Cai Zhengren

Biography

Cai Zhengren is a Chinese Kunqu opera performer born on July 2, 1941, in Wujiang, Jiangsu Province. He entered the Kunqu actor training program at the East China Academy of Theatre in 1954 and graduated from the Shanghai Theatre School in 1961. He studied Kunqu male roles under the "Chuan" generation masters Shen Chuanzhi and Yu Zhenfei, and received guidance from renowned artists such as Jiang Miaoxiang and Zhou Chengying, earning him the title "Little Yu Zhenfei." When the Shanghai Youth Jingkun Troupe was established, he contributed to preserving and documenting Kunqu, producing works such as "On the Wall and in the Saddle" and "The Peony Pavilion," and performing over 60 Kunqu productions and more than 300 excerpt scenes. In 1986, he won the fourth China Drama Plum Blossom Award for his performances in "Qiao Cu" and "Jian Niang." He currently serves as director of the Kunqu Professional Committee of the Chinese Kunqu and Guqin Research Society.