Xue Juexian

Also known as Xue Zuomei (original name) · Zi Pingkai

Xue Juexian, born Xue Zuomei with the courtesy name Pingkai, came from Shunde in Guangdong and was a lead actor in Cantonese opera by about the age of twenty. In 1929 he founded the Juexiansheng troupe, borrowing movement and costume from Peking opera, reworking stage make-up and adding Western instruments to the band; his singing became known as the Xue style. After Hong Kong lifted its ban on mixed casts in 1933, his troupe was among the first to put men and women on stage together. His long contest with Ma Shizeng's Taiping troupe was called the Xue-Ma rivalry. He also made Cantonese films such as The White Golden Dragon and Why Not Return. He moved to Guangzhou in 1954 and died there in 1956.