The 120th anniversary of Mei Lanfang [Photo/www.wupromotion.com]

A symposium was held in Beijing to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of the famous Peking opera performer Mei Lanfang on Dec 2. It was hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), the Beijing Municipal Government and Chinese Theatre Association and undertaken by the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Zhao Shi, secretary of the Leading Party Group in CFLAC, said at the symposium that Mei Lanfang was a legend for his outstanding artistic achievements as well as his contributions as a cultural ambassador for China and Chinese art. Mei devoted himself wholeheartedly to traditional opera, set the affections on his audiences, and showed great fidelity to his country. These made him revered by all the Chinese for his excellence as a performer and for his moral integrity.

According to Dong Wei, vice minister of the Chinese Culture Ministry, the celebration of the 120th anniversary of Mei Lanfang is of great significance. He showed his expectations for literary and art workers that they should follow Mei’s spirit of bringing forth new ideas and striving for perfection and learn from his examples of keeping a foothold on national culture and reaching out to the world. Also, he inspired them to create more people-oriented works that reflect the essence of Chinese culture and Chinese aesthetic pursuits, under the guidance of President Xi Jinping’s speeches at the symposium on the arts.

Wang Wenzhang, president of China National Academy of Arts, emphasized at the symposium that Mei Lanfang’s performance system should be studied in a comprehensive way. This will help promote the theoretical construction of the traditional drama performance system, which was of great importance in the world trend of cultural diversity.

Mei Baojiu, Mei Lanfang’s son, showed his gratitude for the symposium on behalf of his family members. He also expressed his expectation for his students to make innovations with respect to learning, performing and teaching and carry the arts of the Mei School forward to a new level.

Mei Lanfang’s relatives, students from the Mei School, experts on Mei Lanfang arts, and representatives from Mei Lanfang’s hometown attended the symposium.