Yan Fengying

Yan Fengying (13 April 1930 – 8 April 1968), born Yan Hongliu, also known as Yan Daifeng,[1] was a Chinese Huangmei opera artist who played dan (female) roles. Though she lived a short life, she left such a mark and is today remembered as the "queen of Huangmei opera".[2]

Yan Fengying
Born(1930-04-13)April 13, 1930
Tongcheng, Anhui, Republic of China
DiedApril 8, 1968(1968-04-08) (aged 37)
Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
OccupationHuangmei opera performer
Years active1944–1966
Known forYoung dan roles
StyleYan school (founder)
Spouses
Gan Lüzhi (甘律之)
​
​
(m. 1954⁠–⁠1956)​
    Wang Guanya (王冠亚)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1956⁠–⁠1968)​
    Children2
    Chinese name
    Traditional Chinese嚴鳳英
    Simplified Chinese严凤英
    In this Chinese name, the family name is Yan.

    Like most famous Chinese opera artists, Yan Fengying suffered greatly in the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). Charged with 13 (trumped up) criminal counts of "counterrevolutionary activities" and tortured beyond enduring, she killed herself in 1968. Her death reveals the shocking cruelty and lunacy of that period. After her overdosing on sleeping pills was discovered by her husband Wang Guanya, instead of rushing her to the hospital, the authorities held a struggle session at her bedside.[3] One hospital refused to admit her, and the one that did, reluctantly, refused to treat her without permission from her danwei (work unit). She died without receiving treatment, but was promptly dissected to find out whether she carried an enemy (Kuomintang) radio transmitter in her body.[4] Writer Geling Yan, who grew up in Hefei, described what she saw on that day in a 2012 interview:[5]

    I always remember Yan Fengying's suicide. At that time she was unconscious, tubes all over her body. IV lines, urine catheters. The male doctor just had her exposed like that for everyone to see. She had no clothes on, nude, flesh waiting to be cut up, in full view of a group who could hurt her. She was a specimen stapled on a hospital bed. An electrician intentionally dropped [his] cigarette butt [on her]... At that time I was 9. I was terrified.

    Wang Guanya published a biography of her in 1981, and wrote the screenplay of the TV series Yan Fengying. The 1988 biopic, which starred "the next Yan Fengying" Ma Lan in the title role, became a national hit (and made Ma Lan well known among those who do not listen to opera). One man was so moved by Yan's tragic fate that he sold all his clothes to travel from Fujian to Hefei to "beat up" Wang Guanya because he thought Wang did not protect his wife enough. More people, however, sympathized with Wang, who was himself tortured, and many girls offered to marry him. Until his death in 2013, Wang Guanya never remarried. He spent the rest of his life adapting Yan Fengying's repertoire into TV series, radio series, and Huangmei operas for the younger generation.

    Repertoire (incomplete)
    English Title Original Title Role Notes
    Tian Xian Pei天仙配Seventh Fairymade into a 1956 film
    The Female Imperial Son-in-Law女駙馬Feng Suzhenmade into a 1959 film
    Liu Sanjie劉三姐Liu Sanjie
    The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl牛郎織女Weaver Girlmade into a 1963 film
    The Couple Enjoys the Lantern Show夫妻觀燈Wang Xiaoliu's wifea video from 1956 survives
    The Green Jade Hairpin碧玉簪Li XiuyingAudio recording survives
    Hitting the Princess打金枝Princess Shengping
    Cutting Hogweed打豬草Tao Jinhua
    An Appointment on Blue Bridge藍橋會Lan Yulian
    Delivering the Fragrant Tea送香茶Chen Yueying
    A Kitchen Knife Story菜刀記Liu Fengying

    References
    1. Chan, Shirley Wai (2003). "Yan Fengying". In Lee, Lily Xiao Hong (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: The Twentieth Century (1912–2000). Translated by Michael Paton. Routledge. pp. 609–10. ISBN 0-7656-0043-9.
    2. "The queen of Huangmei Opera remembered". China Daily. 2010-06-18.
    3. Guo Jian; Song, Yongyi; Zhou, Yuan (2009). The A to Z of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Scarecrow Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-8108-6870-0.
    4. Yan Jiaqi; Gao Gao (1996). Turbulent Decade: A History of the Cultural Revolution. Translated by D.W.Y. Kwok. University of Hawaiʻi Press. p. 261. ISBN 0-8248-1695-1.
    5. Cao Xueping (2012-09-28). "严歌苓：小说源于我创伤性的记忆" [Geling Yan: My Fictions Stem from Traumatic Memories]. Beijing News (in Chinese).
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