young fans to develop an interest in Peking Opera. She opened the gate for them to the world of traditional Chinese art and culture."