Zhou Xinfang
| Zhou Xinfang | |
|---|---|
| Born |
14 January 1895 Huai'an, Jiangsu, China |
| Died | 8 March 1975 (aged 80) Shanghai, China |
| Other names | Qi Ling Tong, Age-Seven Boy, Qilin Boy |
| Spouse(s) | Lilian Qiu |
| Children | Susan Cha, Cecilia Chung (Zhou Yi), Tsai Chin, William Chow, Michael Chow, Vivian Chow (wife of Ho Yi) |
| Zhou Xinfang | |||||||||
| Chinese | |||||||||
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| Qi-Ling Tong | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | Age-7 Boy | ||||||||
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| Qilin Tong | |||||||||
| Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | Qilin Boy | ||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōu Xìnfāng |
| Wade–Giles | Cho Hsin-fang |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qī-líng Tóng |
| Wade–Giles | Ch`i-ling Tong |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qílín Tóng |
| Wade–Giles | Ch`i-lin T`ung |
Zhou Xinfang (14 January 1895 – 8 March 1975), also known by his stage name Qilin Tong or Qilin Boy, was a Peking Opera actor who specialized in its "old male" (, laosheng) role. He is considered one of the greatest grand masters of Peking Opera, and the best known and leading member of the Shanghai School of Peking Opera. He was persecuted and died during the Cultural Revolution.
Over 650 Peking Operas performed by Zhou have been identified by the Zhou Xinfang Arts Research Centre in China by 2015, topping all actors in recorded Chinese performing arts history in terms of known number of repertoire titles.
He was married to Lilian Qiu (1905 - 1968) and father of Michael Chow and Tsai Chin and grandfather of actress China Chow. He was also father-in-law to actor/director Ho Yi who is married to his youngest daughter Vivian Chow.
Zhou, a native of Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang, was born on January 14, 1895 in Qingjiangpu (清江浦, today's Huai'an), Jiangsu into a family with a tradition of opera performances. He started to learn Peking Opera at 6, and made his debut in a child role in Hangzhou at the age of 7, thus acquiring the stage name "Qi Ling Tong" or "Age-Seven Boy". When he was twelve, this stage name was changed to "Qilin (Unicorn) Boy" as "age-seven" and qilin sound similar in Chinese.
Zhou started performing in Shanghai in 1906, and went to Beijing in 1908. He started performing major roles from the age of thirteen, and worked with notable opera singers such as Mei Lanfang and Tan Xinpei ().
Zhou had a light husky singing voice and specialized in playing old male (laosheng) roles. He was often referred to as the "Southern Qi" (after his stage name Qilin Boy) in conjunction with "Northern Ma" (Ma Lianliang), another lao sheng performer. He developed his own unique vocal style, which came to be known as of the "Qi style" or "Qi school". He served as one of the mentors and guardians of the actress Li Yuru as she began her career.
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Wikipedia