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Ma Jinfeng
Henan opera dan performer from Caoxian in Shandong who founded the Ma school, known for Mu Guiying Takes Command and designated a national bearer of Henan opera heritage
Backstage of a theatre troupe, an open trunk spills embroidered red and blue robes, one worked with a phoenix, beneath a jewelled headdress with long plumes; a mirror stand, a stool and a row of painted drums stand beside it, with a red curtain hanging at the right.
Also known as Born Cui Jinni · Stage name Lu Jinfeng
- Roles
- Stage Performers
Ma Jinfeng, born Cui Jinni in Caoxian, Shandong, in 1922, learned Hebei bangzi from her father at six and in 1930 became a pupil of the Henan opera performer Ma Shuangzhi in Kaifeng, switching to Henan opera under the stage name Lu Jinfeng; she later took her stepfather's surname as Ma Jinfeng. She also studied the western Henan tune with Yan Changgeng and Zhai Yanshen, and in 1953, while performing Mu Guiying Takes Command in Shanghai, became a pupil of Mei Lanfang. Her high, clear singing became known as the Ma school, and her signature plays were Mu Guiying Takes Command, Flowers at Court and The Spear Romance. In 2008 she was named a national representative bearer of Henan opera as intangible heritage. She died in Qingdao in May 2022.
Life and times
Dates 1922 CE–2022 CE