Cheng Yanqiu (1 January 1904-9 March 1958), born in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, was one of the great twentieth century performers of the Dan role type in Jingju, or Peking Opera.

Cheng was also the creator of several original jingju productions in the 1920s and 30's. During the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 he refused to perform and instead worked as a farmer in Beijing. After the war, he was appointed vice president of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Opera.

At 8:20pm on 9 March 1958, Cheng died of a heart attack in Beijing.

See also

• Mei Lanfang
  Méi Lánfang
  Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Beijing opera artists in modern history, exclusively known for his qingyi roles, a type of dan role. Méi Lánfāng is his stage name, and in Chinese it is generally considered a feminine name. His real name was Méi Lán...
  
  
• Shang Xiaoyun
  Shang Xiaoyun
  Shang Xiaoyun was one of the four great twentieth century performers of the Dan role type in Jingju with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng....
  
  
• Xun Huisheng
  Xun Huisheng
  Xun Huisheng was one of the four great twentieth century performers of the Dan role type in Jingju with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu and Shang Xiaoyun....