Xiao Lanfang

Biography

Xiao Lanfang, originally named Chen Meigen, was born in March 1925 in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province, into a Shaoxing opera family. Her father Chen Xiangfa (stage name Wu Dong A Tu) was a Shaoxing opera martial female role performer. Influenced by her family from childhood, she loved opera and participated in Yue opera singing groups. In 1940 she joined a Shaoxing opera troupe. In 1945 she joined the Changshun Stage founded by Xiao Changshun and adopted the stage name "Xiao Lanfang" out of admiration for Mei Lanfang. In 1946 she performed at the Zhejiang East Grand Theatre in Shanghai. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1951 she founded the Yifeng Shaoxing Opera Troupe and served as its director. In 1960 the Yifeng Troupe was merged into the Xinmin Shaoxing Opera Troupe, where she served as deputy director. Xiao Lanfang performed plays adapted from Peking opera, including "Fan Lihua," "Yu Tang Chun," "Lin Jian Yi," and others, often performing opposite Qian Huiyun. Xiao Lanfang passed away in Shanghai on August 14, 2015, at the age of 90.