It was hard for a teenage actress to hear that she would only ever play a boy on stage.

So hard, Yue Meiti tried to rebel when her teacher at drama school suggested she play roles of handsome young men, or "nu xiaosheng," in her performance of six-century-old Kunqu Opera.

That was about 40 years ago.

Today, Yue is probably the most influential "female Adam" in the history of Kunqu -- "the mother of all Chinese operas," -- in which it is traditional for women to play men's roles and vice versa.

Yue and Zhang Xunpeng, another leading actress at the Shanghai Kunqu Opera House, took part in a special lecture performance to demonstrate the fine tradition of Kunqu Opera last weekend.

"All those with even the slightest interest in Kunqu are warmly welcome. Our biggest wish is to help the audience savour the elegant beauty of Kunqu and lead them into the splendid world of the art which we have enjoyed all our lives," said Zhang. 

The two veteran artists not only elaborated on the fundamentals of Kunqu Opera, but also performed with their best students famous actor Li An and actress Shen Yili scenes from the Kunqu classic The Peony Pavilion.

"Kunqu is a fine art of extreme grace and sophistication. It involves melodious musical accompaniment, poetic lyrics, elaborate symbolism and stylized performances," Yue said.

"Without our teachers' help, we ourselves could not have grown such a profound love for the art in our youth."

"We want to offer a helping hand to all those attending this Saturday, just as our teachers did for us decades ago."

The rise of Yue and Zhang in the world of Kunqu is typical of Chinese opera actresses and actors of their age.

Upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China, top leaders and the most noted Kunqu artists set up a training school to revive Kunqu Opera.

The group of artists included maestros Yu Zhenfei (1902-1993), a legendary figure both in Peking and Kunqu opera, Yu's wife Yan Huizhi, Shen Chuanzhi and Zhu Chuanming.

In 1954, the school welcomed the first generation of students 60 children selected from thousands, whittled down in a selection process headed by Yu. They were all around 12 years old.

Yue Meiti and Zhang Xunpeng were among the 60 fortunate children, later seen as the backbone of the art. They are now looked on as masters.

Zhang can still recall her very first impressions of her mentor Zhu Chuanming: "He was so tall and handsome, yet he had an unusual delicate beauty."

Zhu was one of the most renowned "male Eves," playing female roles on stage.

As a teacher, he calmed the mischievous teenagers with his good temper and affection.

Zhang said with a smile, "My happiest memory from that time is always associated with the sweet aroma of expensive toffee candy which Zhu Chuanming brought to class."

(China Daily August 5, 2005)