Li Jun

Biography

Li Jun is a Chinese Peking opera performer, born on November 29, 1961, in Shandong province. He specializes in the Yang school of old male roles in Peking opera and is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Performance Department of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts and later a master's degree from its graduate program. In 1978, he was admitted to the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, where he studied under prominent teachers including Ye Peng, Wang Shixu, Liu Shengtong, Li Shilin, and Fu Dewei. In 1985, he became a disciple of Yang school artist Liang Qingyun and learned classic plays such as Hongyang Dong, Wu Pen Ji, Ji Gu Ma Cao, Zhu Lian Zhai, and You Long Xi Feng. In 1988, he formally studied under the famous Peking opera artist Ma Changli, learning works like Xiang He, Duan Mi Jian, Qin Xianglian, and Gan Lu Si. In 1992, he officially transferred to work at the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe, then studied under Wang Zhenghua, a Yang school master, and performed classic pieces such as Wu Zi Shi, Shi Kong Zhan, and Si Lang Tan Mu. He served as head of the Second Troupe of the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe. He received numerous awards, including the First Prize in opera performance from the Shandong provincial cultural system in 1988, the Best Honor Award in the National Youth Television Competition in 1990, and the Best Performance Award in 1991.