Exhibition Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of Mei Lanfang's Birth Opens in Beijing

2024 marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of Mei Lanfang. Recently, the "Brilliance of Mei Art: Exhibition Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of Mei Lanfang's Birth," jointly organized by the Taizhou Municipal People's Government, the China National Academy of Arts, the National Peking Opera Company, the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, and the Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall, opened at the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.

Mei Lanfang is a world-renowned Peking Opera master and a source of pride for the people of his hometown, Taizhou. In recent years, Taizhou has been promoting its cultural brand as "Meilang’s Hometown, Opera Sanctuary." For 15 consecutive years, Taizhou has hosted the Mei Lanfang Arts Festival, striving to become a national center for opera performance, exchange, research, and dissemination.

Opening Ceremony Performance

At the opening ceremony, classic excerpts from "The Drunken Beauty," "The Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers," and "Mu Guiying Takes Command" were performed in succession.

The exhibition, titled "Brilliance of Mei Art," is divided into six sections: "Prologue," "Master of a Generation," "Cultural Ambassador," "Sentiment and Responsibility," "Mission and Rebirth," and "Fond Remembrance."

The organizers meticulously selected over 200 items closely related to Mei Lanfang's artistic career, including manuscripts, calligraphy and paintings, ancient books, opera costumes, playbills, musical instruments, and records. Notably, nearly 120 of these items are being displayed to the public for the first time.

Exhibition Highlights

It is worth mentioning that as Mei Lanfang’s hometown, Taizhou actively participated in the exhibition planning, organizing numerous physical exhibits and important visual materials, vividly reflecting the hometown people's love for Mei Lanfang and his cultural heritage.

This exhibition is part of the "130th Anniversary of Mei Lanfang's Birth Series Commemorative Activities" and will run until October 23, 2024. The series of activities also includes seminars, performances of classic Mei School operas, performances by Mei School masters, international academic symposiums, international exhibitions, and cultural lectures.