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There are many famous Peking Opera actors, but few are well-known both inside and outside the industry, in professional circles and among the general public. Tan Xinpei and Mei Lanfang are representatives of them. Mei Lanfang, in particular, is not only the founder of the "Mei School", but also created the Mei School, which is known as one of the "three major drama performance systems in the world" along with Stanislavsky and Brecht. He can be called a "master of art" of his generation.

The Republic of China not only produced "masters", but also talented women, such as Zhang Ailing, Lin Huiyin, Lu Xiaoman, Lin Haiyin, etc. There was also a "talented woman" in the opera world, who was as popular as Ruan Lingyu and Zhou Xuan at the time. She was Meng Xiaodong, known as the "Winter Queen". What people like to discuss more is the love-hate story between her and Mei Lanfang and Du Yuesheng.

Meng Xiaodong was born on December 9, 1908 in a family of opera performers in Shanghai. At the age of 4, she began to practice martial arts with her father and learn the old male role. In 1915, she became a disciple of Sun-style old male role Qiu Yuexiang, and in the following year she made her debut on stage in the opera "The Black Basin". From then on, she began her 70-year Peking opera career.

From Shanghai to Wuxi, and then to Tianjin and Beijing, Meng Xiaodong's every performance was amazing, and her popularity was even equal to that of Mei Lanfang. People at that time praised "Meng Xiaodong, a woman, Lao Sheng, and Mei Lanfang, a man, Hua Dan, which can be called two wonders."

Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang fell in love with each other, and in 1927, they got married, and Meng Xiaodong retired from the stage. But this relationship was destined to end in tragedy. Mei Lanfang's first wife Fu Zhifang obstructed her in every way, and Meng Xiaodong finally broke up with him and officially returned to the stage on September 25, 1933.

In 1937, Meng Xiaodong met Du Yuesheng. Over the next ten years, Du took good care of her and showed deep affection for her. In the fall of 1950, Du Yuesheng, who was already terminally ill, held a wedding in Hong Kong, and the bride was Meng Xiaodong. On August 16, 1951, Du Yuesheng passed away. Meng Xiaodong was very sad and became a devout Buddhist.

Meng Xiaodong's life is a reflection of the turbulent times of the Republic of China. When we admire her singing and her love history, we should also remember that she was a real "talented woman" who was versatile in poetry, calligraphy and painting, and her calligraphy has been handed down to this day. Although she learned opera since she was a child, she also received calligraphy training. Later, she met Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Pu Ru, Zhang Shizhao and others, and her calligraphy skills made great progress.

Meng Xiaodong's calligraphy works are mainly letters and couplets, most of which are works for social occasions, but they can well reflect her calligraphy style and level. These works are mainly in running and regular scripts, with delicate and elegant handwriting, which is completely different from the mature and solid singing style. She learned from Master Hongyi, Wu Changshuo, Zhao Mengfu, Jiang Kui, Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Xun, and the "scripture writing style".

The strokes of small regular script are graceful, full, round and natural, with restrained edges and subtle hooks. The characters are stretched and flexible. The regular script is vigorous and powerful, dignified and neat, while the running script is graceful and graceful, with both the middle and side edges, and the characters are closely connected.

What do you think of Meng Xiaodong’s calligraphy? Welcome to leave a message in the comment section to discuss!