Dai Xueru

Biography

Dai Xueru was a famous Chinese Sichuan opera performer, born in 1913 in Chengdu, Sichuan. Her father, Dai Weicheng, was a carpenter. She studied at a private school for two years, then apprenticed under the renowned dan role performer Chen Bixiu. She began her stage career at Sanqinghui, performing in plays such as Jiangxiao Tower and Two Ghosts on the Road. During the War of Resistance against Japan, she joined the Yourong Sichuan Opera Troupe in Chongqing and married actor Liu Chengji. After the war, she returned to Chengdu with her husband and performed at several theaters. In 1947, she was arrested for participating in the play Beating the Judge, which criticized the political situation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she worked in Deyang and served as deputy head of the Deyang Sichuan Opera Troupe. She participated in the first National Opera Performance Conference in 1952, the Chinese delegation to North Korea in 1953, and an international tour to four Eastern European countries in 1959. She is considered one of the most prominent Sichuan opera performers in dan (female) roles.