27 Facts About Ouyang Yuqian

Ouyang Yuqian was a Chinese playwright, Peking opera actor and writer, film screenwriter and director, and drama educator.

Ouyang Yuqian is considered by drama historians as one of the three founders of the modern Chinese spoken drama, together with Tian Han and Hong Shen.

Ouyang Yuqian was one of the top Peking opera performers, regarded as a southern counterpart of Mei Lanfang.

Ouyang Yuqian was the founding president of the Central Academy of Drama from 1950 until his death in 1962.

Ouyang Yuqian served as vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association, and chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association.

Ouyang Yuqian used the stage names and pen names including Lanrong, Liansheng, and Taohua Buyi'an Zhu.

Ouyang Yuqian born on 12 May 1889 into a wealthy and highly educated family in Liuyang, Hunan Province.

Ouyang Yuqian's father was Ouyang Ligeng, and mother Liu Yixia.

Ouyang Yuqian's grandfather Ouyang Zhonghu was a scholar who served as governor of Guilin Prefecture during the Qing dynasty.

Ouyang Yuqian graduated from Seijo School in Tokyo, and then studied business at Meiji University and literature at Waseda University.

Ouyang Yuqian returned to China in 1911 and founded the New Play Comrade Society with his Spring Willow colleague Lu Jingruo.

In 1914, Ouyang Yuqian began to write and act in Peking operas.

Ouyang Yuqian adapted more than 50 traditional stories into Peking opera, including many from the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber.

Ouyang Yuqian's acting was so highly acclaimed that he was considered the southern counterpart of the master Mei Lanfang.

Ouyang Yuqian joined several New Play societies in the 1910s and co-founded several pioneering drama troupes, including the Masses Theatre Society, the Drama Cooperative Society, and the Southern Drama Society.

Ouyang Yuqian did help out on several occasions, but at the same time wrote three films for the rival China Sun Motion Picture Company from 1926 to 1928.

In 1929, Ouyang Yuqian was invited by Chen Mingshu, chairman of Guangdong Province, to establish the Guangdong Drama Research Institute in Guangzhou.

Ouyang Yuqian joined the Left-Wing Dramatist League in Guangzhou and participated in the first drama festival in the Soviet Union.

Ouyang Yuqian made three films with Mingxing: Qingming Festival, Xiao Lingzi, and Red Haitang.

Ouyang Yuqian studied Guilin opera and established a school for the art.

Ouyang Yuqian established Guangxi Provincial Art Museum in 1940, and an art theatre 1944.

Ouyang Yuqian was elected director of the Chinese National Opera Improvement Committee and a Standing Committee member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

Ouyang Yuqian became the founding president of Central Academy of Drama in April 1950.

Ouyang Yuqian served as vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association, and chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association.

Ouyang Yuqian was a member of the first National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the first and second National People's Congress.

On 21 September 1962, Ouyang Yuqian died of an illness in Beijing.

Ouyang Yuqian married Liu Yunqiu, known as Liu Wenqiu, in 1906.