Ding Shi'e

Biography

Ding Shi'e (1923–1988), originally named Pan Yonghua, was a Chinese Yue opera (Hujo) performer and the founder of the "Ding Pai" school of Hujo art. Born in Shanghai to a modest family from Zhejiang province, her father worked at a silk shop. At age nine, she studied under Ding Wan'e and received her stage name. She trained in young female, mature female, and elderly female roles, and first appeared on stage as a child under the name "Little Wan'e." After completing her apprenticeship at eighteen, she performed with several troupes. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she devoted herself to reforming Hujo opera and achieved outstanding results in modern plays. She won the First-Class Actress Award at the East China Theater Festival in 1954 and received numerous state honors, including the National "March 8th Red Banner" title in 1960 and 1979. She portrayed a diverse array of contrasting female characters, including Xiao Fei'e, Lin Peifen, Fanyi, Ah Qingsao, and Shenniang. She became director of the Shanghai Hujo Troupe in 1978 and the first president of the Shanghai Hujo Theater upon its establishment in 1982. She passed away in 1988 after battling kidney cancer.